March 4 - National Hug A GI Day

Well, I hugged my dad, a GI yesterday…today I am up in Traverse City helping to take care of my nephew. I sent a phone hug to my brother-in-law who is a GI, and a hug through my sister to her father-in-law who is also a GI – he said he LOVED it by the way!

The question was raised today what does GI stand for…the best we could come up with is Government Issued…but can a person be government issued….that just seems weird.

So I did some research:

From Wikipedia:

GI or G.I. is a term describing a US soldier or an item of their equipment. The term is often thought to be an abbreviation of "Government Issue" but the origin of the term is in fact "Galvanized Iron" after the letters "GI" that was stamped on US Army metal trash cans made from it. It was later assumed that GI stood for Government Issue and the term was applied to other equipment and the soldiers themselves. Alternative interpretations include General Infantry, Ground Infantry, General Invasion and Government Inductee.

My mom hugged my step-dad, a GI, today while they were on a WWII ship in Texas.

Hug these brave men and women and thank them for all they do!

Here is my virtual hug to all GI’s out there!