PBA Galleries

Historic original US Office of War Information Poster, quoting from a statement by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 3, 1943: “No loyal citizen of the United States should be denied the democratic right to exercise the responsibilities of his citizenship. regardless of his ancestry / The principle on which this country was founded and by which it has always been governed is that Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart. Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry / Every loyal American citizen should be given the opportunity to serve this country wherever his skills will make the greatest contribution – whether it be in the ranks of our armed forces, war production, agriculture, government service, or other work essential to the war effort.” 20x28", text in red and black, surmounted by large image of American eagle and flag.

This intentionally ambiguous quote of the President’s words, which omitted the first sentence of his statement – “the proposal of the War Department to organize a combat team consisting of loyal American citizens of Japanese descent has my full approval” - was intended to avoid anti-Japanese racist backlash against the historic reversal of US Government policy, which allowed Nisei from the internment camps to volunteer for active service in Europe. The famous 442nd Combat Team, which would prove to be the most decorated combat unit of the War, had just been activated two days before