“My Soldier” was one of many posters issued by the United States government during World War I to encourage people to buy War Savings Stamps (W.S.S.). W.S.S. could be purchased for 25 cents and, when enough were accumulated, they could be traded in for war bonds. This poster was created by American artist Hiram Harold Green in 1917. War propaganda posters often included women and children to soften the hearts of Americans. This poster shows a little girl and her mother praying underneath a photo of a soldier. With her little hands folded on her mother's lap, the little girl prays fervently:
“Now I lay me down to sleep
I Pray the Lord my soul to keep.
God bless my brother gone to war
Across the seas, in France, so far.
Oh, may his fight for Liberty,
Save millions more than little me
From cruel fates or ruthless blast,
And bring him safely home at last.
The prayer is partly borrowed from the Lord's Prayer which can be found in the Bible in Matthew Chapter 6. The caption on the bottom says, ”How Can You Help?”, beckoning Americans to buy W.S.S. to answer the prayer of this little girl and her mother to bring their soldier home. This poster was most likely created and reproduced as a lithographic print at the time of its distribution.
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