Who was the first centerfold in playgirl magazine

Her call to arms came much sooner than expected, however, when word was received that Lieutenant Price had been wounded in action on January 3, and that her morale-boosting mission might have to be canceled unless Jo could reach the injured officerвЂ™s bedside at a Bien Hoa combat-zone hospital before his scheduled evacuation from Vietnam on January 13. вЂњMost of them had been badly hurt,вЂќ says Jo, вЂњbut no one ever complained.вЂќ вЂњThe fellows in Company B said it would be a privilege if I could visit them,вЂќ remarked the Playmate of the Year when asked how she felt about her upcoming tour of delivery duty in the war-torn Far East, вЂњbut the way I see it- IвЂ™mВ the one whoвЂ™s privileged.вЂќ Roses are the order of the day as two members of Company B welcome Jo to Vietnam on behalf of their wounded Project Playmate officer, Lieutenant John Price, hospitalized back at battalion headquarters in Bien Hoa PlayboyвЂ™s pretty Vietnam volunteer visits Lieutenant PriceвЂ™s wardmates at the Evacuation Hospital. Of course we donвЂ™t have a Playboy Club in Vietnam at the moment, but we figured we could overlook that little technicality under the circumstances.вЂќДЄlong with the usual complications and military restrictions any average civilian encounters when attempting to travel to Vietnam these days, many more technicalities had to be ironed out through the proper channels before Jo received the necessary Government clearance for a late-February flight to the front lines. The lieutenant had obviously been a playboyВ reader for quite a while, since he remembered a special Christmas gift offer the magazine published several years ago, which stated that a lifetime subscriber from any city with a Playboy Club would have his first issue delivered in person by a Playmate. вЂњWhen we first received the request,вЂќ Hef recalls, вЂњwe werenвЂ™t at all sure how the Defense Department would feel about Playboy sending a beautiful American girl into Vietnam at a time like this, but lieutenant PriceвЂ™s letter was too moving to just put aside and forget. вЂњIf we are not important enoughвЂ¦to send a Playmate for, please just forget about us and we will quietly fade back into the jungle.вЂќ Deciding that only old soldiers should fade away, and deeply touched by the paratrooperвЂ™s plea, Hefner immediately began drawing up plans for the successful completion of Project Playmate. вЂ¦Any one of the current Playmates of the Month would be welcomed with open arms, but if we have any choice in the matter, we have unanimously decided that we would prefer the 1965 Playmate of the Year-Miss Jo Collins. It is our most fervent hope that this policy can be extended to include us. S., the first issue is personally delivered by a Playmate. It is our understanding that, with the purchase of a Lifetime Subscription in the U. Therefore, we have enclosed with this letter a money order for a Lifetime Subscription to playboyВ magazine for B Company. вЂњThe loneliness here is a terrible thing-and we long to see a real, living, breathing American girl. вЂ¦We are proud to be here and have found the answer to the question, вЂAsk what you can do for your country.вЂ™ And yet we cannot stand alone-which brings me to the reason for sending you this request. We were the first American Army troop unit committed to action here in Vietnam, and we have gone many miles-some in sorrow and some in joy, but mostly in hard, bone-weary inches.

вЂњThis is written from the depths of the hearts of 180 officers and men of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) stationed at Bien Hoa, Republic of Vietnam. вЂњAny girl would reach for a mirror,вЂќ she says, вЂњwith 400 men outside her door.вЂќ Hefner the following letter: Jo makes a few last-minute logistic changes of her own prior to deplaning in Saigon. That time came last November, when Second Lieutenant John Price-a young airborne officer on duty in Vietnam-sent Editor-Publisher Hugh M. It was only a matter of time, therefore, until centerfolddomвЂ™s contemporary beauties would be asked to do their bit for our boys in uniform. From the shores of Iwo Jima to the jungles of Vietnam, the pinup queen has remained a constant companion to our men at arms but the long-legged likenesses of such World War Two lovelies as Grable and Hay-worth have given way to a whole new breed of photogenic females better known as the playboyВ Playmates. And since the days of GI Joe, the American fighting man has seldom appeared on the frontiers of freedom without an abundant supply of that most time-honored of spirit-lifting staples: the pinup.

Most military strategists agree that, aside from actual firepower, nothing means more to an army than the morale of its men.

This story appears in the May 1966 issue of Playboy.

Who was the first centerfold in playgirl magazine