"Come On, Boys!" Give the Guard a Fighting Chance
Ranks of uniformed National Guardsmen march toward the viewer with rifles on their shoulders, one in front waving the viewer on. The text invites the reader to 'fight alongside your friends' and states that all branches of Army service are open, presenting enlistment as joining a group already in motion.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1918
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Committee of Public Safety, Department of Military Service (Philadelphia)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War I
- Regime
- Wilson administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 4 (U.S. Food Administration), World War I Posters (NAID 512439), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Committee of Public Safety, Department of Military Service (Philadelphia). National Archives and Records Administration, 4-P-25.
Text on the object
"Come On, Boys!" Give the Guard a Fighting Chance Fight alongside Your Friends Fill up the National Guard ALL BRANCHES OF ARMY SERVICE ARE OPEN TO YOU. [C]OMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY SERVICE, SOUTH PENN SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA
The first letter of the imprint line is cut off at the left edge of the scan (supplied here as [C] in square brackets); the remainder is read from the image and is small.
