The Willkie campaign made much of the candidate's World War I military service (contrasted with Franklin Roosevelt, who had a desk job in the Navy Department and never saw combat). A strong show of support from Great War veterans (known to each other as "Buddies") was taken for granted. Though it wasn't enough to win the election, plenty of WWI vets did vote for their former comrade-in-arms, and quite a few of them wore this classic pinback.
