Charles Henry Fletcher - Soldier of Production
A pencil panel sheet profiles a Black welder, with a large portrait, scenes of him as a schoolboy and at work, and a sailor-brother waving from a ship under the words 'You build 'em, brother - I'll float 'em!!'. The tell is plain-folks: an ordinary worker's biography is offered as a model for war-production effort.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Alston)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Labor, Home front, Race and ethnicity
- 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 (NARA), RG 208, Artworks and Mockups for Cartoons Promoting the War Effort, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-232 (NAID 535695).
Text on the object
CHARLES HENRY FLETCHER SOLDIER OF PRODUCTION AS A YOUNGSTER IN HIGH SCHOOL, FLETCHER, WHEN NOT PLAYING FOOTBALL, COULD ALWAYS BE FOUND "PUTTERING AROUND" WITH MECHANICAL DEVICES. ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL H.S. FLETCHER'S DEVICE FOR WELDING INSULATION CLIPS INCREASED PRODUCTION BY 400 PER CENT! FOR HIS ACHIEVEMENT, HE WAS AWARDED THE CERTIFICATE OF INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION, HIGHEST HONOR GIVEN TO A WORKER BY WPB! YOU BUILD 'EM, BROTHER-- I'LL FLOAT 'EM!! THE FLETCHERS ARE ALL OUT FOR UNCLE SAM!-- CHARLIE'S BROTHER IS IN THE NAVY! A fine name-- Charles Henry! Alston OWI
