A young woman in a white blouse and a red bandana with white polka dots looks out to the left, a wrench in her gloved hand and a machine gun on the bench in front of her. Behind her, painted in cool blues, a soldier in a steel helmet charges forward with his rifle. A red band across the bottom carries the line: “The girl he left behind” is still behind him. She’s a WOW.
Who were the WOWs?
WOW stood for Woman Ordnance Worker. The Army’s Ordnance Department supplied weapons and ammunition to the whole Army, and as men went overseas it hired women in huge numbers. About 85,000 women worked directly for Ordnance, filling shells, making bombs, running cranes and milling machines and testing guns. They wore bandannas made to an Army specification, so they could be recognised on the job, and an Ordnance badge known as the “shell and flame”.
Turning the song around
“The girl I left behind me” was an old marching song about a soldier’s sweetheart waiting at home. Treidler’s title twists it: the girl he left behind is still behind him, but now she is backing him up from the factory floor. The two figures are arranged so the soldier seems to spring from her work.
The artist
Adolph Treidler was born in Westcliffe, Colorado, in 1886. He studied at the California School of Design and with Robert Henri in New York, and became a busy illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s and Collier’s. He drew advertising for Pierce-Arrow cars and the French Line, and his 1930s posters for Bermuda helped build the island’s tourist trade. In the First World War he drew women munitions workers, and in the Second he chaired the Society of Illustrators’ war poster committee and produced at least five WOW posters for the Ordnance Department. He died in 1981.
The poster
The Library of Congress holds a copy under call number POS – US .T74, no. 5, published by the Ordnance Department, Army Service Forces, and printed by the Government Printing Office in 1943, without copyright notice.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from a photograph of an original print. The colour was cleaned and brought back, with folds, stains and wear removed, and the artist’s signature and lettering kept from the original. It is available as a paper print in three sizes or framed in black, white or natural wood, printed to order in the USA.
Frequently asked questions
Who painted the She’s a WOW poster?
Adolph Treidler (1886 to 1981), an American illustrator and poster artist. It was issued by the Army’s Ordnance Department in 1943.
What does WOW stand for?
Woman Ordnance Worker. About 85,000 women worked directly for the Army’s Ordnance Department making and testing weapons and ammunition.
What does “the girl he left behind” mean?
It is a line from an old song about a soldier’s sweetheart waiting at home. The poster turns it around: she is still behind him, supporting him from the factory.
What sizes are the prints?
Paper prints are 11.7 × 16.5, 20 × 28 or 23.4 × 33.1 inches; framed prints are 12 × 17, 20 × 28 or 23 × 33 inches, in black, white or natural wood.
Historical sources
- Library of Congress: “The girl he left behind” is still behind him, She’s a WOW
- Library of Congress blog: Posters with a WOW factor
- U.S. Army: WOW, Women Ordnance Workers
- Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications entry
- Wikipedia: Adolph Treidler