1941 Take The Wheel Steer A Course For Future Success US Navy Matt Murphey

Date: 1941Artist: Murphy, Matt Size (in): 42” x 28.125”Size (cm): 106.7 x 71.4Condition: A-Linen backed: NoThis vintage original poster was created by US Navy artist Matt Murphey and issued in 1941 to help promote recruiting for the United States Navy. Murphey renders an image of a US Navy destroyer escorting an aircraft carrier with text that reads: Take The Wheel…steer a course for future success while serving your country in the United States Navy or the U.S. Naval Reserve The lower margin indicates an 11-17-1941 production date, less than three weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent American entry into WWII. The ship shown on the poster has a 440 hull number which makes it the USS Ericsson, a Gleaves-class destroyer commissioned for service with the US Navy in March 1941. The USS Ericsson earned three battle stars during WWII while serving as a convey escort and in the Operation Torch and Operation Dragoon amphibious invasions of North Africa and Southern France