“Men who picked them up, as well as women, said they were cute girl versions of men,” Ms. Ortloff said. “I realized this was the absolute wrong message women in the military want sent.”

Mr. Imel was sympathetic to the idea. He had, in his research, found some examples — a novelty set of female figures from Japan, wearing high heels; and plastic Army nurses from the 1950s.

He promised Ms. Ortloff that he would explore the idea, but said that making new products was expensive. A year later , his response to Vivian’s letter was largely the same.

“Maybe we’ll get it done someday,” he recalled telling Ms. Lord .

Then came the news media.

It started with local outlets in Little Rock, after one reporter had seen a copy of Vivian’s letter that Ms. Lord had posted on Facebook. In one story, Ms. Lord mentioned her exchange with Mr. Imel.

CNN and a veterans publication published stories online. Soon, Mr. Imel was getting calls to do interviews on national television networks like CBS.

Mr. Imel said he then realized he had made a “huge mistake” in putting off complaints like Vivian’s and Ms. Ortloff’s.

“All hell broke loose with the media,” he said, “and I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath since.”