G.I.

[Peter Richardson]

I sent some of the recent discussion about _jeep_ to my brother, who just
retired from the Army. He thanks you all and adds: Another is "G.I.",
which originally stood for "Galvanized Iron" which
was stamped into the bottoms of government garbage cans as early as 1936,
later used to describe the folks that cleaned them out with soap and high
pressure hoses.

I had always thought G.I. stood for Gov't Issue, but, upon checking
Wentworth/Flexner, DAS, find a reference to _G.I. can_, (that is, my
brother's definition) with a date of ca.  1920; the 'Gov't Issue' meaning
goes back to about 1935. Is there any more information about either of
these?

Peter Richardson