Where did the military term joe come from?

Answer 1

• Servicemen in WWII were infatuated with Marilyn Monroe, these young men barely out of school and often first time away from their families, often hung posters of her provided by military in their bunks on ships. Also, since 1914 the military adopted a zero tolerance for tarnishing the image of the USA by consorting with "working girls" (of the oldest profession). With official rules being in contradiction with young passions, they did anyway. The trick was to never use their real names. And since Marilyn Monroe was often their fantasy, and Joe DiMaggio was married to her and also a Baseball star (sport well liked by young men in those years); they often used "Joe" as their alias - Imagining their "date" as Marilyn and themselves Joe. So popular was this alias that "working girls" would announce their services by saying, "Hey, Joe." as military columns passed their villages. At first, only "working girls" and their sons would say it. For other towns people it was not. However, it spread among the ignorant and sons of "working girls" and unfortunate young women who thought they fell in love.
• So, in nations were US Military established bases or had dominated for extended amounts of time, the name became well known. Military men took the nickname rather than acknowledging its indecent beginnings. And later generations ignorant of its past proliferated it.