1942.04.29 “So Long, Sarge”
by Ralph Lee (1906-1947)
14 x 17 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Ralph Lee was an editorial cartoonist for the Portland Oregonian. He died suddenly, at 41, in January 1947. His cousin, Art Bimrose, was the editorial cartoonist for the Oregonian for more than three decades. In 1937, the Oregonian hired him part-time to work on printing plates. Following Lee’s death, Bimrose was hired as the Sunday editorial cartoonist.
During WW2, children were encouraged to contribute to the war effort, particularly those around the age of 14 and older. This was in part due to the fact that the school leaving age at the time was 14 in many places. However, the war created a significant labor shortage as adults enlisted in the armed forces or worked in war-related industries, and children were called upon to "volunteer" their time in various ways. Boys, especially, helped with physically demanding farm labor to support the "Dig for Victory" campaign and increase food production. Some students participated in programs like Harvest Camps to help bring in the harvest, effectively working in the agricultural sector. And children participated in wartime collection efforts, such as collecting scrap metal, rubber, and paper.
President Roosevelt's speech, in which he referred to children as "partners" in the war effort, was a Fireside Chat delivered on April 28, 1942, only months after Pearl Harbor, titled "On Sacrifice". In this speech, Roosevelt emphasized that the home front was a crucial part of the war effort, and that every American, including children, had a role to play. He explained that while not everyone could fight in distant parts of the world, everyone could contribute through daily self-denial and by supporting the troops and the overall war effort. He stated: "But there is one front and one battle where everyone in the United States -- every man, woman, and child -- is in action, and will be privileged to remain in action throughout this war. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives, (and) in our daily tasks." Roosevelt aimed to mobilize the entire nation for the war effort and instill a sense of shared responsibility and obligation to the cause. He emphasized the idea that education, labor, and discipline were weapons, too.
The boy in the picture is leaving school to help on the home front. The “sarge” in this case is the personification of education, the boy’s current commanding officer, who has a pen slung as a sword and a pencil held like a rifle. Home front actions, as FDR was pushing, were equal in honor and necessity to battlefield contributions.
The timing of the Chat was clearly deliberate: the end of the academic year. The “What I Did on my Summer Vacation” assignment in 1942 would be quite different than in 1941.
