Serve Those Who Served

This poster from 1945 was commissioned by the Veteran Administration (VA) and designed by artist Douglass Crockwell (1904 - 1968). The image shows a convalescent soldier, now a veteran of war, sitting in a wheelchair. In the background there are scenes of soldiers fighting and a nurse tending a wounded soldier. The purpose of the poster was to recruit nurses for the veteran hospitals that by the end of the war were full.

A Bill passed in 1944, the World War II GI Bill, that gave a large number of new benefits for war Veterans. The GI Bill placed VA second to the War and Navy Departments in funding and personnel priorities, which made possible the nursing recruitment.

The artist of the poster, Douglass Crockwell, studied fine art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and soon after became a successful freelance illustrative painter. Douglass worked for several magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, and a variety of companies such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. During WWII, he was commissioned by the Government to create some propaganda posters; his poster for the American Relief for Holland won him a gold medal from the Art Director's Club in 1946. Crockwell created murals and posters for the Works Progress Administration during the Depression, and also experimented with short animated motion-pictures.

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed, and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.