G.I. is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army".[1] It is mostly deeply associated with World War II,[2] but continues to see use.[3]
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.[2]
During World War I, U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German artillery shells 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 American enlisted man as a slang 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 by Dave Breger in Yank, 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 the NBC Radio Network and U.S. soldiers via the Armed Forces Radio Network.
"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.[3]
In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor, generally an NCO responsible for inducting and training recruits.[citation needed]
See also
edit- Greatest Generation, the social history of these veterans
- Digger (soldier) – A similar term used in Australia
- Doughboy
- Dogface (military)
- G.I. Bill, postwar benefits for veterans
- G.I. Blues (film)
- G.I. Generation
- G.I. Jane (film)
- G.I. Joe (pigeon) – birds used in World War II
- G.I. Joe (disambiguation)
- The Story of G.I. Joe (1945 film)
- Tommy Atkins (soldier) – British slang for a common soldier
References
edit- ^ "G.I. Definition from CollinsDictionary.com". Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Penguin Random House LLC. 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wilton, Dave (2 February 2009). "G.I. – Wordorigins.org". Word Origins. Wordorigins.org. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rawson, Hugh (April–May 2006). "Why do we say "G.I."?". American Heritage.
- ^ Rivas-Rodriguez, Maggie (11 November 2016). "A Soldier's Story: World War II and the Forgotten Battle for the Aleutian Islands". KUT (radio station). Retrieved 29 September 2018.
Further reading
edit- 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
edit- 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
