Above and beyond the call of duty
Portrait of a named Black sailor, Dorie Miller, in dress whites with the Navy Cross on his chest and burning ships behind him. The quoted headline and the medal attach a named individual's recognised conduct to the war effort, a testimonial; the decoration and the Pearl Harbor setting lend its prestige to the message.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (artist David Stone Martin)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Race and ethnicity
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-300 (NAID 513747).
Text on the object
"above and beyond the call of duty" DORIE MILLER Received the Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor, May 27, 1942 [signature:] David Stone Martin [imprint:] OWI Poster No. 68. Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington, D.C. [imprint:] U.S. Government Printing Office : 1943-O-530929
