G.I. is an informal term which refers to members of theUnited States Armed Forces, in particular theUnited States Army.[1] It is most deeply associated withWorld War II[2] and theKorean War,[citation needed] but continues to see use, for instance in theG.I. Joe comics, films, and toys franchise.[3] It was originally aninitialism used in U.S. Army paperwork for items made ofgalvanized iron.[2] The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906[3] or 1907.[2] DuringWorld War I, U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy Germanartilleryshells as "G.I. cans".[2][3] During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue"[2] or "general issue",[3] began being used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army,[3]e.g., "G.I. soap".[3] Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".[3]
The earliest known recorded instances of "G.I." being used to refer to an Americanenlisted man as aslang term are from 1935.[2] In the form of "G.I. Joe" it was made better known due to it being taken as the title of a comic strip byDave Breger inYank, the Army Weekly, beginning in 1942.[2] A 1944 radio drama,They Call Me Joe, reached a much broader audience. It featured a different individual each week, thereby emphasizing that "G.I. Joe" encompassed U.S. soldiers of all ethnicities.[4]They Call Me Joe reached civilians across the U.S. via theNBC Radio Network and U.S. soldiers via theArmed Forces Radio Network.Dwight D. Eisenhower would notably reference the term "G.I. Joe," who he described as the main hero of World War II, in his May 1945Victory in Europe Day address.[5] "G.I. Jane" originally referred to a member of theWomen's Army Corps during World War II, but more recently it is used to refer to any female American soldier.[3]
