Homeland Security U.S.A. Safety Poster, Historic American Patriotism Symbols Public Domain Image: "The Sound That Kills" U.S. Government Office of War Information Caution Advisory Poster for Homeland Security.

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"The Sound That Kills: Don't murder men with idle words. " loose talk homeland security usa WWII patriotic poster published for the Office of War Information a copyright free image of artwork by Eric Ericson printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office Washington D.C. Click for larger print file public domain image graphic art homeland security USA poster The Sound That Kills: Don't murder men with idle words. .

The comic strip was a common form of attention grabbing advertisement in those WWII days, what made it so popular? In those pre-tv times, newspapers and magazines were the main source of visual media for the vast majority of society. Comic strips were consistently rated as the second thing readers turned to after the front page of their daily paper; "the funnies" were one of America's favorite forms of visual entertainment! It is interesting how when you present a person with a cartoon character with a text bubble above them they are compelled to read what the character is saying. Apparently true in 1942 wartime U.S.A. because artist Eric Ericson designed this WWII homeland security poster like the page of a comic book but the message to protect our merchant ships from the Germans is very serious. The effective comic book like homeland security loose talk cautioning poster reads: THE SOUND THAT KILLS (picture of a bell ringing) 1. Sound waves travel at 1100 ft. per second. If amplified sound can go round the world; 2. Talk is sound. It travels in waves, even a friendly remark travels in ordinary conversation (picture of a dock worker telling the cook at Al's Diner that he's hungry, they loaded the ship Exeter in 6 hours and she sails at noon; good job Bill the cook replies); 3. It can go across town in cars and subways…to fall on many ears…(picture of the cook from Al's diner riding the subway having a conversation about the ship Exeter with a friend that he thinks is private but the conversation is being overheard by a stranger who appears to be reading the paper); 4. To be picked up and amplified by the wrong people…in the wrong places. (the stranger from the subway that appeared to be reading the newspaper minding his own business in broadcasting from a shortwave radio the information about the merchant Ship Exeter); 5. It goes under the sea…to a German U-boat and becomes a weapon in the enemies' hands. (picture of a German U-boat captain using the periscope to aim torpedoes at the ship Exeter); 6. The end of a rumor…and the end of the Exeter.(picture of the ship Exeter hit by the German torpedo exploding in flames and headed for the bottom of the sea); Large bright red text at the bottom of the poster reads: DON'T MURDER MEN WITH IDLE WORDS.

World War 2 Homeland Security USA Safety Patriotic Posters, a U.S. "Loose Talk" Type Poster:
"The Sound That Kills: Don't murder men with idle words. "

Espionage has been with us since early time but the immigrant/melting pot based nature of the United States and our relatively late involvement in World War 2 made 1940s America a lucrative environment for spies and potential saboteurs. Naturally the dangers and concerns of national security intensified when the United States entered the war and America's overseas military and homeland patriots urgently needed additional protection. The U.S. Government had a great need to alert its' military and private citizens to the presence of enemy spies and saboteurs lurking in American society. A major advertising blitz involving all media eventually produced thousands of remarkable "careless talk" type posters to warn people that small snippets of information regarding troop movements or other logistical details would be useful to the enemy and could easily compromise national security and U.S. military personnel' safety. These vintage 1940s public domain poster images like this one "The Sound That Kills: Don't murder men with idle words. " displayed on this page from the Safety and National Security World War 2 Gallery of this website allow you to own a copyright free piece of WWII history, a historic patriotic artwork poster.

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