G.I. Joe®

Of all the toys I had as a kid, GI Joe was the stand-out. I was so fascinated with GI Joe and toy soldiers in general, that I joined the Army after I turned 18 and served for 9 years toward the end and after of the Vietnam war years.

GI Joe and his friends are still a significant part of my life as an adult collector with well over a thousand Joes and other 1/6th figures. Joe and I played in the backyard of my childhood home and throughout the house I grew up in, except for, perhaps, my parents bedroom--that was "off-limits" to my brother and I. Along with my brother and his Joes, we kept ourselves entertained for who-knows-how-many hours! Hundreds? Thousands?

We made settings for our Joes to play in. We built bunkers and war-torn buildings for Joes out of dirt, sticks, lumber and cardboard boxes. Once I fashioned the back yard into a jungle environment by digging a shallow trench through the tall grass and filling it with running water from the garden hose so Joe could fight in the jungle against the Joe Japanese soldier who was a WW 2 Japanese enemy for our Marines and a VietNamese enemy for our Green Beret soldiers. In winter, Joe fought against the German soldiers in the snow "mountains" we shoveled-up and made. We launched my brother's Joe Action Pilot off the back roof of our house as he "parachuted" to safety when his plane was shot-down by enemy fire, then we launched a ground mission for the other Joes to go find him and escort him back to home base before the enemy soldiers could locate and take him prisoner. Sometimes Joe was wounded in combat and the "medic" had to nurse him back to health. Sometimes several Joes that had been wounded were sent to the hospital and the medic had to operate, apply bandages, and splints for the Joes to recover.

We had a variety of small items we found or made for Joe, like string for rope, plus I asked my mother and she made for me winter camouflage outfits for my Army Joes! She used an old bedsheet and cut it up and made the "poncho-like" garments and a small piece of bedsheet to cover Joe's helmets! Years later I found out similar garments were improvised by GI's during WW 2! They used civilian bedsheets also!

For me, Joe was, and is still a very good friend with whom I had, and continue to have great adventures. Now, though, most of those Joe adventures take place in my imagination because as an older man I can't crawl around on the ground like I used to be able to do.

- Matthew, Olivet, Michigan

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

I'm currently 51 years old and collect GI Joes. I also take pics of GI Joes from time to time. My favorite scenes are in the water... He was my favorite toy as a youngster! So I hope he wins!

- Jim, Tyrone, PA

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

 

When I was a kid I loved GI Joe! He stood for all that was America. I remember going out in the yard with Joe and defeating all evil, be it the ruthless Nazis or Aliens from another planet.Through Joe, I was able to travel to the moon, through the pyramids of Egypt and save people in distress, without ever leaving my backyard. I still have my Joe's today!

- Charlie, Arbutus, MD

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.


 

GI Joe marks my first childhood memory. I was 4 or maybe 5 years old and for Christmas I got the toy I had been begging my parents for for months.

On Christmas morning I received a couple of Hard Hand GI Joes with life like hair, a handful of outfits, and the Holy Grail, a yellow Adventure Team helicopter.

I remember running around outside my grandparents home with that helicopter picking up things with the crane cable and generally adventuring around until I was exhausted.

The following 8 years or so found me with about a dozen Joes, including talkers which apparently didn't like swimming pools, and every sort of uniform and accessory I could get my hands on. Joe was the ultimate toy and was such a fond childhood memory that as an adult I amassed a collection of over 200 of the same figures I enjoyed as a child.

- Aaron,  Lompoc, CA

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.
 

The 1982-1994 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line definitely defined my childhood. I have so many amazing memories of playing with (and trading) Joes on the playground during Kindergarten up through the third grade. It wasn't just a playground pastime, though. What was especially neat about the Joes was that unlike some other toy lines I liked, every kid I knew was into Joes so there were always playing partners aplenty. Whether it was the person who lived next door or the person who sat on the pew next to me at church, Joe mania was sweeping the nation and there was just this palpable excitement over the line that was obvious among pretty much every male my age.

One of my favorite Joe memories was my buddy Ross coming over to my house with a Tupperware tote that was practically bigger than he was and dumping it out in the middle of my hallway floor. It was absolutely full of Joes! It was like Christmas day every time he brought them over and we did that week in, week out. We'd pick teams and then set up our armies throughout the house as well as out in the yard and in the trees. We had so many epic battles and it truly is a miracle that we didn't lose more figures than we did.

Another Joe-related highlight was anytime I went to the store and could just stare at the figures on the pegs for hours. I would read the file cards on the back of the packaging so that I could know everything there was to know about each and every guy. One of the neatest things about G.I. Joe is it's staying power and lasting influence. I put down my last G.I. Joe in 1993, but early last year after suffering a pretty devastating injury I had a dream about Joes out of the blue. I decided to unbox the ones I had in my attic then started looking the figures up on the internet. The memories came flooding back like they had never left. I saw so many figures that I always wanted but never had so I decided I would start collecting again and fulfill my childhood dreams 20+ years later. Having the Joe collecting to focus on really helped me through the depressing time where I couldn't get around and do all the normal things I loved to do. They helped keep my spirits up and sped me along on my road to recovery.

I've been back collecting Joes for almost a year and a half now and I've amassed close to 330 figures - so I'm 3/4 of the way toward completing the set. I still get just as excited about those little 3 3/4" guys now as I did when I was a six year old kid.

- Nathan, Garner, North Carolina

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

When I was very young, an older boy in the neighborhood gave me his small collection of G.I. Joe military figures. That was the early 70s, and I soon started collecting my own Adventure Team figures and accessories. It sparked my imagination for teamwork and adventure. My own children and I are collecting and building our own Adventure Team. Incedentally, that neighbor that got me started? His name was Joe!

- Kyle, Temple, TX

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

I had recieved a red hair G.I. Joe Sea Adventurer (hard hands) as my first Joe. I was a military kid so as I moved my friends would change, but my Joe was my constant companion who was always there for me. You could say he was my Woody (from Toy Story).

- Todd, Ewing, IL

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

G.I. Joe was one of my first toys. He was indestructible. I could throw him off cliffs (with or without a parachute) and he would survive. I could bury him under the dirt, and he would be able to hold his breath overnight. He could salute, throw a grenade, drive a Jeep, point at an enemy, even lose a limb and have it magically snapped back on again! I just recently sold my vintage G.I. Joe collection because of having to pay an outstanding debt, but I intend to buy them back again one at a time. They are a true representative of Truth, Justice, and The American Way.

- Dave, North Providence, RI

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

Hasbro designed the GI Joe when I was a kid. I thought they were the coolest toys. I could be a soldier, sailor, or Marine. Eventually I could be an airman and I could wage battle after battle, hour upon hour.

- Steve, Richmond, IN

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.
 

Hasbro designed the GI Joe when I was a kid. I thought they were the coolest toys. I could be a soldier, sailor or Marine. Eventually I could be an airman and I could wage battle after battle, hour upon hour.

- S. McFarland, Richmond, IN

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.

When I was young, I can recall having several favorite toys, but at a younger age, one of my most favorite was my G.I. Joe. Summers I could be found with Joe and his Dune Buggy vehicle having adventures in the back yard. Digging through the dirt and mud, sneaking through the tall grass, and advancing on the enemies that usually only existed in the imagination of a child, Joe and I made a team that was inseperable. I was later given the gift of a Headquarters, where Joe would plan his missions and then execute them on the battlefield. Even on rainy days, I could bring out Joe and have fun rapelling down the bedsheets or low crawling under the beds.

- Scott, Indianapolis

This story was submitted as part of the 100 Toys Project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Vote for your favorite and share a toy memory through Aug. 17, 2012.