G.I. Explained
G.I. is an informal term which refers to members of the United States Armed Forces, in particular the United States Army.[1] It is most deeply associated with World War II and the Korean War, but continues to see use, for instance in the G.I. Joe comics, films, and toys franchise. It was originally an initialism used in U.S. Army paperwork for items made of galvanized iron.[2] The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906[3] or 1907. During World War I, U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German artillery shells as "G.I. cans". During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue" or "general issue", began being used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army, e.g., "G.I. soap". Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".
The earliest known recorded instances of "G.I." being used to refer to an American enlisted man as a slang term are from 1935. In the form of "G.I. Joe" it was made better known due to it being taken as the title of a comic strip by Dave Breger in Yank, the Army Weekly, beginning in 1942. 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 the NBC Radio Network and U.S. soldiers via the Armed 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 1945 Victory in Europe Day address.[5] "G.I. Jane" originally referred to a member of the Women's Army Corps during World War II, but more recently it is used to refer to any female American soldier.
See also
Further reading
- Cooke, James J. American girls, beer, and Glenn Miller: GI morale in World War II (University of Missouri Press, 2012) online.
- Kennett, Lee B. GI: The American Soldier in World War II (University of Oklahoma Press, 1997) online.
- Meyer, Leisa D. Creating GI Jane: Sexuality and power in the women's army corps during World War II (Columbia University Press, 1996) online.
- Piehler, G. Kurt. A religious history of the American GI in World War II (U of Nebraska Press, 2021) online.
- Sklaroff, Lauren Rebecca. "Constructing GI Joe Louis: Cultural solutions to the “Negro problem” during World War II." Journal of American History 89.3 (2002): 958-983. online
Primary sources
- McGuire, Phillip, ed. Taps for a Jim Crow Army: Letters from Black Soldiers in World War II (University Press of Kentucky, 1993). ISBN 0-8131-0822-5..
- Pyle, Ernie Here is your war: story of GI Joe (U of Nebraska Press, 2004) reprint of newspaper essays by famous war correspondent who focused on soldiers' life online.
- Shapiro, Lisa K. No Forgotten Fronts: From Classrooms to Combat (Naval Institute Press, 2018) ISBN 9781682472729. Letters from GIs to college professor; primary sources; online book review
Notes and References
- Web site: 2019. G.I. Definition from CollinsDictionary.com. 11 November 2023. Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Penguin Random House LLC.
- Web site: Wilton. Dave. 2 February 2009. G.I. – Wordorigins.org. 11 November 2023. Word Origins. Wordorigins.org.
- Web site: Hugh . Rawson . Why do we say "G.I."? . American Heritage . 57 . 2 . April–May 2006.
- Web site: Rivas-Rodriguez . Maggie . A Soldier's Story: World War II and the Forgotten Battle for the Aleutian Islands . 11 November 2016 . . 29 September 2018.
- News: Eisenhower Hails 'G.I Joe' As Hero. She Is Proud Of Her Nation. New York Times. May 9, 1945. April 11, 2025.
