Be a ship's officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine
Recruiting poster in red, white and blue: an officer in a white-topped cap holds a sextant, with a sailing ship, a liner and cadets at work behind him, and a box listing the terms of the Cadet-Midshipman programme. The appeal pairs the officer's status and the Corps emblem with a list of benefits (pay, uniforms, textbooks free), a mix of prestige and selected advantages.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Maritime Service, U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Themes
- War and the military, Labor
- 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)
U.S. Maritime Service. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-442 (NAID 513910).
Text on the object
be a ship's OFFICER IN THE U.S. MERCHANT MARINE Become a Future Officer * be a Marine engineer * become a deck officer * men 17 years, 6 months to 23 years of age * of high school education * pay while in training * same as a Midshipman * uniforms and textbooks issued without charge ACTA NON VERBA for information to Become a CADET-MIDSHIPMAN U.S. MERCHANT MARINE CADET CORPS APPLICATIONS CAN BE SECURED AT U.S. MARITIME SERVICE [imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 194[illegible] O - [illegible]
