Is it true that the original G.I. Joe doll was modeled after an actual World War II Medal of Honor winner?
The original G.I. Joe, who reported for duty in 1964, wasn’t modeled on anyone in particular. The name came from the 1945 movie The Story of G.I. Joe. The film was a biography of real-life World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle, played by Burgess Meredith, as he followed a platoon fighting its way through Italy. Hasbro, G.I. Joe’s maker, has issued limited edition G.I. Joes that resemble actual Medal of Honor winners such as Roy P. Benavidez (near Loc Ninh, Vietnam, 1968) and Mitchell Paige (Solomon Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean, 1942). Armed forces segregated until ’48 I recently read an article about criticism of Clint Eastwood for not portraying black soldiers in his Iwo Jima films. Was the military segregated at the time? The U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting African-Americans on June 1, 1942. They served in segregated units until 1948, when President Truman signed the bill ending segregation in the armed forces. Almost 900 African-Americans fought in Iwo Jima, the battle depic
