diff --git a/dtool/src/dtoolbase/neverFreeMemory.cxx b/dtool/src/dtoolbase/neverFreeMemory.cxx
index 0ec399e221..0f7ef85fae 100644
--- a/dtool/src/dtoolbase/neverFreeMemory.cxx
+++ b/dtool/src/dtoolbase/neverFreeMemory.cxx
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 
 #endif  // WIN32
 
-NeverFreeMemory *NeverFreeMemory::_global_ptr;
+NeverFreeMemory * TVOLATILE NeverFreeMemory::_global_ptr;
 
 // If a page has fewer than this many bytes remaining, never mind
 // about it.