A COVID-19 poster plastered across the Quantico, Virginia, Marine base is warning military personnel to be part of the “resistance” against COVID-19 and follow public health guidelines.
Resistance is not a common phrase across the Corps as America’s military has for the most part been the dominant force across the globe in the post-World War II era.
But with COVID-19 infecting local communities and pushing civilians to the front lines to combat the threat, Americans are amid a fight within their own towns and cities.
That’s what Navy veteran Andrea Robinson tried to capture when she splashed the word “resistance” on the cover of her poster — an nod to the French resistance against Nazi Germany during World War II, she told Marine Corps Times.
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“Marines are used to being on the front lines of the fight, but this time our health care workers and other essential workers are the ones out there risking their lives by facing exposure to the virus on a daily basis,” she said.
“Part of flattening the curve is following the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations, so I thought the posters were a cool way to remind everyone that doing their part to stop the spread can make a real difference,” she explained.
Robinson, who has been a graphic designer since 2010, said she made several other posters as well with a nod to World War II. She was an aviation electrician’s mate in the Navy for seven years, separating in 2010 and now works as a visual information specialist for the Marine Corps as a civilian.
One poster is captioned “dirty hands might sink commands” — a phrase reminiscent of the iconic WW II poster “loose lips might sink ships” that was came out of the then-U.S. Office of War Information.
Another poster created by Robinson shows the ever famous Uncle Sam wearing a mask and gloves calling on Marines and military personnel to don the same protective health equipment.
Robinson said part of her inspiration for the posters came from a Washington Post article detailing that WWII themed COVID-19 posters were trending.
She said the project only took a couple of days. Robinson said she used Adobe software, such as Illustrator and Photoshop, and she did research on CDC health guidelines and WWI and WWII posters.
“Social distance and resistance are the perfect rhyme, so that was an easy slogan, to be honest. It came together rather quickly,” Robinson said.
“I thought the posters were a cool way to remind everyone that doing their part to stop the spread can make a real difference,” she explained.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
