FTA, Freak the Army: GI-civilian solidarity concert and rally

Hand-lettered poster headed by four named invitors (Barbara Dane, James Johnson of the Ft. Hood 3, Dr. Howard Levy, Peter Yarrow) and the letters "FTA" expanded as "Freak the Army", over two hands gripping prison-style bars with a flower. It announces a concert/rally on Dec. 26 at the Manhattan Center, 311 W 34 St., New York, proceeds to the United States Servicemen's Fund. The tells are the expansion of a recruiting-era initialism into a slogan and the named public figures lent to the event.

Date: 1969
Period: Cold War
Made by: Students for a Democratic Society and Barbara Dane (New York)
Region: North America
Country: United States
Medium: Poster
Issuer type: Movement
Regime: Nixon Administration
Leader: Richard Nixon
Audience: Domestic public
Purpose: Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes: War and the military, Home front
Event: Vietnam War
Techniques: Semantic hijacking Testimonial
Source: Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source: Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
Rights: U.S. publication without copyright notice; LoC: no known restrictions on publication
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Text on the object

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

BARBARA DANE - JAMES JOHNSON (FT. HOOD 3)
DR. HOWARD LEVY - PETER YARROW INVITE YOU TO...
FTA
FREAK THE ARMY [small script: and other services]
SHOW GI-CIVILIAN SOLIDARITY
STOP THE VIETNAM MASSACRE
CONCERT/RALLY - DEC. 26   8 P.M. AND 11:30 P.M.
MANHATTAN CENTER - 311 W 34 ST  INFO. TEL 255-1075
PROCEEDS TO THE UNITED STATES SERVICEMENS FUND.

Read from a 640 px LoC scan. The artist's signature at lower right is not legible and is omitted.