Query: "military brat" prior to 1981?

[Charles C Doyle]

"Army brat" is much older--probably (in many instances) "army" having the generic sense of 'military'.

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Cohen, Gerald Leonard [gcohen at MST.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 12:26 PM


I've received an inquiry about "military brat."  OED3 gives 1981 as its first attestation.  Can any earlier attestations be located?
And what might have occurred in 1981 to catapult the term into popular consciousness?

Any help would be much appreciated.

G. Cohen
P.S. For easy access, here's what OED3 has about the term:
1) The Oxford English Dictionary (3rd edition; online) says of "military
brat":

military brat n. N. Amer. colloq. a child with a parent, or parents, in the
armed forces; esp. one who exhibits behavioural problems associated with the
unsettled and itinerant nature of military life.
1981    N.Y. Times <javascript:void(0)>  11 Oct. vii. 36/3   Arias's style
reflects his cosmopolitan background-his travels with his family as a
*military brat, his education in urban schools and at Berkeley [etc.].
1991    M. E. Wertsch Military Brats <javascript:void(0)>  x. 321   But both
overachievement and underachievement by military brats can be read as
efforts by outsiders to reach out for recognition.
2000    Ottawa Sun <javascript:void(0)>  (Electronic ed.) 3 Aug. 16   It's
been several decades since they last saw their friends. This won't affect
spirits, they say, because no one knows how to party like military brats.

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