A sepia tone poster with a photographic image of one-armed black welder, Obie Bartlett, working at a shipyard. Large cranes and a Navy ship are seen in the background. Maroon, black, and off-white text at the top and bottom of the poster reads: TWICE A PATRIOT! / EX-PRIVATE OBIE BARTLETT LOST LEFT ARM-PEARL HARBOR- / RELEASED: DEC., 1941-NOW AT WORK WELDING / IN A WEST COAST SHIPYARD… / "Sometimes I feel my job here is / as important as the one I had to leave." Additional small text in the bottom reads: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1943-O-535256 / WPB Poster No. A-37. For extra copies address: / WAR PRODUCTION DRIVE HEADQUARTERS / War Production Board, Washington, D. C.
Texas native Obie Bartlett (1917-1993) enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940. He lost his left arm during the Pearl Harbor attack. After spending five months in the hospital and being discharged from the military, Bartlett trained as a welder and went to work at the California Shipbuilding Corporation. His story was widely covered in the media.
MO 2005.13.34.293
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