G.I. Joe turns 50

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G.I. Joe action figures portray raising the flag on Iwo Jima in a display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014.

A half-century after the 12-inch doll was introduced at a New York City toy fair, the iconic action figure is being celebrated by collectors with a display at the military museum, while the toy's maker plans other anniversary events to be announced later this month.

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Tearle Ashby poses with some of his G.I. Joe action figures in Niskayuna, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014.

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A young boy looks at G.I. Joe action figures on display at the FAO Schwarz toy store in New York, Nov. 22, 2002.

G.I. Joe

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Military action figure heads donning different military hats are on display at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention in Burlingame, Calif., June 27, 2003.

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Hasbro's G.I. Joe Search and Rescue Firefighter is shown in this undated company photograph. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. there was a heightened interest in toys relating to the disaster and on the heroism displayed by search and rescue workers, firefighters and policemen who responded to the disaster.

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G.I. Joe action figures are seen at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention, in Burlingame, Calif., June 27, 2003.

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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin shows off a Colonel Buzz Aldrin G.I. Joe doll in his likeness that commemorates the 30th anniversary of the famous Apollo 11 mission at a press conference marking the 35th year of Hasbro's G.I. Joe, in Washington, July 30 1999.

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Vendors position doll heads prior to the opening of the International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention in Washington, July 30, 1999.

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A Gen. George Patton G.I. Joe action figure, right, and other G.I. Joes in a display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014 .

G.I. Joe

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Tuskegee Airmen G.I. Joe action figures in a display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014.

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G.I. Joe action figures and accessories for sale are displayed at the FAO Schwarz toy store, in Chicago, Dec. 11, 2001.

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Dianna Merrick poses in a giant G.I. Joe package at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention, in Burlingame, Calif., June 27, 2003. Hundreds of G.I. Joe fans from around the country are attending the convention to buy, sell and trade G.I. Joe and military action figures. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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The first prototype G.I. Joe action figure, hand-carved in 1963 by the designer of the famous toy, Don Levine of Providence, Rhode Island, July 18, 2003.

The handmade, hand-painted figure is the first mockup of the G.I. Joe action figure.

G.I. Joe

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The prototype for the G.I. Joe action figure, "Rocky the Paratrooper," is on display at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention, in Burlingame, Calif., June 27, 2003.

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A G.I. Joe Paratrooper action figure is seen on display at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention, in Burlingame, Calif., June 27, 2003.

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Forty-year-old Keith Holmes, who is a member of the Dallas-Forth Worth G.I. Joe club, adjusts toy characters in a diorama he built at the G.I. Joe collectors Convention in San Francisco, June 27, 2003.

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One of Tearle Ashby's G.I. Joe action figures in Niskayuna, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014.

G.I. Joe

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G.I. Joe action figures are arranged in a mobile army surgical hospital in a display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2014.

G.I. Joe

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A U.S. Marine from the 3/5 Lima company carries his "GI Joe Action Man" doll as he walks past the destruction in the restive city of Fallujah, Nov. 14, 2004.