Fishing? Had to have Tabasco sauce for the C rats. Pound Cake and Peaches were my favorite, Sometimes the VC beat us to the C-Packs when they were dropped in the jungle by chopper. 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. In 1968-69 I ate c-rations that were older than I was. it seemed like that to me :)) , and shredded beef ( per my visual to call it as such) . No heat tablets before Vietnam. got there 170 pounds left at a 110 pounds. Once I got some pancakes that had been stuffed down an elephant rubber. Voilatoasted cheese sandwich. It`s the meal that had the pound cake. one of the better memories of c rats. I would save my fruit and pond cake and trad for their rations of beer. If somebody liked Lucky Strikes, Parliament, Chesterfields or Pall Malls, they would never run out. I got a flashback Ill never forget those days Sometimes I would eat the pineapples, bananas or coconuts if I could get them. In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. "Peanut butter and crackers was the best," Orbell said. 98 the LEMCO Cha Rang Valley 66 67. Viet Nam most of 68. 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. We got a hot meal in the jungle only after a firefight. I never went away hungry! Thanks for your interesting accounts, and for your service. 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. Only down fall was it was instant heart burn. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. Turkey packed in 30 weight motor oil was the worst. Using a John Wayne (a P-38) pierce a series of closely spaced holes around the top and bottom rims of the can. Chrissy 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. I was a cold war veteran spending my 3 years in Germany, but we were issued them for field trips, alerts and exercises. With the water pouring down on us. It woul heat a bunch of c-rats. BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. Only once was stupid enough to eat the WHOLE LRRP ration at onne, swells up pretty big after the water goes down! Semper fi !! Food was of secondary importance. Need Easy, Nutritious Food While Blacktail Deer Hunting. My favorite was, Ham & Eggs Chopped. I delivered beer to you guys. Well, my friends, let me refresh your memory and tell you everything you need to know but have forgotten about those wonderful meals. They loved hearing how Tabasco Sauce made even C-rats mostly palatable. Broight back some memories for me from my year in the bush. A small chunk of C-4 explosive could also be substituted for the Trioxin tablet for faster heating. 1 empty C-Ration box 1 toilet paper pack 1 book of matches 1 plastic spoon 1 P-38 can opener Open all 5 cans with the P-38 leaving the lids slightly attached on 2 biscuit cans. Cigarettes disappeared from rations in 1975, but their legacy was a . An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. At topa C-ration with P-38 can opener. I got pretty good at stealing C4 to cook with , and those LRRP rations . 2nd tour, NO problem, LOACH pilot and home every night if I didnt get shot down! Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. The Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) was the name of canned wet combat rations issued by the United States Armed Forces from 1958 to 1980. Excellent piece and very true in every respect. About C-Rations. 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 . I was a high-speed radio operator (MOS 062) during the peacetime years 1955-58, after Korea and before Vietnam. Glad to be on my way back to Goliad, TX so many of my buds were not so lucky. CA. Pingback: A brief history of coffee in the US military, Your website really help me and my grandson doing a paper on me. Hey me too other good ones were Beans and Balls Beans and Dicks Beef and Potato couldnt eat the egg thing spaghetti could not be cooked in the can, it would just rise up as a blob, cold top and burned bottom Ive got peaches, whos got the pound cake, I saved my ham & lima beans until we returned to the rear, then put the on the stove, boiling hot with a little hot sauce made me happy, Wow, how did we survive. It replaced the earlier C-ration, which it was so similar to . Each soldier was issued three boxes per day containing breakfast, dinner and supper. Thank you in advance! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Despite the new name, the MCI was still popularly referred to by the troops as "C-Rations" (or "Charlie rats"), which it resembled in nearly all respects. Vietnam Equipment VE-547 Choice Vietnam Jungle Boots, size 12. 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. and more. It does take one way back. Great site thanks for the memories. Very well written and important for us who did not serve due to age ( too young) to learn about this, Excellent; The C-4 was safe to use as long as it wasnt compressed or using too much at one time. We went through East Germany on the Autobahn to Holiefields in Weat Germany for a training mission. Not to bad either! Our operation moved from the Air Force sector to the other side of the Air Base about a million miles away from our Mess facility. They are not any where near as sensitive as civilian explosives. We just heated ours with a ball of C-4, i.e., after opening the can. The popular brands like Winston, Marlboro, Kools and Salem were always in short supply and benefited the non-smokers who used them to barter. Hill 55 out of DaNang. Thank you for your time. Little known or unpopular brands. Its characteristics emphasize utility, flexibility of use, and more variety of food components than were included in the Ration, Combat, Individual (C Ration), which it replaces. Use the removed lid to cut 4 thin slices from the biscuit, toss the unused biscuits. A whole heat tab had to be used. A plastic spoon. Semper Fi. And my brothers. Cut the canned roll in half, spooning the can of cheese inside, put back in can, fold over the can top, put back in c-rat box and light the box on fire. Photo via Wikipedia. I was hoping you could help me identify a certain piece of equipment that soldiers used to cook/reheat their meals during the Vietnam War. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. I was at minimum weight then. Move away from the Chopper and light with matches from C-rat. Upon further review it becomes clear that the lists of "things" have a much deeper meaning and carry an abundance amount of . never gave that a thought until now. We were at the end of the supply line so we ate a lot of C-rations. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. VE-1226 Cigarette case from the 67TH TAC Recon Wing. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. Ive heard so many stories of my fathers childhood in Vietnam; How hed rush out to the roadside and beg American soldiers for their B-Unit snacks, or how he, along with his brothers and cousins, would rummage through the wilderness in hopes of finding c-ration meals, but I was never quite able to picture the things he described in my mind. yes crissie it was a mess kit one side flat other side had two compartments and you had silverware so to speak. Semper Fidelis. all were palatable, but the peaches were outstanding. There was a reason they were called Ham & Motherfuckers. I considered serving with the US Armed Forces on countless occasions however I have an old skateboarding injury in my foot and ankle and hardware that came with it that ultimately made me decide to serve domestically. It would explain a lot of the stupid decisions Ive made over the years. These things have left a deep impression on him, and he recalls to those memories fondly, despite the trying period his country was facing during that time. Greg Dearborn says: The brothers always would trade for Menthols. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. Anyway, you made my day this morning. And in spite of all their faults, I do sometimes miss C-Rats, especially the Pound Cake! Left out the crew chief version of a stove. 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. I really enjoyed Meat balls & beans. DONT HOW THEY PRESEVERED THEM BUT THEY DID A GOOG JOB TSGT CLARENCE C WOODY USAF. When I had my first taste of LRP Rations I thought it was food for angels. Corporal. The ration had to contain meat, bread, canned fruit, and some kind of dessert. 34 watchers It was a great job. Thanks for summing up all the C-ration experiences. There was always enough for seconds, but most of us passed as our shrunken stomachs have already overextended from a single helping of this gourmet meal. The local food in Thailand deserves its stellar reputation. The line units were pulled out of the field on occasion, usually about once a month for three days, to enjoy home cooking, barbecues and ice-cold beer and soda a reward we always looked forward to. And how did those taste? Might you, or anyone else have an idea? I found this very interesting The brands I remember are: Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Pall Mall, Old Gold, Raleigh, Salem, Kool, Chesterfield, Newport & Lucky Strike . German military outfitter Bausenwein is offering brand new, reproduction C-rations. Ill never eat C-Rations again, but I can remember when I was glad to have them. I want to thank all the men and women who served in Vietnam. Patrick Douglas Erb was there from Oct.20,1970-March 15,1971. Really love your stories. Oh man, I love your story. Thanks again. t004. Original was from a formerly unopened original accessory pack. Even then I ate one like an apple but the fellows that had been there longer made c rat stew and threw in the onions. about fruit cocktail. Interesting article but a really dumb question? At times we actually had to buy cases of C-rats in Phan Thiet where there was a thriving black market. Hot or room temp, either way I always got a major bought of heart burn shortly after consuming the spiced beef. Levine named the threats as mold and deadly botulism if the sealing on the food has been broken, which isnt always visible. Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the MCI accessory packs in 1975. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. Never heard of that version before. Did not see mention of toothpick that you chewed one end for toothbrush ( sucked). I too was in Berlin during the cold war. lemon aid powder was good with some descent tasting water, [] https://charliecompany.org/2012/04/20/c-rations/ [], [] freeze dried meals Ive tried over the years didnt taste much better than the C rations I ate in the military. It tasted like the congealed fat from a canned ham. Actually, I has been liking and still remember those good smell and tasty of those Military canned food. I was 13. Because there were several "vintages" of C's issued to the Marines and Seabees in Vietnam, more than 4 items may be listed in the B groups as well as the brands of cigarettes included in the accessory pack. Vietnam War C-Ration Cigarette Pack Lucky Strike Repro Opens in a new window or tab. The daily ration of 3 meals provides approximately 3600 calories." There were 4 choices of meat in each B group. Hats off to all of you guys! I could not find a meat and beans recipe.
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