I was in the Army, but never found this out...

[ECKSJAY]

...about Marines. Why do they call them 'jarheads'?

WTF, Chuck?

 

[Shorty]

I always assumed the flat top just looked like a jar (upside down, obviously)

maybe I'll learn something new....

 

[AIbandit]

Ive heard the haircut but Ive also heard it had something to do with an old uniform.

 

[tbburg]

Any Marines want to chime in? This could get ugly if a bunch of us grunts start speculating,...

 

[AIbandit]

"the "jarhead" comes from the cover worn by the Continental Marines at the time of the Revolution"

 

[Shorty]

"the "jarhead" comes from the cover worn by the Continental Marines at the time of the Revolution"

sounds good to me (now all I've got to do is figure out who the Continental Marines were)

 

[AIbandit]

I read this one in multiple places I think it's correct

"The term JARHEAD comes from the COLLAR OF THE UNIFORM at about the same time as the term LEATHERNECK, THE THICK LEATHER COLLAR WAS AS SUCH THAT IT MADE THE TORSO LOOK LIKE A JAR,with the head as the lid, Thus the term Jarhead"

 

[Ray H]

The term "Jarhead" and "Leatherneck" comes from the uniforms. They used to have a stiff leather collar that stood up and protected the neck from sword blows. The modern Marine dress blue uniform sports a collar that stands up around the neck the same as the original.
"Devil Dog" came from an interpretation of what the Germans called Marines for their tenacity in battle.

EDIT: The term Jarhead may also have originated from the high and tight haircut or the helmet they wore that was produced by a mason jar company.

 

[AIbandit]

Before rubber was commonly available, the rings used to seal canning jars were made of leather. So the implication is that the Marine’s leather collar is akin to the leather sealing rings once used on canning jars,

 

[Ray H]

Haa... MP, you found the same site I did.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070724195729AAMsY0x

 

[AIbandit]

I found it on a forum and a marine lore website.

 

[hubs97xj]

Is that Revolutionary War era, or? I've heard the story behind "doughboy" (although I'm now seeing different ideas as to its origin", but hadn't heard "jarhead" or "leatherneck" broken down before.

 

[wolfpackjeeper]

I heard the head being the top of the jar thing, but also that the implied implication was true, Ie: Jar is empty, head is empty.

For the people who want to hate, a marine short colonel told me that a week or three ago.

 

[5-90]

I'd heard from a thirty-year Marine Warrant that they should properly be called "pinheads" - "because you can put something in a jar..."

 

[sherman08]

Lol