thedrifter
11-08-05, 05:47 PM
Making Marines
Before Marine recruiters armed themselves with key chains, T-shirts and a multimillion-dollar advertising agency, their weapon of choice was the poster.
Marine recruiting posters have been issuing the challenge to prospective leathernecks ever since mass media involved thumbtacks.
During the Civil War, Marines knew exactly what, or who, they were looking for. A poster that appeared in Philadelphia circa 1863 announced the Corps' interest in "able-bodied unmarried MEN between the ages of 21 and 35 years, not less than 5 feet, 4½ inches high, and of good character."
The poster went on to include a pay chart that enticed applicants with the promise of $11 per month for even the rawest recruit.
During World War I, the Corps' recruiting posters had two themes. Some made the patriotic appeal of a call to duty. Others promised that anyone who joined the Corps would be "first to fight," all but guaranteeing them a chance to taste war.
Fast-forward to World War II, and you've got a lot more iconic imagery. Artist renderings of Marines in their dress blues were prominently featured with the eagle, globe and anchor. Posters also began targeting women for recruitment, insisting that they were needed in order to "free a man to fight."
Since then, the Corps has been selling itself to potential enlistees by re-affirming the public's concept of life as a Marine - challenging, dangerous and inherently honorable.
So, to celebrate the Marine Corps' 230th birthday, here's a sampling of some of those posters.
Before Marine recruiters armed themselves with key chains, T-shirts and a multimillion-dollar advertising agency, their weapon of choice was the poster.
Marine recruiting posters have been issuing the challenge to prospective leathernecks ever since mass media involved thumbtacks.
During the Civil War, Marines knew exactly what, or who, they were looking for. A poster that appeared in Philadelphia circa 1863 announced the Corps' interest in "able-bodied unmarried MEN between the ages of 21 and 35 years, not less than 5 feet, 4½ inches high, and of good character."
The poster went on to include a pay chart that enticed applicants with the promise of $11 per month for even the rawest recruit.
During World War I, the Corps' recruiting posters had two themes. Some made the patriotic appeal of a call to duty. Others promised that anyone who joined the Corps would be "first to fight," all but guaranteeing them a chance to taste war.
Fast-forward to World War II, and you've got a lot more iconic imagery. Artist renderings of Marines in their dress blues were prominently featured with the eagle, globe and anchor. Posters also began targeting women for recruitment, insisting that they were needed in order to "free a man to fight."
Since then, the Corps has been selling itself to potential enlistees by re-affirming the public's concept of life as a Marine - challenging, dangerous and inherently honorable.
So, to celebrate the Marine Corps' 230th birthday, here's a sampling of some of those posters.