During World War II the U.S. Government issued millions of posters by hundreds of artists and distributed them widely throughout the country. The Office of War Information, working with various departments, was responsible for nearly all the posters. Most can be considered either warnings (careless talk), or encouragements (do your part), or fund raisers (buy war bonds).

Four of the posters on view were appeals to buy war bonds. These posters were very effective as more than $185 billion was raised to pay for the war. Several posters encourage those at home to also do their part for the war effort by helping farmers harvest their crops, or by planting victory gardens, or by canning what they grew. Most dramatic and alarming were the posters warning of the consequences of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. This is clearly spelled out on one poster: “Please give this poster prominent display…now that we are attacking, it is more
important than ever to intensify the home-front fight on careless talk.” Nearly all of the posters in the Oysterponds Historical Society had been sent to the National Bank of Greenport during the war. They were mailed, so are creased where folded. They were displayed, so there are traces of tape. But fortunately they were saved and found their way to OHS.

The leather Army Air Force flight jacket and medals belonged to Marcus Duvall of Orient. Towards the end of the war, after flying many successful missions in Europe, he was home on leave. Tragically, one night as he was leaving Greenport he was in a car accident and was killed. There is a photograph of him with his flight crew and airplane in the Recent Acquisitions exhibition down the hall.