C-rations featured options that included a variety of entrees, like spaghetti and meatballs, turkey loaf, ham and eggs, etc. A Marine tank commander serving in Vietnam in 1968 noted his unit was frequently supplied with older stocks of C-rations, complete with early 1950s dates on the cans. Vietnam Us Army Usgi C Ration Boxes Sold by militarydepotga in Woodstock Buy Now! great footlocker or combat field pack display item. We, the Army Inspectors, condemned them all. . It tasted like the congealed fat from a canned ham. never gave that a thought until now. I really enjoyed Meat balls & beans. Daddys description was not very glowing! My Vietnamese would give me a rice ball, or a cooked and salted ballof chicken, or some fish with Nuoc Maum sometimes I carried a can of chili when I could get it at the PX in Saigon. MACTHAI advisor here. Thanks for your. C rations boxes contained three meals for each of eight men. Ham and Limas was the favorite for this purpose. I remember the first c-ration meal we received. Vietnam Veteran Keeps Vow, Eats 40-Year-Old CakeFriday , July 24, 2009. Many boxes of C's had WWII dates, but the smokers still smoked the cigarettes from those old boxes. After a short naval round almost blew us away, I smoked too many of those Lucky Strike four packs and suffer today as a result. Other then that, fantastic blog! BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. Nate Hill, Pres, TAC Tankers Assn. lol guess I was not human. I was there during the transition from C-Rats to MREs during the early 80s. When I told my idea to my wife,she looked at me and said,baby,youre crazy ! And thats how we started Crazy Jerrys sauce company in 1989 with our oyster,clam and everything else sauce. THEY WERE STILL GOOD. My older sister, younger brother and I could only imagine what those canned meals tasted like. As I recall, only about 30% of the soldiers in my platoon did not smoke. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. I was in Vietnam with the Marines from 68-69. It was just what I needed. So the food on a paper l would buy and eat them today if someone was to make em. Today Gover keeps a . Yes I remembered those olive canned food because my dad, VNs regime Officer before 1975, let me tried > canned of chocolate in foil, cake, peach, M&M, shredded pork ( ? Everyone like cake after that. Never know when you may have to open a can of crackers! During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. t004. I want to thank all the men and women who served in Vietnam. However, none of us wanted to carry that much extra weight on our backs, instead, most settling for a single complete meal per day and extra cans of crackers, cakes and fruit to supplement their diet until the next resupply all stuffed into a sock and tied to the back of a rucksack. I miss the guys I hope all are doing well. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. C-ration cans inside our huge transmitter, and after a couple hours sending messages back and forth we could remove those cans and enjoy a delicious hot meal e.g., my favorite, Ragout of Beef. Since Cs were pre-cooked, they didnt need to be heated up, but it helped. My father told me that it was a food container, made of stainless steel, where the lid doubles as a frying pan of a sort, and the strap handle could extend into a handle for the pan (I hope that made sense..). The short story, "The Things They Carried," written by Tim O'Brien (1990), appears to be an unpretentious narration that list the tangible items carried by the soldiers while fighting in the Vietnam War. Meatballs and beans! They Tried! Ha, ha! Man do I remember C rations. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopterpilotoff the Vietnamese coast in 1973. What do you think? 3-1969 to Feb 1970. There was a time shortly after making my second move to a new area we got resupplied with a case of fresh onions by mistake. My favorite C-ration dish was created as follows: 1.) This stove was satisfactory, but did not allow enough oxygen to enter which caused incomplete burning of the blue Trioxin heat tablet, causing fumes which irritated the eyes and respiratory tract. Larry, as a young WO1 pilot just reporting to Nam, making and using the crew chief stove was one of the first thing my crew chief taught me to do. Dont have any Cs any more, but still got several P-38s, three still sealed in the brown paper. Pingback: Feasting on the Frontlines: The Vietnam War Discussing Food History. ate a lot as a kid . Never told 2nd Lts about the hazards of heating an un-opened can. C-Ration: Development began in 1938 and was completed between 1941 and 1945. It's one of the most celebrated feats of World War II: On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 troops stormed the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion . As a historian, these are important details as even food technologies change. Canned meals for use in the field. U.S.A.F. Beat the heck out of what we scrounged up to eat with our counterparts. My dear father was stationed in New Guinea as a U.S. Army medic during World War II, and from him I learned what C rations were. In 1988 a friend of mine who owned an oyster bar/restaurant told me that he liked the sauce and wanted to know if I would make him some for his restaurant,which my wife and I did .We hand wrote the labels on notebook paper and scotch taped them to the bottles ,and gave them to our friend. it seemed like that to me :)) , and shredded beef ( per my visual to call it as such) . While serving in the Central Highlands with the 1/12th Inf. ham and turkey loaf and the peanut butter, our c rats came in a white case I remember the date on them then was like 20 years old in 1968, I liked the sterno heater, they were much better warm than cold. At times we actually had to buy cases of C-rats in Phan Thiet where there was a thriving black market. Well presented and will share with fellow Vietnam veterans and family. 4.) TM 21 1965. Required fields are marked *. We called our can openers a JOHN WAYNE or P38 it had a small hole in it and we would put it on our dog tags. I was raised on Spam in South Dakota and Minnesota since Spam is manufactured in Minn. To this day I enjoy Spam sandwiches!! and more. The daily ration of 3 meals provides approximately 3600 calories., 1 Beef w/Spiced Sauce, Halved Apricots, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 2 Tuna Fish, Quartered Pears, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 3 Ham and Eggs, Chopped, Quartered Pears, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 4 Pork, Sliced, Cooked with Juices, Halved Apricots, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 5 Beans w/Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce, Blackberry Jam, Fruitcake, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 6 Beef Slices and Potatoes w/Gravy, Pineapple Jam, Orange Nut Roll, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 7 Spaghetti w/Beef Chunks in Sauce, Peach Jam, Cinnamon Nut Roll, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 8 Beans w/Meat Balls in Tomato Sauce, Grape Jam, Pound Cake, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 9 Beefsteak, Sliced Peaches, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 10 Chicken or Turkey Boned, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Fruit Cocktail, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 11 Ham Sliced, Cooked with Juices, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Fruit Cocktail, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 12 Turkey Loaf, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Sliced Peaches, B-3 Unit crackers, candy. I have an entire case of unopened C rations from 1969 for sale on Ebay right now. (Ham and eggs) they were the worst. Patrick Douglas Erb was there from Oct.20,1970-March 15,1971. I wish that cigarettes were never part of those C-rations. I drew ham and eggs. We took them camping, my sister wanted corn dogs, which the bears ate as they passed thru our camp. (LogOut/ The 4 meals I remember are 1- chopped ham and eggs 2 beans and wieners 3- ham and lima beans 4- beefsteak and potatoes. I flew as a Crewchief on a UH-1C Gunship. OK, now that your memory is refreshed, do you remember how you cooked your C-Rations. made it somehow. At An Khe and Bong Son. It tasted like delicious warm and moist cake fresh from the bakery. The C-4 was safe to use as long as it wasnt compressed or using too much at one time. Thanks for your service. Explore Vietnam C Ration Cigarette with all the useful information below including suggestions, reviews, top brands, and related recipes,. L/Cpl P.T. Right? A plastic spoon. So many times I got something other that ham & Lima so I made out in the bargain department. Got to Nam in July 68 an assigned as a pilot way down in the Delta. Those wonderful recipes that you made up so the Cs were more palatable. However, brilliant military minds said we could not eat there and our 12 hour shifts were intense preventing us from taking a journey to the other side. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. I also still have my P-38. So, I have no military or Nam stories to tell, darn it! Grab a small loaf of bahn-mi or baguette from the village baker with a can of boned chicken gently heated on the V-100 manifoldThat and a ba-moui-ba brewnot bad. With its flip-top box, Marlboro was the most popular brand in Vietnam, despite COMUSMACV General Creighton W. Abrams' penchant for cigars, a preference dating back to his World War II service as a tank battalion commander. Sounds like a lot of B S to me. Beans an winnies the best.ham and eggs always green no way I would eat it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ration was very heavy, weighing 5 lbs . I say all and families because a Military person has or had people waiting for them and worrying about them. Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. Reblogged this on Cherries A Vietnam War Novel and commented: Heres a blast from the pasta favorite article by visitors posted over 4 yrs. canteens inside a canvas or nylon cover attached to web gear or ruck sacks, or the actual cans that C rations were canned. This is the official Quartermaster's description of C-Rations used in Vietnam "The Meal, Combat, Individual, is designed for issue as the tactical situation dictates, either in individual units as a meal or in multiples of three as a complete ration. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. Sincere thanks to all of our military veterans who have bravely served our great country in times of war and ate their share of those C rations. Sitting in a bunker with a m60 in the monsoons I try to forget. It let off a whooshing sound as the pressure seal broke. Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. $50: VE-1123 Vietnam period shoulder bag for machine gun . Heating the meals and water required a small stove (see article below) with Sterno tabs or C-4 plastic explosive, the later burning very hot and fast preferred for quick meals. From Sylmar, CA. It`s the meal that had the pound cake. Ill never eat C-Rations again, but I can remember when I was glad to have them. always seemed to get to to the carton last an last was trash eating. In Vietnam I was with Regional and Popular Force troops in Rung Sat Special My story is written in letter form with letters to the characters father, to Walter Cronkite and to some other people. I would have beer almost every day. would love to find a rec for them now The Meal, Combat, Individual ( MCI) was a United States military ration of canned and preserved food, issued from 1958 to 1980. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. One thing I remember about Cs was the fruit. The 1st Inf Div was not allowed beer in the field due to some previous incident. Anything a dog wont eat should not be consumed by a human. Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! General Delivery Silver Springs Fl.34489 USA Brings back a lot of memories. Kevin. Popular products. 1967 Vietnam c-rations box being opened for the first time in 43 years. The brothers always would trade for Menthols. I liked ham and limas. The menu is comprised of one meat (meatloaf, beef tips, chicken, etc), mashed potatoes, veggies, cake or pie, ice-cold milk, lemonade and steaming, hot coffee. This establishment made Beans and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce shipping thousands of cases a month out. one of the better memories of c rats. The C-Ration was replaced in 1958 with the Meal Combat Individual (MCI). A better stove was created by simply using the can opener end of a church key (a flat metal device designed to open soft drink and beer containers with a bottle opener on one end and can opener on the other commonly used before the invention of the pull tab and screw-off bottle top) to puncture triangular holes around the top and bottom rims of the can which resulted in a hotter fire and much less fumes. In 1975 they stopped putting cigarettes in rations which raised hell with US troops everywhere. I ate C rats in Korea in 1960-61, and in Vietnam 65-66. Everything was always better with Tabbasco Sauce to spice it up. I was at minimum weight then. If I admit to actually liking and trading for ham & lima beans, does that imply Im strange beyond? I was on Google looking up information on c-rat socks as this is a new term that I just learned and that is how I arrived here. Yes of course the C-Rations survived the bears. As I remember our C rats were marked 1941 &42. In the aviation community wed take a can of biscuits, poke holes in it, pour some JP4 into it, and voila a stove!! WWII US Army Marine Corps K- Ration inner wax box ration Dinner ad vertisement by noviopera. I never went away hungry! I cannot tell you how happy I am to have stumbled across your post! 1 for 5 5 for 20 20 for 40 Keep an . The photo above shows an original VN era Marlboro cigarette pack from a . I am a VA RN and a volunteer wildland firefighter / EMT-B. I liked the Cs better. Three? The only thing I find myself craving from time to time was the instant coffee with of course dry creamer and sugar although I think it was making it in one of the C ration cans that gave it that special flavor. son of the 2nd company president of McIlhenny Company from his experiences with C-Rations as a soldier during WWII came up with the idea to send soldiers copies of the Charlie Ration Cookbook filled with recipes for spicing up C-rations with Tabasco Pepper Sauce wrapped around two-ounce bottles of Tabasco Pepper Sauce along with a handful of a P-38 type can openers all in a waterproof canister. Upon further review it becomes clear that the lists of "things" have a much deeper meaning and carry an abundance amount of . | dng sng c. Toilet paper and mosquito juice in band on our steel pot to keep them dry. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Spicy Beef, One of my favorite meat dishes in a case of Cs. Every thing else not to bad. the outer layer of clear plastic is starting to delaminate from the brown plastic. Most were tossed because they didnt want to clean them or carry the extra bulk in favor of the canteen cup which fit around the canteen and in the pouch plus it made no noise while you were walking around compared to the rattle of the utensils in your mess kit. Remember c rats well . loved getting the ham and eggs or beanie weenies pound cake with a melted John Wayne bar over it was heaven crackers were really funky l thought. Vietnam War Pin Badge Reproductions. Beef and Rocks, Scrambled Rubber Eggs, Chili, Applesauce, and Shit Disks. I , however, could not find its same taste and flavor in America after 30 years in USA. Each menu contained approximately 1200 calories and consisted of: One canned meat course One canned fruit or cake We would either just add sugar pack and eat. Even for me being a FNG they were a treat but I didnt appreciate them as much as the old timers did. Excellent !! The first and last time I ate that meal. [] the bread and voila a toasted cheese sandwich. Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. Close to Mom!s chocolate cookie mix before she put on the cooking ban to bake. to a pack. Gen. Walter S. McIlhenny. You did what you had to do and made it home to an undeservedly rough reception. I do remember about a week after I was out in the field we received a case of onions by mistake. Tay Nihn..68 Nui Ba Din. Jerry. Ron Perron Smilesnada but smiles. I was with the First Air Cavalry, (67-68) when we moved the whole division from An Khe to what eventually became Camp Evans, (we called it Tombstone, because we were camping in a Vietnamese cemetery) The first brigade of the 101st Airborne was under the operational control of the Cav at that time. We would punch a few holes in the top of the can using a P38 and add a small amount of water and heat it for a bit with a piece of C4. Scan of original thanks to Dave Stieghan. Cs provided a good snack during night-time flight line work. The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. Really love your stories. "Peanut butter and crackers was the best," Orbell said. Pingback: A brief history of coffee in the US military | We Are The Mighty, On the tug Agnes Foss we hauled a lot of C-rations around the coast and up rivers. That was when I had the idea to start my own sauce company. When I was in there were four: apricots, pears, fruit cocktail and peaches.