Filling the Ranks
Dublin Core
Title
Filling the Ranks
Subject
Recruitment Poster for US Navy Nurses 1942-1945
Description
This poster is simple compared to some of the other recruitment propaganda used during World War II, but it carries a powerful message. Many feel that women who became nurses during the war were not breaking gender barriers, but the fact that they had the opportunity to become officers in the military through nursing was a huge step forward for women. They were performing the traditional "female" task of bringing comfort to the suffering, and their role was advertised as purely feminine, but they were making the bold step of entering the "male" domain of the military career. This poster connects to the larger story of the countless women who joined the military in other ways during the war, such as the WAVES, WAC, and Air Force Service Pilots. However, these roles were less respected than nursing due to those who saw them as unfeminine or overtly sexual. This shows the unique way in which nurses cleverly stepped out into a male world, and made progress in military careers for women, while retaining the feminine image necessary to keep the respect of the patriarchal society they lived in.
Creator
Office of Emergency Management: Office of War Information: Domestic Operations Branch, Bureau of Special Services, 3/9/1943-9/15/1945
Source
US National Archives: "World War II Posters, 1942-1945, Record Group 44: Records of the the Office of Government Reports, 1932-1947, NARC ID: 516022: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/516022
Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. WANTED MORE NAVY NURSES. Series: World War II Posters, 1932 - 1947, 1942.
Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. WANTED MORE NAVY NURSES. Series: World War II Posters, 1932 - 1947, 1942.
Publisher
Office of Emergency Management: Office of War Information, and the US National Archives and Records Administration
Date
Accessed April 23, 2020
Rights
Unrestricted
Format
Poster, photo mechanical print, gif image
Language
English
Type
Still Image
Identifier
"Wanted More Navy Nurses" Poster, World War II
Coverage
Navy Nurses of World War II, World War II Recruitment
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Color poster/photo mechanical print
Collection
Citation
Office of Emergency Management: Office of War Information: Domestic Operations Branch, Bureau of Special Services, 3/9/1943-9/15/1945, “Filling the Ranks,” US Nurses in World War II, accessed May 2, 2024, https://usnursesww2.omeka.net/items/show/25.