U.S. Holiday Toll vs. Korean War casualties through Aug. 25: 6,886

A hooded Death figure with a scythe, its robe marked 'U.S. Holiday Toll', sits at a desk beside 'Labor Day Week-end Casualty Lists' and gives a thumbs-up toward a sign reading 'Korean War Casualties through Aug. 25 6,886'. It says 'Yes-sir! I think I'm going to beat that!' The cartoon argues that holiday-weekend deaths could exceed the war's casualty count, using a personified Death as a fear appeal.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Fear appeal

Date

September 5, 1950

Period

Cold War

Made by

Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)

Region

North America

Country

United States

Medium

Cartoon

Issuer type

Media

Regime

Truman Administration

Leader

Harry S. Truman

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Warn or inform

Themes

War and the military, Home front

Event

Korean War

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives (NARA), Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743149 (NAID 5743149).

KOREAN WAR CASUALTIES THROUGH AUG. 25
6,886
YES-SIR! I THINK I'M GOING TO BEAT THAT!
U.S. HOLIDAY TOLL
LABOR DAY WEEK-END CASUALTY LISTS
Jim Berryman