Editing Gedunk bar (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:Sailors at the gedunk bar aboard USS Brooklyn (CL-40), 18 January 1938 (NH 56624).jpg|thumb|Gedunk bar aboard {{USS|Brooklyn|CL-40}}, in 1938.]]
The origin of the word is uncertain.  One theory suggests the name is [[Onomatopoeia|derived from]] the "gee-dunk" sound that [[vending machine]]s made when operated.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}  Another theory is that the term is derived from the comic strip [[Harold Teen]], in which Harold eats Gedunk sundaes, chocolate ice cream with [[Ladyfinger (biscuit)|ladyfingers]] "ge-dunked" into it, at the local [[soda shop]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Christenson | first=Scot | title=A Heapin' Helpin' of "Gedunk" | website=U.S. Naval Institute | date=2020-09-03 | url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/october/heapin-helpin-gedunk }}</ref> Navy ships would also then have soda shops rather than bars, as the Navy has been bone-dry afloat since alcohol was banned by [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] [[Josephus Daniels]] in 1911.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://stupidquestionarchives.blogspot.com/2008/03/gedunk.html | title=Gedunk | publisher=Stupid Questions | date=March 29, 2008 | author=John Ruch}}</ref> Yet another theory suggests that the word's origin is from a Chinese word meaning "place of idleness".<ref name="NHHC"/>

The gedunk bar was usually open for longer hours than the [[mess]].  Such bars were stocked with a wide variety of consumables such as snacks, soft drinks and fresh coffee. In the 21st century, sailors and Marines continue to call a place where snacks are for sale a "gedunk bar" or "gedunk machine" and refer to the snacks themselves as "gedunk".

In modern times,  the gedunk is usually a spare room or space in a unit's location, where there are refrigerators and shelves to hold cold drinks and snacks. Some gedunks have coffee pots, hot soup and occasionally barbecues. Items range in price from $.25 to a few dollars. Gedunks are stocked by purchasing bulk food items from grocery stores or warehouse stores such as [[Costco]], not items taken from official supply chains. Profits from gedunk sales are minor, but usually go toward unit functions, such as the Marine Ball. 

During the [[Vietnam War]], all who served honorably in the U.S. armed forces were awarded the [[National Defense Service Medal]]. Because the medal was issued regardless of any length of service during the specified period (i.e., graduating from boot camp), it was called a ''"Gedunk medal"''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hazegray.org/faq/slang1.htm | title=Naval Terminology, Jargon and Slang FAQ Part 1 - A through M | date=31 October 2003 | accessdate=2013-04-11 | author=Crowell, Jeff}}</ref>