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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This poster from World War I shows a sailor, construction worker and a soldier striding in unison with their arms linked together. There is a silhouette of a merchant ship in the background. Produced by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, it conveys the message that work at home was as important as being a soldier. The Shipping Board's task was to produce enough cargo ships to supply the troops in Europe with food and munitions of war. On January 31, 1917, Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. The submarines wreaked havoc on ships in the North Atlantic, and the United States needed to find a way to replenish lost cargo ships as well as build new ones. The Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation was given that task.

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