---
title: O'er the ramparts we watch
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/oer-the-ramparts-we-watch-army-air-forces-1944/
description: Painted poster of a young airman in a leather jacket, looking upward from among clouds and holding a large bomb.
section: Collection
---

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3. O'er the ramparts we watch

[![O'er the ramparts we watch, 1944 US poster: Painted poster of a young airman in a leather jacket, looking upward from among](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/oer-the-ramparts-we-watch-army-air-forces-1944.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/oer-the-ramparts-we-watch-army-air-forces-1944.jpg)

# O'er the ramparts we watch

Painted poster of a young airman in a leather jacket, looking upward from among clouds and holding a large bomb, with a formation of heavy bombers below and the line 'O'er the ramparts we watch' above. The tells are the national-anthem phrase and the heroic upward gaze (glittering-generalities) and the borrowing of the anthem's authority for air service (transfer).

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)

## Text on the object

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

```
O'ER THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH
UNITED STATES
ARMY AIR FORCES
[signature:] SCHLAIKJER 1944
© WAR DEPARTMENT, U. S. A.
[imprint:] BROWN & BIGELOW, ST. PAUL, MINN., U.S.A.
```

[← Nurses in action](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/nurses-in-action-army-nurse-corps-1944/) ["Of course I can!" →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/of-course-i-can-war-food-administration-1944/)

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- [Frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/eikon-basilike-frontispiece-hollar-1649/) (Dutch Republic · 1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)