With the United States having its first peacetime draft, there were a lot of inductees away from home needing a way to stay connected and entertained.  The August 1941 issue of Radio News pointed out the opportunity this afforded radio dealers in the form of a “radio for every recruit.”

The article noted that most–but not all–draftees had an income of $21 per month, hardly enough to splurge on a radio.  Instead, the article noted that most sales were made to the families of the soldier.  In fact, one dealer had the fortunate circumstance of having his ad for portable radios happen to appear on the same page of the newspaper listing the names of draftees.  He did record business as the families of those servicemen hurried to his store to buy one of those portables.

Army officials cautioned that it was best for soldiers to wait until after their permanent placement before buying one more belonging to drag around.  But battery portables and compact sets were proving popular, and some men were using radio-recorders to make records to send home instead of letters.

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