I'm counting on you! Don't discuss troop movements, ship sailings, war equipment
Uncle Sam in stars-and-stripes hat looks straight out at the viewer with a finger held to his lips. The headline 'I'm counting on you!' and the list 'Don't discuss: troop movements, ship sailings, war equipment' make a personal appeal from a national symbol to keep quiet. The technique is transfer of the figure's authority onto the request; the fear is implied rather than shown.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information; L. Helguera (artist)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Home front, Security and surveillance
- 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)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-373 (NAID 513825).
Text on the object
I'M COUNTING ON YOU! DON'T DISCUSS: TROOP MOVEMENTS SHIP SAILINGS · WAR EQUIPMENT [signature:] L. Helguera [imprint:] OWI Poster No. 78 - 28½" x 40". Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington, D.C. [imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943-O-[illegible]
