[BK001]

Ok, this technical talk is way over my tired brain. So I found this nothing less than very interesting and entertaining post on a website called Quora.com.

How did the term "squids" for US Navy sailors originate?

Comment Posted by:

Ed Covney, LCDR, USN, retired

"This is a no shi++er: (Which means its the God's honest, truth.) During WWII, sailors called Marines (and only Marines) "Jarheads". After considering the term for a few years, the Marines thought "Jarhead" was a term of endearment. But about 15 years later and before VN started, new Marines no longer considered it an endearing term, so they started calling sailors "squids". From about 1960 to 1975, a sailor who called a marine a "jarhead" or a marine who called a sailor a "squid" were actually using code words for, "I want you to start the fight". On amphibious ships (ships that taxied marines to their battle zones), an odd thing happened. Marines would bar room battle with (not against) their ship-mate sailors, and sailors likewise stood with their ship-mate marines. From about 1980 on, both terms became universal terms of endearment for all marines and sailors with a sense of humor.
Now that I've been retired for 28 years, I never call marine buddies jarheads unless we're sitting at a bar and it's the jarhead's turn to buy. Likewise, he'll never call me a squid, unless it's my turn."