Wikipedia: G.I. Joe

"G.I. Joe! G.I. Joe! Fighting man from head to toe! On the land, in the sea, in the air . . . "

If you're old enough to remember JFK being assassinated, you know that song. It was played over and over while Saturday morning cartoons were being aired. Soon, every kid in town had their own plastic fighting man (don't even DREAM of calling it a doll!).

In fact, I was the first kid on my block in Miami, Oklahoma to get one.

The action figure drew kids together, as we would dig trenches and foxholes in the yard and fight out our battles. We either fought imaginary enemies (usually the Krauts, since we were also Rat Patrol fans), or some unlucky kid would have his Joe designated the enemy.

Frequently, he would meet his demise by hand grenade, causing his body to be flung as high into the air as a six-year-old could manage.

Today's FamilyFirst site is the Wikipedia entry on G.I. Joe.

I remember being puzzled by the appearance of Adventure Team Joes circa 1970. Of course, the truth is obvious now. Vietnam was on the minds of all, and Hasbro decided to take a different approach with their popular toy.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Joe is still around, now the Sigma 6 version.

Joe shrunk in the 70's, from "almost a foot tall!" as the commercials proclaimed to 3 ¾ inches tall by 1982. This followed a hiatus in Joe's production after the public ignored a smaller “Super Joe” version in 1978.

So get your old frogman outfit out, run some water in the bathtub, and relive your G.I. Joe memories, Boomers! Enjoy today's FamilyFirst choice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_Joe

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