WW II 'They've Got More Important Places to Go Than You' Poster

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This very interesting poster of a jeep full of soldiers was designed by Walter Richards and was issued by the Office for Emergency Management, Division of Information in 1942. The message "Save Rubber Check Your Tires Now" reflected the critical shortage of natural rubber for tires and other uses that developed since the Japanese controlled former sources of rubber in Southeast Asia and the East Indies.

The poster was inspired by photos such as this one showing testing of a Bantam jeep.

The poster was widely distributed, especially to service stations and other locations where civilian tires might be on people's minds.

Billy Evans turns in some old rubber to the Atlantic filling station of L.E. Wadman, 1603 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington, DE, 15 June 1942. The location is a car dealership in 2011. Image courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives.

Today in WW II: 8 Feb 1940 Germans establish the first large Jewish ghetto in Poland in the city of Lodz. More ↓

8 Feb 1941 US House of Representatives passes the Lend-Lease Act [265 to 165].
8 Feb 1942 Battle of Sarimbun Beach begins, the first stage of the Japanese assault on Singapore.
8 Feb 1942 Japanese Offensive in Burma begins [8 Feb-2 May].
8 Feb 1945 Battle of the Reichswald: British and Canadian forces under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery begin Operation Veritable [8 Feb-11 Mar].
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.