Content note: Cartoon shows two tank crewmen crushed and dead beneath a wrecked tank. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Don't be a dope! Handle equipment right (Joe Dope took a tank)
Equipment-care cartoon for soldiers: a wrecked tank lies upside down at the foot of a cliff beside two crushed crewmen, while three soldiers look down from the edge. The verse says 'Uncle Sam' now has one tank less and Joe is 'a permanent blank'. The slogan 'Don't be a dope!' is name-calling aimed at the careless driver; the fear-appeal is the dead crew.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ordnance Department, U.S. Army; artist Pvt. Will Eisner
- 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
- Theme
- 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)
Ordnance Department, U.S. Army. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1143V (NAID 514725).
Text on the object
At maneuvers Joe Dope took a tank Hell bent o'er a 30-foot bank. Uncle Sam, you can guess, Now can boast one tank less- As for Joe, he's a permanent blank! [signature: PVT. Will Eisner] Don't be a dope! HANDLE EQUIPMENT RIGHT [imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1942-O-481419 [imprint:] ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT, U.S. ARMY
