The MILITARY TEE / KEEP ’EM FLYING is a classic ringer T-shirt cut from 100% 8 oz. cotton and constructed using 100% cotton sewing thread. The front graphic has been hand printed at our Kobe headquarters using traditional manual techniques, achieving the authentic texture and feel of vintage t-shirts. It has been replicated following original U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet recruitment material from 1941.

In early 1941, as the United States moved to rapidly expand the U.S. Army Air Corps in anticipation of war, the War Department tasked its recruiting service with creating a unifying slogan to encourage enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program. On May 17, 1941, Army chief recruiting officer Lt. Col. Harold N. Gilbert coined the phrase “Keep ’Em Flying,” later recalling that it arose spontaneously while developing a caption for a recruitment advertisement. The slogan was soon paired with a striking poster design in which bold red capital letters formed a circular rallying cry reading “LET’S GO! U.S.A. KEEP ’EM FLYING!” surrounding three blue pursuit aircraft and the caption “Uncle Sam Needs Pilots. Be a U.S. Army Flying Cadet.”

As the campaign gained momentum, variations of the design were produced for different Army Air Corps regions and distributed nationwide. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the slogan moved beyond official recruiting material and entered broader public and commercial use, becoming one of the most recognizable and enduring morale slogans of the Second World War. By late 1941, hundreds of thousands of posters, decals, cards, and stamps had been printed and circulated across the United States, appearing in recruiting offices as well as on public transport, in storefronts, and in newspapers.

And as we go through each day, Be thankful that we still can say, We’ll preserve our American way, If we KEEP ‘EM FLYING in every way.

100% Cotton Fabric, 8 oz.

Cotton Sewing Thread Construction

Hand Applied Print on Front

Made in Japan