Absent without reason...is this you? The Army calls it desertion!
Factory scene with a blank white silhouette at a press, captioned 'is this you?', under 'Absent without reason' and 'The Army calls it DESERTION!'. The poster applies a military crime label to a worker's absence (name-calling) and asks the viewer to see himself in the empty figure.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- TCOP Taxpayers' Committee (artist Don Shephard)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Labor, War and the military
- 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)
TCOP Taxpayers' Committee. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-302 (NAID 513749).
Text on the object
ABSENT WITHOUT REASON is this you? THE ARMY CALLS IT DESERTION! TCOP TAXPAYERS' COMMITTEE [signature:] Don Shephard
