While a number of sources attribute the name to a 1930s comic strip, the nose art suggests a possible reference to the "pumpkin bomb" missions the 509th Composite Group flew as combat rehearsal for the atomic bomb operations. However, the phrase was also in use by 1917, based on letters from Indiana referring to someone being 'some punkins' to be called first to an accident, meaning 'important.'
The name's origin is debated, with some sources linking it to a comic strip from the 1930s and others suggesting a connection to "pumpkin bomb" missions flown by the 509th Composite Group for atomic bomb training. The phrase was also in use by 1917, as documented in letters from Indiana that referred to someone being called "some punkins" to be the first to an accident, meaning "important."