---
title: 'The Five Sullivan Brothers ''Missing in Action'' off the Solomons: They Did Their Part'
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/they-did-their-part-sullivan-brothers-1943/
description: A photograph of five smiling sailors in U.S. Navy caps and peacoats around a ship's hatch marked 'V', under five blue stars.
section: Collection
---

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3. The Five Sullivan Brothers 'Missing in Action' off the Solomons: They

[![The Five Sullivan Brothers 'Missing in Action' off the Solomons: They Did Their Part, 1943 US poster: A photograph of five](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/they-did-their-part-sullivan-brothers-1943.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/they-did-their-part-sullivan-brothers-1943.jpg)

# The Five Sullivan Brothers 'Missing in Action' off the Solomons: They Did Their Part

A photograph of five smiling sailors in U.S. Navy caps and peacoats around a ship's hatch marked 'V', under five blue stars, with the caption 'the five Sullivan brothers "missing in action" off the Solomons' and the line 'THEY did their part'. The five stars and the family of ordinary sailors transfer their sacrifice onto the viewer, with the underlined 'THEY' implying that the reader should do theirs.

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) [Plain folks](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/)

## Text on the object

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

```
five blue stars
the five Sullivan brothers
"missing in action" off the Solomons
THEY DID THEIR PART
OWI Poster No. 42. Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington, D.C.
[imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943-O-510254
(in photograph: U.S. NAVY on caps; V; 1-117 CREWS QUARTERS C-206-L; OPEN)
```

[← The toughest job is still ahead!](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/the-toughest-job-is-still-ahead-1943/) [This Is the Enemy →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/this-is-the-enemy-1943/)

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