McDonald’s adopted a drive-thru model after earlier drive-in service existed in the 1940s. By the 1970s, fast-food rivals had already developed modern drive-thru systems, and a Dallas regional manager proposed that McDonald’s join the trend in 1974. A planned Oklahoma City location was delayed, while sales slowed at a restaurant near Fort Huachuca Army Base because soldiers were not allowed to leave their vehicles off-base while wearing uniforms. A local licensee solved the access problem by installing a sliding window in the restaurant wall so orders could be passed directly to drivers, leading to the first McDonald’s drive-thru. The military connection continued through restaurants on bases serving authorized personnel.
"By that time fast food rivals had long before pioneered the invention of the modern drive-thru, and in 1974 the Dallas regional manager of McDonald's proposed to then-company vice president Brent Cameron that the chain should get in on this emerging trend. Originally, a site in Oklahoma City was planned for the first McDonald's drive-thru, but the project was delayed."
"McDonald's became aware of slackening sales at a location near Arizona's Fort Huachuca Army Base, in part because U.S. soldiers were forbidden by regulations from leaving their vehicles when off-base while wearing their uniforms. Obviously, this rule impeded them from entering McDonald's. Local McDonald's licensee David Rich realized that the problem could be solved by installing a sliding window in the restaurant's wall, allowing food orders to be passed directly to passing drivers, and so the first McDonald's drive-thru came to pass."
"The relationship between McDonald's and the U.S. military would prove to be a lasting one. Today, McDonald's restaurants can be found in military bases across America, exclusively catering to service members and other authorized personnel."
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