Where does the phrase 'boots on the ground' come from?

[Pete]

Where does the phrase 'boots on the ground' come from?

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29413429

"Boots on the ground" is shorthand for combat troops deployed in a foreign country. Barack Obama and David Cameron have both used it - it's a phrase that is constantly cropping up in the news. But where did it come from?

Interesting. Anybody got more info?

[MtnGoat]

I first hread it during Clintons time with Bosnia, but more so with Kosovo.