The bulk of the poster contains the signatures of the traveling press corps that covered Sen. John Kerry as he traveled around the country on the Boeing 757-236 jet aircraft. Unfortunately, over the years, the marking pens used to sign the banner have bled into the poster, making some of the signatures difficult to read.

The phrase “Reporting for Duty” that appears in the top middle section of the poster is a reference to remarks that the senator made at his acceptance speech during the Democratic National Convention in Boston. He began his speech by introducing himself, saluting the crowd and then saying, “Reporting for duty!” (As the press corps, we were “reporting” for duty.)

Near the center of the poster, the words “NO CREW LEFT BEHIND” are printed. This is a reference to a more controversial part of Kerry’s campaign, where he ran ads about his military service in the Navy and combat experience in Vietnam. The spots highlighted a rescue he performed and medals he’d received while on swift boat duty during the war. (Where he didn’t leave a fellow crew member behind. For our purposes, it referred to the camera crews.)

Opponents said the medals weren’t earned and the military record was exaggerated. Those charges were never proven. The term “swiftboating” was coined during the campaign, while the allegations were being investigated. The political attacks most likely took a toll on his election results. After the campaign Kerry wrote in his autobiography that he was upset that his running mate, John Edwards, didn’t provide more support against the “swiftboating” attacks.

At the bottom of the poster is the phrase, “I’m John Kerry and I don’t approve any of these people”. Below that is the signature of the candidate, John Kerry, in big, bold letters.
On the final flight of the campaign I collected the poster and added it to the collection.

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