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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Prior to WWII the United States military forces were issued steel "dishpan" helmets. When you see films of Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, and the United States Forces fighting in the Phillipines (sp?) they are wearing the dishpan helmet...considered by the War Department to be an outdated relic of WWI...The Marine Corps wanted to keep it...it was familiar, lighter than the newly issued two part helmet (Steel cover and fiber liner). The rational was that the liner (much lighter than the dishpan helmet) could be used for garrison or post duty and only covered what has become popularly known as the "steel pot" when in combat or training simulating combat. The Marines, then a segmented part of the Navy did not want many things that were determined by the War Department to be "best for everybody". For example the Marines wanted the Johnson 30 cal rifle over the Garand M-1 (that's why after the war, every issue of the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN has a half dozen adds for dirt cheap Johnson 30 cal. hunting conversions) Next, the Marine Corps wanted the 45 cal Rising gun over the Thompson 45 submachine gun (Tommy gun). You can see Marines with Rising guns in the early stages of the Pacific War....They later compromised of the use of the 30 cal carbine as their preferred weapon. You can find Rising guns all over Europe because we dropped them to the resistence fighters, partisan forces, underground and guarilla units. My father-in-law had two qand a couple of Stens air dropped to his "boys in the woods" unit. So the Marines wanted to keep their WWI flat helmets. Neither helmet would stop a bullet...it was intended to deflect falling debris churned up by an artillery barage. It preformed that function according to the Marine Corps as well as the two part bulky helmet. Some Marine Corps general...famous general made a derrogatory comment about the new proposed issue, (I think it was Gen. Smedly Butler, holder of two Congressional Medals...."The goddam thing makes a Marine look like the sonuvabitch has a slop jar on his head." A slop jar for those of you who are not aquianted with the term...is an under-the-bed potty used for going to the bathroom at night. It didn't take long for the lads in the Army to take the term and turn it on the Marines and they became "slop jar heads"....Terms like "Hey, Potty Princess" and "Slop Jar Suzy" were common up to the bloody fighting at Guatalcanal where the term lost popularity out of respect. Inter service rivalry brought it back after the war condensed to simply JARHEAD. In high school I lived for two years next to then Major General Wallace Greene later Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps...then promoted to Commandant. I believe it was his son or nephew who died in Viet-Nam. His son was a Marine aviator. Anyway someone from the general's hometwon sent him a copy of the obituary from his howntown newspaper and it read something like JARHEAD DIES IN ACTION....The General went absolutely NUTs. "How could they do that? Goddamit How could they do that? My son was a MARINE...They could call him a LEATHERNECK, that's a perfectly acceptable term...but SLOP JAR HEAD...Goddamit, that's wrong." Of course nobody can accurately remember exact words from 40 years ago, but that's essentially what he said. I had been taught that using the term was wrong and an insult...but until that afternoon, I didn't know the history and reason....It's worse than swab jockey, squid...CrackerJack boy and Anchor Cranker, General Greene told me that the General who said that the helmet reminded him of a slop jar, regreted having used the term the rest of his life and abhorred the term until the day he died...he hated being the father of that derrogatory expression. By the way, British troops used the dishpan helmet through WWII and up until the early 60's. DEX |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1455
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
That was interesting. All this time I thought is was from some of the comic books of WWII and some WWII posters showing thick necked Marines with the high and tight haircuts. From the shoulders up they looked just like a jar. maybe I heard the derogatory version I just don't remeber when and the context of the jarhead term I knew. |
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Plankowner
Posts: 5024
Location: Gulfport, MS | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Sometimes it isn't too smart to use that term... here is an example of one of those times that I'm very familiar with:
Submarine Bae, Groton, CT - January 9, 1961 - "The cab stopped at the main gate and the marine on watch opened the door and started shaking me and yelling "Wake up and show some ID!" I was alone in the cab, didn't know how I got there or where I had been. I did know that I didn't want to listen to any more of this clowns mouth and I told him so. Before I knew it the marines had me out of the cab and heading for the Gate House with both arms twisted up my back. "Corporal of the Guard, Post Number One!" Suddenly a full-corporal appeared to take charge of the situation. Now I was really impressed. The gate guards slammed me into a chair and the corporal told me to sit there and shut up while they wrote me up.
Sitting in the chair seemed like a good idea, as I was too drunk to stand for very long. As for being quite, no way. I didn't need to stand up to tell him what I thought of all marines, their parents, and anyone else that would associate with seagoing-bellhop ass-holes. Pointing out what I considered to be one of their greatest accomplishment; their guarding Navy gates for over 200 years without ever losing one, really didn't seem to endear me to their hearts. The entire time I was talking I could see a private at a desk writing as fast as he could. "Sergeant of the Guard, Post Number One!"
It took the sergeant a little longer to get there than it had the corporal, as he was somewhere else on the base. He soon came strutting through the front door like he owned the place. He was asking questions and giving orders like he was God. You could tell that he actually believed that he was, and it was obvious that is the way the marines in the room viewed him, as that is how they reacted to his "presence." For some reason, he didn't impress me anymore than the rest of them had, although I will say he looked very important in his chrome helmet and triple-soled spit-shined shoes.
Now I was raised not to wear my hat in the house, so I wasted no time telling him how ignorant he was for failing to take that chrome ‘piss pot’ off his head while he was inside. For some reason that I couldn't understand, this seemed to make him very mad. With hands on hips, he leaned right down into my face and started yelling like you see them do in the movies to the recruits on Paris Island. This struck me funny and I started to laugh. The more I laughed the madder he got; the madder he got the more I laughed.
In order to save face in front of his men, he told me that he had enough of my mouth and the next time I laughed I would be sorry, or something like that. I told him I had enough of his mouth too, and I was tired of waiting for him to take his helmet off. With that said, I jumped up and grabbed his helmet and started "unscrewing" it off his head. I only got about a turn and a half before the whole world fell on top of me. "Officer of the Guard, Post Number One!"
This guy was really pissed by the time he arrived. It was obvious that they had woke him up. By the time he got there they had me handcuffed and shackled to the chair. He asked me what I thought I was doing when I attacked the Sergeant of the Guard? I told him all I was doing was trying to unscrew his helmet so I could see the threads on his head. It went downhill from there.
Several days later I went to Captain's Mast. The marines were there in force to testify to my indiscretions. I was standing at attention across the green cloth from Captain Woods, who was sitting. Captain Woods began to read the charges, and there were a lot of them. They must have had somebody taking short hand the whole time I was running my mouth , as it was all there. When the Captain got to the part "and then Petty Officer Henry leaped from his chair and started unscrewing the Sergeant of the Guard's helmet to check the threads on his head" he lost it. He threw the charge sheets on the table looked me in the eye and said "Henry, get the hell out of here!" I didn't have to be told twice. I was in the after torpedo room before anyone even knew I was gone.
I don't know what Captain Woods told those marines, nor what the COB (Pappy Bettis) told KW after they left, but I never heard another word about the incident. Nothing! And I didn't ask, either. All I can say is I'm thankful that we had Kenny Woods for our skipper and Pappy Bettis was still our COB!"
Kenneth C. (Pig) Henry
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
In April 1962 I think they were still pissed at you. While in Sub School we were told to not treat the gate guards like that or there would be hell to pay.
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1405
Location: Houston, TX (Best state in the US) | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Damn, that was funny! |
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Senior Crew
Posts: 214
Location: Ladson SC | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Tim that was the same warning that I got in April 62 when I arrived in Nlon for subschool. If I remember correctly the pond was frozen and the marines were (as usual) in a foul mood. |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
What class/section were you in?
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Senior Crew
Posts: 214
Location: Ladson SC | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Tim
I was in class 256 Section 102. I recall that we had two guys with orders to Thresher. One of them wanted me to trade orders with him. I thought long and hard about doing so but decided against it. |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
I was in class 255 section 132 and graduated in July 1962. They lost my dream sheet so did not cut me orders with my class. I had to re-submit it and as my class departed I reported to the COBs office and was a runner for two weeks. Great two weeks as I had graduated and the staff treated me differently. The following class had a guy who bought a 1957 Ford convertible and was driving to California so I joined him and another guy for the trip. To this day I can't remember their names and that is after driving straight through with them for 4 days.
T.Spoon, DBF |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
I was in Class 182 Diving section 121...When I went to SubSchool, Base Naval Personnel manned the gate. I know because I stood watch as the duty "step n' fetch it", master go-fer, broom operator and coffee maker. The crews that ran the gate office were relaxed to the one point above the becoming silly putty. At one point we got another guy...a two week reservist out of Boston. He got my job and this CPO who was the head honcho, elevated me to be the guy who went out to a car seeking a temporary pass, with a clipboard and write down the color, make of vehicle, license plate number...state the plate represented on the pass and take it in to give it to driver who filled in his name, address and fill out the rest of the information blanks and hand it to the CPO who signed on the line marked AUTHORIZED BY with his name, rate and date. Guys with clipboards looked very official and important and got to wear a white pistol belt that made you feel very important...as important as a guy five weeks out of Great Lakes could feel. There were Marines there but I have no idea what in the hell they did except they came running by at double time our barracks at some time in the morning when only burglars and bad wimmin were up and they had some fellow with a guidon leading the mob and some non-com yelling to trigger some reponse from the poor misguided souls he was herding around the base. Some SubSchool idiot in Barracks 142 yelled the old "I'd rather have a sister that was a whore, than a brother in the Corps" that got us one of Chief Bates molten lava butt chewings. I remember that the Marines wore light tan shorts with web belts, white t-shirts, lace-up boots and a Rama of the Jungle pith helmet...and they really looked sharp. When you saw them at the geedunk in Dealey Center they were in green pants, tan web belts and shirts with ribbons and three sharp creases down the back of their shirts, high gloss Lincoln brand shoe polish buffed up shoes, and wearing their piss-cutters with black Marine eagle, globe and anchors pinned on. They looked sharp and you knew, they knew it. DEX |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
When did they start issuing those white helmet liners to the base SPs or Marine's? When the Tirante went to Groton for tube alignments after the yards in 1965 a couple of our guys had a hard time with them. Seems if you called them 'bubbleheads' due to the white painted helmet liners they wore they took exception to it. They were the same guys who would write you up for needing a hair cut as you went through the door to the barber shop. And God forbid if they caught you on the upper base in dungrees, that was a cardinal sin. No matter if you were on a working party doing dirty work they wanted you in whites.
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Plankowner
Posts: 5024
Location: Gulfport, MS | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
In those days all the piers were still wood and the "law of the wooden pier" was alive and well. It didn't matter how dirty you were, what you had done to get the attention of the Marines on patrol in their little grey pick up trucks, how bad they wanted you... if you could make it to the wood with both feet they had to stop their chase. The wood belonged to the boats tied to it... not the base. When you came out of the bilges to go over to the next pier to bum something it was kind of like a school kid getting ready to cross the street... wander up to the point where the wood met the concrete... look both directions to see where "they" were... do some mental caculations time/distance etc... and then run like hell to see if you could make it "to the wood" on the next pier before they tackled you. It was a fun game... I think the Marines enjoyed it too (especially when thay caught one of us), but they would never amit it. |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2253
Location: Foothills of the Ozarks | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
TSpoon - 2009-09-01 6:39 PM
I was in class 255 section 132 and graduated in July 1962. They lost my dream sheet so did not cut me orders with my class. I had to re-submit it and as my class departed I reported to the COBs office and was a runner for two weeks. Great two weeks as I had graduated and the staff treated me differently. The following class had a guy who bought a 1957 Ford convertible and was driving to California so I joined him and another guy for the trip. To this day I can't remember their names and that is after driving straight through with them for 4 days.
T.Spoon, DBF
Tim:
We passed each other in Sub School; I was in Class 259 Section 437 and graduated in September 1962
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Doc, the way they screwed up my orders I might have still been there when you came through. The COB told me that since they made the mistake I was almost assured of getting my first choice of home port. Being from California I put in for San Diego and Pearl. My orders came in for the USS Balao SS-285 out of Key West. The COB said, "Well that is the Navy way", LOL. The Balao did have a great history in the movies.LOL
Then a year or so later after dropoping out of Nuc school at Bainbridge I again put in for San Diego and Pearl. Of cuorse I got the Tirante ot of Key West.
Looking back I was very lucky as I had joined to see the world and got three sojourns to Gitmo and a few side trips to Jamaica, cruised up and down the east coast, a yard overhaul in Portsmouth, VA, and a Med cruise. All before I swapped to San Diego to the Ronqil and got to visit the land of the rising sun.
From about Oct 1965 to March 1967 I was in Gitmo, the Med, and West Pac. Talk about fun.
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2253
Location: Foothills of the Ozarks | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Sounds familiar; I put in for Diesel Boats out of Key West, San Diego and Pearl; I got Fast Attack out of State Pier, New London. Then out of HM "A" I put in for anesthesiology school at Bainbridge and I got New London, CT. Then I put in for SubMedTech and I got FMF. Finally got to SubMedTech in 1968, graduated and put in for Fast Attack and WesPac and you guessed it; FBM out of New London/Holy Loch.
That must have been you at the other table in the geedunk bitching about how the Navy operates; you're right we probably did pass each other, great days weren't they?
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1814
Location: Boydton, Virginia | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Summer 0f '62. A vintage year indeed for training Bubbleheads extroidnare!!
I graduaded July '62 from Class 255, section 131.
I put in for a boat out of New London, so naturally they assigned me to one out of Key West. I was too young and dumb to use reverse psycology on detailers back then. Oh well, we had a good time in 'Ol Key Oassia, didn't we Tim!
Steamboat sends |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
That we did Steamboat, That we did.
Who knew in Sub School (same class different sections) that we both would ride the Balao to Gitmo for her last sojourn and then meet up again 40 years later at the Bash.
Briana is putting her Cowboy and Submarine heritage to good use as she does not tell us much due to the nature of her assignment. I wish I knew but I understand the nature of the security.
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 811
Location: NW Connecticut | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
I think the term "Jarhead" has become a term of endearment in the Corps. I also thought it was their hair do that got them the name. They all refer to each other as such and there's even a wine company that's owned by old Marines that makes a wine the call "Jarhead Red". All or most of the profits go to support Marine families etc.
Because of the traditional inter service rival we always bashed each other with Terms like "Gyreene" Mud pusher" Bullet magnet" and of course Jar Head.. While we were called Squids, Sewer Pipe Sailors, Whale s**t, Swabby etc etc.. I think as long as there is more than one military service they will have terms of endearment for each other. Like our "Pommy and Ozzy" shipmates. Let us not forget the Airdales, Grunts and Puddle Pirates...Being a old sewer pipe sailor I much didn't care what a Jarhead was,, I just knew it was a Marine,
Our regular greetings at the Local VFW will go something like Hi swabby.. Wz up?? Hi you old Grunt not much how about you....? All in good jest..among very good friends and comrades. But don't let a non Veteran get into the name calling eh?  I'll wager it's safer for one Jarhead to call another one a Jarhead.. 
Edited by Smiley 2009-09-02 6:26 PM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1796
Location: Albany, GA. | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Did anybody ever get their first choice on a dream sheet, without reupping to get it? As for M (my) A (ass) R (rides) I (in) N (Navy) E (equipment). Taught to me by a Marine Gunny. Me, I was Squid. |
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Old Salt
Posts: 489
Location: San Freakcisco CA area | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Marines are good things to have around -- everyone ought to own at least one! Well, having them for close-in relatives like uncles and cousins proved to be good for me anyway! I had an older cousin who enlisted in the USMC right out of high school and eventually received a commission as a 1st LT. Our paths crossed some years later after he made captain and ran the brig at Yokosuka -- We had just pulled in through two typhoons, all beaten to hell, scruffy, beards, oil-soaked Wellies, and tattered dungarees, but very anxious to hit the hot spots in town. Except our guys had to get past the Marines at the front gate -- twice -- once outbound and with even more difficulty many hours later while inbound, heading back to the sensigan piers. I had just gotten relieved as duty officer that morning and decided to go explore the cultural attractions of beautiful downtown Yokosuka. As I got to the main gate outbound on my mission of expanding my educational horizions, I spotted about 6 or 7 of our crew who had been out all night, trying to get back aboard the base in order to hit the COB's slush fund, shower, and get all slicked up for another full day (and night) of liberty. The Marine faithfully guarding the gate was, of course, issuing rations of crappola by the bucket, so I decided to observe a bit more closely as the drama unfolded before my astonished eyes. Now, admittedly, diesel boat sailors will not win many fashion awards for squared-away uniforms, especially whites that have been naugahyde-pressed under your bunk, absorbing eau d'diesel for 90 days. And, admittedly, our guys did look a bit frayed around the edges. But this Marine E-2 with an overinflated god complex had gone beyond the bounds of being a simple a**hole - he was at the point of being outrageous in wielding his tinhorn authority over the main gate, screaming and shouting, hurling insults that nobody deserved - not even a gaggle of surly, badly hungover, scruffy boat sailors who were at the very edge of losing that modicum of restraint that DBFers were otherwise quite well known to possess. So I offered a beneficial suggestion to the lad - which instantly established me as a lightning rod for his wrath. After a couple additional minutes of abuse, I insisted upon the Marine Officer of the Day being summoned to the main gate -- NOW. Some E-5 sergeant whatever presented himself - and I told him that when I said officer, that is exactly what I meant, not some non-com. The call then went out for one Captain Duddy - a Marine who would surely know how to handle this mutinuous mob at the main gate - and more to the point, this obnoxious person who was demanding his presence. Captain Duddy appeared in due course, much to the obvious delight of the Marine detachment who was guarding either the JN population of Yokusuka, or the virginity of the US&N folks on base, I'm not sure which. If either. Our Marine friends literally drooled in anticipation as Captain Duddy got out of the passenger side of that USMC pickup truck, scowl on his face and smoke coming out of his ears to be sure because someone had interrupted his morning crumpets and tea, obviously intent upon completing his repast by eating, in proper USMC fashion, the asses out of several submarine sailors who were interrupting the good order of the main gate. "Jaysus H. Christ!! I should have known you were in the middle of this cluster-****, SOB! How the hell are you?" says this fire-breathing USMC mustang Captain Liam Patrick Duddy. Smirks and smiles quickly evaporated on our Marine friends' faces as the boat sailors began to wonder WTF?? Yup -- Cousin Bill unwittingly came to our rescue! After a brief interlude in which some USMC attitude adjustments occurred, a van was summoned and our guys were given a ride back to the barracks they had use of while we were in port. From that day forward until we completed our 7-1/2 month deployment and headed back stateside, anyone wearing a VOLADOR unit patch - or even smelling of diesel oil -- got hassle-free treatment at the hands of our USMC friends at the main gate. What a bunch of really compassionate, understanding guys! Some time later, my cousin was promoted to major and he told me that was the biggest demotion he ever had --- in civilian clothes, he as "Captain Duddy" could call the motor pool for a car, whatever, and because he was on a Navy base, the natural assumption was that he was a O-6 US&N captain instead of a mere USMC O-3 captain. So, as I said, Marines are good things to have around.
Edited by SOB490 2009-09-03 7:15 AM
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
I got a personal e-mail telling me that the Marine General who made the "slop jar" comment may have been "Howling Mad" Smith USMC after Wake Island. The Marines desperately wanted to keep their dish pan helmet issue. Because of a kind of solidarity with the men who initially stood up to the Jap onslaught at Corregidor, Guatalcanal and Wake...They never saw the necessity in the changeover...especially since the British, Australian (make that ANZAC) and Canadian troops wore that dishpan helmet all the way through the war. The Marines liked the way you could cock the things over one eye and look rakish as hell. In short, they loved that damn helmet....dating back to WWI. DEX |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2253
Location: Foothills of the Ozarks | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"; even the Marines don't know for sure
Scandalously purloined from a USMC BBS
JARHEAD
Regarding the term Jarhead, all are well aware of the explanations for the origins for this name for Marines--that it found its origins in the high, dress blues, collar of the Marine uniform, that it refers to the similarity to a Mason jar, the "high and tight" haircut of Marines, and that the term was first used for Marines by members of the U.S. Navy, etc. The following, my own information, from my own experiences and opinions only are presented here for your perusal. I do not insist that anybody accept these explanations over any other, you may accept/reject any or all of the following as you please. Hopefully, old salts viewing this, with knowledge and experience far superior to mine, may have further information and/or dissenting opinions on these things. I am always happy to hear from you, either bt e-mail or simply by posting to my Old Salt Marines Tavern messageboard/forum.
All this may be, and may well have become later additions to these stories, we don't know for sure with absolute accuracy how these things really come to be. So there is always some room for question, doubt, and opinions contrary to the prevailing explanations.
When I was a brand new, young PFC in 1952, first reporting to Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California (no zip code) after graduating boot camp, (yes, that's how my orders were worded)I was soon to learn of a different origin for the term Jarhead.
I found myself among many Marines with many years service in the Corps, most of these being Staff NCOs. Some of these Marines had had service as far back as the pre-WW II "Banana Wars," but most were at least WW II or Korean War veterans.
On one or two occasions I was overheard discussing Marine Corps lore with other boots, and corrected by one or more of the old salts. In particular, I was told that the term Jarhead originated in the Corps back in the days when mules were still used. As anyone who has ever watched an old western movie knows, mules were often referred to as Jughead. The oldtimers insisted that Marines also referred to their mules as Jughead and/or Jarhead. Over time, certain stubborn or hard to deal with Marines were also called Jarheads.
There it is, take it or leave it. Myself, I can accept the above as the origin for the term Jarhead, and still see how the newer explanations also became attached to the legend and became the sole existing explanation. We May never know for sure.
While we're at it here, here's some more information--food for thought--on the same topic. This one was posted to one of the GyG messageboards, and at least it does provide a reference for its remarks.
" The Wordwizard Clubhouse
jarhead
marines are called this . why?
JUGHEAD originally meant mule. ‘Jughead’ dates back to the late 19th century when it meant fool and by the 1910’s it had come to be a general term of abuse and also referred to a mule whose large chunky head denoted stubbornness and stupidity.
JARHEAD started out as meaning mule probably ultimately from the pronunciation of ‘jawhead.’ In 1899 the mule became the mascot of the Army football team (to counteract the Navy goat) which could have had something to do with the military relationship. Of course a military icon wouldn’t have been picked for its stupidity so it is said that it was chosen as the mascot because ‘it reflects the long-standing usefulness of the animal in military operations -- hauling weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Strong, hearty, and persevering, the mule is truly an appropriate symbol for the Corps of Cadets.’ There are those who think that the term ‘leatherneck comes from the idea of the neck of the mule, but that term actually derives from the leather-lined collar which was formerly part of the uniform (1910-15).
Jarhead and jughead eventually merged to become slang synonyms for marine. Jughead was originally used to refer to members of a machine-gun company in WWI (‘the JUGHEAD gunners had it off the tripod and were tapping heads with it’). Before WWII JARHEADS was already in widespread use. A 1933 article stated ‘the [Marine] sergeants …moved into the second class cabins, and it took three days and a squad of JARHEADS to get them and their baggage moved to the troop class.
Dictionaries and military history websites seem to give varying explanations for the origin of JARHEAD. In addition to the above ideas, here are a few more:
A U.S. Marine. Perhaps from the shape of the hat the Marines once wore. (American Heritage Dictionary of English)
A slang term used by sailors as early as World War II to refer to members of the Marine Corps, drawing the term from the resemblance of the Marine dress blues uniform, with its high collar, to a Mason jar which at the time was made from blue glass. (military history website)
GRUNT, or Marine. Reportedly, due to the "high and tight" haircut favored by many marines; it looks as if someone put a bowl on the victim’s head and cut or shaved off all the hair that protruded.
Note: Definitions, dates, and quotes were assembled from Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, various ('repectable-looking) websites."
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 561
| Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Hey Doc, Hope this address takes you to the proper site.
http://www.gnn.com/article/female-medic-sally-clarke-saves-seven/653488?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl4|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gnn.com%2Farticle%2Ffemale-medic-sally-clarke-saves-seven%2F653488
Another Medic performes above and beyond. And she is cute.lol
T.Spoon, DBF |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2253
Location: Foothills of the Ozarks | Subject: RE: Meaning of term "Jarhead"
Thanks; great article. Proud to belong to the same fraternity.
Ask any Corpsman/Medic and they will tell you "just doing my job"
And a fantastic job she did;
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Meaning of term "Jarhead"
