Fight... Syphilis and Gonorrhea
A large drawn portrait of a helmeted soldier looks past the viewer above the word 'FIGHT...' and 'syphilis and gonorrhea', followed by four lines of instruction: avoid exposure, avoid pickups and prostitutes, use prophylaxis if exposed, see a medical officer if infected. The technique is faint; the closest is transfer, the soldier's combat image and the word 'fight' carried over to a health instruction. It names prostitutes and pickups as the risk.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Army in conjunction with the Office of War Information (drawn by Robert Riggs)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Health, 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)
U.S. Army and Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-762 (NAID 514250).
Text on the object
[credit: Drawn by ROBERT RIGGS] FIGHT... syphilis and gonorrhea Avoid exposure Avoid pickups and prostitutes If exposed, use prophylaxis If infected, see a medical officer [imprint: U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943-O-505619] [imprint: U. S. Army in Conjunction With the Office of War Information]
