Content note: Painted image of a wounded U.S. soldier with torn, bloodied clothing crawling among spent cartridge cases. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Miles of Hell to Tokyo! Work where you're needed
War Manpower Commission poster on a yellow ground: a painted U.S. soldier in a torn, bloodied uniform crawls on the ground, one hand on a rifle, with spent cartridge cases scattered around him. The headline 'Miles of Hell to Tokyo!' sits above, 'Work where you're needed' below. The wounded soldier is the fear-appeal and the guilt cue aimed at civilian workers.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1945
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- War Manpower Commission (artist Amos Sewell)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front, Labor
- 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)
War Manpower Commission (artist Amos Sewell). National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1355 (NAID 515009).
Text on the object
MILES OF HELL to Tokyo! WORK WHERE YOU'RE NEEDED CONSULT YOUR U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE OFFICE WAR MANPOWER COMMISSION [on the soldier's helmet:] US [signature:] AMOS SEWELL [imprint:] ☆ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1945 O-[illegible]
