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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Silence Means Security
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Silence Means Security

Artifact IDMO 2005.13.21.37
Object Type Poster
Artist (American painter, 1897 - 1982)
Maker (American, founded 1861)
Issuing Body (American, 1789 - 1947)
Date1945
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 20 1/8 in x W 14 1/4 in (51.1 cm x 36.2 cm )
Physical DescriptionA color poster featuring an illustration of a soldier in combat uniform and armed with a rifle creeping through a tropical landscape under cover of darkness. The artist’s facsimile signature is in the lower left corner of the image: SCHLAIKJER. White, blue, and red text on and below the image reads: silence ~ / ~ means security / ★ BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU / SAY OR WRITE ★. Small black text printed along the bottom edge of the poster reads: WD Poster No. 32-2, "Recon" Security Poster. Additional copies may be requisitioned as prescribed in AR 310-200, 1 May 1943, as changed by Changes No. 2, 15 September 1943. There is also a distribution list at the bottom of the poster.

The poster was printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office, poster no. 1945-O-624527.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by the Adriance Memorial Library.
Credit LineGift of the Adriance Memorial Library
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesOriginal Posters from World War I and World War II (National Archives Identifier 739394)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view