Happy 47th Birthday G.I. Joe!

G.I. Joe is from a line of 12 inch action figures produced by the Hasbro Toy Company.  America's movable fighting man was made from  1964 - 1969.

The initial product offered dolls in four branches of the U.S. Armed Forces:  A U.S. Army Soldier, a U.S. Navy Sailor, a Pilot from the U.S. Air Force and a Marine from the U.S.M.C.   

The term G.I. stands for Government Issue.  It became a generic term for U.S. soldiers, predating the action figures, especially for the ground forces. The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term “Action Figure.”