Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Obey your safety patrol: a good soldier obeys all commands, 1942 US poster: Two-colour sheet with a saluting soldier

Obey your safety patrol: a good soldier obeys all commands

Two-colour sheet with a saluting soldier in uniform beside the words 'Obey your safety patrol' and a circular picture of a school safety patrol boy holding back three schoolchildren at a kerb; the top line reads 'A good soldier obeys all commands'. The technique is transfer: the soldier's authority and the idea of military obedience are carried onto a school traffic patrol.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1942
Period
Second World War
Made by
American Automobile Association, Safety & Traffic Engineering Dept.
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Mixed
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, 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)
American Automobile Association, Safety & Traffic Engineering Dept.. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1433 (NAID 515096).

Text on the object

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

A GOOD SOLDIER OBEYS ALL COMMANDS
OBEY
YOUR
SAFETY
PATROL
© AAA
S. S. P. No. 142
Copyright 1942
American Automobile Association
Safety & Traffic Engineering Dept.
"VICTORY HEROES" SERIES
Accidents Are Avoidable
Alertness Avoids Accidents

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