History

#FlashbackFriday: He Overcame Multiple Obstacles to Become a 27-Year Exchange Associate

By Robert Philpot / May 3, 2024 /

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here’s a story about a Japan-born associate who became a U.S. citizen—overcoming multiple challenges before he began a more than 25-year career at the Exchange.

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#FlashbackFriday: 30 Years Ago, HQ Associates Rallied to Support Teammates Hit by Tornado

By Robert Philpot / April 26, 2024 /

On April 25, 1994, an EF-4 tornado struck Lancaster, a Dallas-area town not far from Exchange headquarters. One associate who was affected by the storm–and is still with the Exchange–shares her memories of how teammates helped her family out afterward.

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#FlashbackFriday: A Pictorial Album of the Exchange’s Vinyl Record Past

By Robert Philpot / April 19, 2024 /

Although the Exchange does not currently sell vinyl albums or CDs, it once had its own record store and record-distribution center in addition to record departments at stores worldwide.

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#FlashbackFriday: In 1960, the Exchange Started an Airline Catering Service. Meet Its Founder.

By Robert Philpot / April 12, 2024 /

A 28-year-old cafeteria manager saw an opportunity to launch a service that provided food for flights Tachikawa Air Base in Japan. He remained involved with the catering service until 1996, and the service still exists today.

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#FlashbackFriday: The Exchange Associate Who Was a Bataan Death March Survivor

By Robert Philpot / April 5, 2024 /

April 9 will mark the 82nd anniversary of the beginning of the Bataan Death March, the forcible 65-mile march of 60,000 to 80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war to Japanese confinement camps throughout the Philippines during World War II. More than 1,000 Americans and 9,000 Filipinos died during the march. One of the POWs…

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#FlashbackFriday: For World Water Day, Some Drops of History About Exchange Water Plants

By Robert Philpot / March 22, 2024 /

One of the biggest water events in Exchange history happened in summer 1998 ,,,,

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#FlashbackFriday: She Was the Exchange’s First Female GM—And That Was Just One of Her ‘Firsts’

By Robert Philpot / March 15, 2024 /

For Women’s History Month, meet Annabelle Fleming, a woman who made a lot of Exchange history.

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#FlashbackFriday: 79 Years Ago: After the Battle of Manila Ends, an Exchange Quickly Opens in the Philippines

By Robert Philpot / March 8, 2024 /

On March 11, 1945, the Luzon Base Section Main Exchange opened in Manila. It was the beginning of what became the Philippine Exchange system.

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#FlashbackFriday: Women Whose Jobs Made News at the Exchange in the ’50s

By Robert Philpot / March 1, 2024 /

For Women’s History Month, which begins today, Flashback Friday flashes back to the ‘50s for some mid-20th century history about women at the Exchange.

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#FlashbackFriday: February 2003—After a Fire in Afghanistan, an Exchange Quickly Rises From the Ashes

By Robert Philpot / February 23, 2024 /

On Feb. 21, 2003, a fire burned through Exchange facilities in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Within 36 hours, the store team had a temporary Exchange up and running.

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