American military uniforms featured an explosion of new badges, decorations, and insignia. To help educate the servicemembers and the public, the military and private companies created posters to help identity what everything represented

Will Your Name Be There? U.S. Navy : by United States. Navy, Waves, and Falter, JohnSmithsonian's National Museum of American History

Members of the American military have worn on their uniforms an evolving array of insignia in the form of symbols, marks, emblems, and badges. These insignia collectively help distinguish an individual’s status as an officer or enlisted person, their respective rank, skill or specialty, or branch of service. Such insignia is typically found on head wear, shoulder sleeves, shoulder loops, and the collars of shirts or jackets.

Rotary Army & Navy Club of Phila. If You Wear Uncle Sam's Uniform You Are a Member ... Rotary Army & Navy Club. by Rotary Army & Navy Club. (Philadelphia.)Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

In World War I, American civilians could on a whole understand if someone in uniform was in the Army or the Navy. The insignia of rank for both services remaining relatively stable for decades.

Uniforms of the United States Navy by United States. NavySmithsonian's National Museum of American History

But as society as a whole had evolved in the Progressive Era, military institutions followed suit. Changes within the Army and Navy included uniforms and assorted insignia. This poster depicts both U.S. Navy insignia but also the uniforms themselves.

American Expeditionary Forces Distinctive Cloth Insignia by U.S. ArmySmithsonian's National Museum of American History

By 1918, General John J. Pershing, commanding the American Expeditionary Forces, authorized the 81st (Infantry) Division to wear a distinctive shoulder sleeve insignia and suggested other divisions develop distinctive designs of their own. By 1919, a virtual rainbow of designs appeared on the left shoulder of doughboys returning home from the war.

How to Tell Rank and Branch of Service on Army and Navy Uniforms Exhibition ...Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

As more insignia appeared, manufacturers and collectors invariably arose to held educate the public on what the various insignia meant and why.

Uniform Insignia - United States Navy ... U.S by United States. Navy. Recruiting BureauSmithsonian's National Museum of American History

As America's military began to expand in the months and years prior to it entry in World War II, citizens on the home front began to see an increasing number of military uniforms and an ever-expanding array of distinctive symbols to denote occupation, skills, rank, and accomplishment.

Insignia, Medals and Decorations of the U.S. Army ... (1942 May) by Commercial Credit Company. (Baltimore), U.S. Army, and United States. ArmySmithsonian's National Museum of American History

As the nation's military grew more larger and specialized, so did the various insignia. This poster from May 1942 encapsulates the variety of U.S. Army insignia and decorations then in use. The medals depicted capture the Army's campaigns from the Civil War to World War I, as the campaign medal designs for the current conflict had yet to be completed.

Insignia, Medals and Decorations U.S. Navy, Marines and Coast Guard ... (1942 Mar) by Commercial Credit Company. (Baltimore), United States. Navy, United States. Marine Corps, United States. Coast Guard, and U.S. Navy, Marines, and Coast GuardSmithsonian's National Museum of American History

Encompassing the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, this poster is even more intimidating than that for the Army.

Official Civilian Defense InsigniaSmithsonian's National Museum of American History

Even the newly established Office of Civilian Defense had an array of distinctive insignia, each designed with the same basic elements to conform with the overall Civilian Defense logo.

United States Navy and Army InsigniaSmithsonian's National Museum of American History

Once American forces began moving overseas to England for the invasion of Western Europe, insignia posters went up to educate the British public about the funny insignia of their American cousins' uniforms.

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