US Retailers for Victory poster of the carrier Shangri-La on a red, white, and blue background

Red, white, and blue poster with the aircraft carrier Shangri-La from the Retailers for Victory poster series issued by the US Treasury Department to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. In 1943, there was a War Stamp Drive to support the construction of the aircraft carrier Shangri-La. The ship was laid down by the Norfolk Navy Yard, in Portsmouth, VA, on January 15, 1943 and launched on February 24, 1944. It saw service in the Pacific Theater, and its aircraft bombed many Japanese cities in 1945 on the northern Japanese main islands, Hokkaido and Honshu, including Tokyo. During World War II, war bonds were issued by the government to help pay for the war effort. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75 which would help pay the military’s expenses. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. For people who could not afford $18.75, war stamps could be bought, starting at 10 cents, and saved to purchase a war bond. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased $185.7 billion dollars of bonds.