Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #20 — page 45: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two World War I memorial poems, not cartoons. Both address fallen soldiers in Flanders Fields (Belgium, site of major WWI battles). Lt. Col. John McCrae's "The Anxious Dead" calls upon living soldiers to honor the dead and continue fighting with resolve. R.W. Lillard's "America's Answer" responds as if from American soldiers, reassuring the fallen that their sacrifice won't be forgotten and that "ten million hands" will carry forward the cause of freedom. The poems represent propaganda literature encouraging continued American commitment to WWI, using emotional appeals about sacrifice and duty. They reflect early 1900s patriotic rhetoric common in wartime publications aimed at maintaining public support for the war effort.