Enlist in the WAVES: Release a man to fight at sea
Colour portrait of a smiling woman in Navy uniform saluting, under the headline 'Enlist in the WAVES' and the line 'Release a man to fight at sea', with an address for Navy recruiting stations. The tell for transfer is the salute and uniform used to attach the Navy's standing to the appeal, with the slogan framing enlistment as freeing a man for combat.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Navy (Women's Reserve, WAVES)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Themes
- War and the military, Gender and suffrage, Home front
- 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. Navy. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-208 (NAID 513651).
Text on the object
ENLIST IN THE WAVES RELEASE A MAN TO FIGHT AT SEA Apply to your nearest NAVY RECRUITING STATION OR OFFICE OF NAVAL OFFICER PROCUREMENT [imprint:] ORDER NO. 19 NRB-24694-1-13-43-40M
