Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
I wonder if old pilots just fade away?, 1957 US cartoon: A general at a desk labelled 'Chairman Joint Chiefs', with 'Twining'

I wonder if old pilots just fade away?

A general at a desk labelled 'Chairman Joint Chiefs', with 'Twining' on his chair back, rests his chin on his hand beside a newspaper headline 'Gen. Gavin proposes junking Joint Staff setup', under a framed portrait of a pipe-smoking general in a peaked cap. The caption plays on a familiar line about old soldiers; the portrait attaches that association to the speaker, which is the transfer tell (the portrait is unlabelled; identification is an inference).

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Transfer
Date
December 15, 1957
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Eisenhower Administration
Leader
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
War and the military
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives (NARA), Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743257 (NAID 5743257).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

"I WONDER IF OLD PILOTS JUST FADE AWAY?"
TWINING
CHAIRMAN
JOINT CHIEFS
GEN. GAVIN
PROPOSES
JUNKING
JOINT STAFF
SETUP
JIM BERRYMAN WASHINGTON STAR.....
12/15/57

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