The title of this print comes from a traditional popular American folk tune "The Girl I Left Behind" also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me" that some historians date to as early as 1650 in the American Colonies, but became popular during the American Civil War with both sides having their own version.
The song saw some revival during WWII, and the public would have been familiar with the reference.
As Treidler illustrated in every WOW poster he created, the designated symbol for the WOW is a red and white handkerchief or a bandanna worn tied over a woman’s hair as a method for keeping their hair out of the machinery and to specifically identify her as a WOW. The pattern on the official WOW kerchief material is not polka dots, but is based on the symbol of the exploding cannon ball that is part of the logo for the U. S. Ordnance Department. When their kerchief was paired with a blue all-purpose coverall, those WOW’s were nothing if not patriotic. (Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, Norman Rockwell Museum)
