Pledge of the Soldier of Supply
Colour poster with an eagle perched on a furled American flag beside a shield-shaped text panel headed 'Pledge of the Soldier of Supply', over the badges of seven Army supply branches. The technique is identity-fusion: the civilian worker is addressed as a 'soldier' and 'comrade' of the fighting man, with the job framed as a promise that he 'shall not want'.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Army Supply Services, Army Service Forces Depots
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Labor, Home front
- 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)
U.S. Army Supply Services, Army Service Forces Depots. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1522 (NAID 515188).
Text on the object
PLEDGE OF THE SOLDIER of SUPPLY We are at War... I know that my country's victory depends upon the courage, the endurance and the skill of our men who fight on land, at sea and in the air. These men are my sons, my brothers, my friends, my neighbor's boys. I know that they cannot fire a shot unless they are sent arms. They cannot live unless they receive food. They cannot meet the enemy unless they are furnished trucks, tanks and planes ... chemicals and clothing ... equipment for swift communication, for building roads and bridging streams. They cannot survive the wounds and diseases of war unless they have medicines. To send these things to them is my job, my wartime service. For I am a Soldier of Supply. I am a comrade of the American fighting man. I promise never to let him down. The way I do my job may decide whether he lives or dies. I promise to be faithful, so he may be strong. I will waste no time, leave no duty undone, that he will have to pay for. I am his comrade and I promise that he shall not want! [Every Civilian Member of the Army Supply Services is a Soldier of Supply] THE UNITED STATES ARMY SUPPLY SERVICES ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT SIGNAL CORPS CORPS OF ENGINEERS CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT QUARTERMASTER CORPS TRANSPORTATION CORPS ARMY SERVICE FORCES DEPOTS [imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943--O-517760] Reproductions of this poster suitable for framing, size 8 in. by 10 in., available upon request. Also available in wallet or purse size. [signature: illegible]
