The toy company Hasbro introduced its line of action figures, G.I. Joe February 2, 1964. Initially, it represented four branches of the US military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. The action figures were 12" in the beginning, but reintroduced in 1982 as a 3.75" scale and a background story involving the evil Cobra organization.
Since the mindset in the 60s was that boys did not play with dolls, parents wouldn't buy their sons dolls, since they were for girls. Hasbro always used the term "action figure" and never "doll" in the marketing of G.I. Joe.
I remember the sailor figure had a beard (I think). I enjoyed many hours of playing with my G.I. Joe toys. I watched the animated series in the 1980s some, and fell in love with Shipwreck. He's still my favorite even though he wasn't in the original release.
G.I. Joe was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Pop Culture Hall of Fame in 2017.
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