Filling the Ranks

wantednavynursesposter.gif

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.

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

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.