Bless ya Norton1(Steve) and Semper Fi. Could not agree with ya more but yer tellin our secrets to them infadel sailors and army pukes. However my understandin is that the the origin came from the Sailing Ship Catains who used to keep dogs(mascots) aboard to warn them of unwanted visitors(Mutineers). The longer they stayed at sea the saltier the dogs coat became- it was later transferred to old Sailors for obviously the same reason. Vis-a-Vi for us "Seagoin Bellhops"