Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, July 21, 1972 Page: 1 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 22 x 16 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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VOL. 31 NO. 23
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body u)as also
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11116 IisTcould
A FIELD PX set up during WWI limited porducts
often consisted of only a tent and a few
month- old
VIETNAM here helicopters do This is the only way that many of the
nearly everything including bringing men can benefit ofrm the PX's services
the PX to the soldiers in the "boonies". and products.
his
taqe hts. Tafher
op
mother frequently ihtoms her 17-month-
old
with severe bruises afler her parents
A boy is nouo undergoing psych fcuVv'c
treatment wfth Medication as a result oT
-the
against -the toal I id punish her.
dead on artiVai after- hk parents
lOaist in scalding oteter.
Covered with ciapretTe horns
Vents
onvona on
v...
ARMORED SENTINEL
Published in Hie interest of the personnel of Fort Hood
FORT HOOD TEXAS FRIDAY JULY 211972
gfi-( u)as brought "to Darna.11
"To supply troops at reasonable prices with arti
cles of ordinary use wear and consumption not sup
plied by the government and to afford them means
of recreation and amusement."
This excerpt from Dept. of War General Order
No. 46 issued in 1895 authorized the laying of the
foundation for the PX system as we know it today.
Our present PX system of course has not always
been in use. It evolved several eras.
The first recorded method for soldiers to obtain
the items that they needed when they were not near
ONE OF THE EARLIEST PX's This Ft. Ri
ley PX served both the 7th and 8th Cavalry Divis
beat her.
Hfs
ON PA.BE 4-
"Published by Community Enterprises Incorporated a private firm in no wa connected with the Department of the Army. Opinions expressed by writers herein areJ**1' ^services°«ivertised.""
expression of the Department of the Army. The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the Deparmen of the Army of the du
a town was the sutler system. It dates back as far
as the Revolutionary War. A sutler was defined in
1810 in Duane's Military Dictionary: A sutler may
be considered as one who follows the camp and sells
all sorts of provisions to the soldier." For 90 years
the sutler system prospered at the cost of the soldier
who was cheated on all sides.
The end of the sutler era came during the Indian
Wars when the Indian fighters far away from any
towns and at the mercy of the sutlers hit upon
the idea of pooling their resources: each man con-
ions during the days of The American Frontier.
•A
0
AAFES flourish
fl#*ICial
tributing a dollar or two. Then one man was detail
ed to ride into town and buy the provisions that they
needed and sell them to the men at a profit. These
profits went into a general recreation fund. These
"canteens" were the soldiers' defense against the
unscrupulous sutlers.
It wasn't long before the formations of these
canteens came to the attention of the War Dept.
Top military men were impressed. Here was a sound
idea that not only provided badly needed services
but also helped morale to such an extent that they
decided to make it an official operation.
On July 25 1895 Gen. Order No. 46 was signed
by Sec'y of War Daniel L. Lamont and Exchanges
became part of the Army.
In 1898 the first Pacific Exchange began as a
tent on the small island of Oahu at the foot of Dia
mond Head at a tent city called Camp McKinley.
In 1899 Exchange outlets were opened at Ft.
Shafter and Schofield Barracks Hawaii.
Also in 1899 Americans took control of the Phil
ippines but records showed it was 1906 before the
first Exchanges were operating there.
PX's were set up at Ft. Stotsenburg (now Clark
AFB) Ft. McKinley and the military ports of Ma
nila and Corregidor.
26 Pages
In 1913 PX facilities were opened at Ft. DeRussy
and at Ft. Runger Hawaii. Not much is known
about Exchange operations from then until WWII.
WWII opened a whole new dimension in PX tech
niques of requisition and supply and modus operan
di. The PX's followed the fighting like a soldier of
fortune often arriving and setting and setting up
before the shooting was over. Sometimes even ar
riving and operating in the midst of the action
bringing cold drinks candy bars and other items to
the fighting man.
PACEX started Exchanges in places like Guam
Saipan Tinian Palau Iwo Jima Manua Island and
many others often only a tent in a bomb crater
but always there when the soldier was.
The PX's were stocked by plane ship or land de
pending on the terrain and circumstances. Usually
there was a PX operating within 12 to 48 hours after
a battle field was secured.
Any available place used to stock a PX. An old
battle torn building that was still standing a tent
in a bomb crater or just a counter made of boxes.
Jeeps and trucks brought the PX to anyone who
needed it. No matter where or how far away from
civilization the fighting was the Exchange was al
ways right behind bringing the essentials and a
few luxuries to the soldier.
When fighting was at its peak in Iwo Jima the
(Continued on page 3)
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Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, July 21, 1972, newspaper, July 21, 1972; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth255169/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.