A plastic spoon. Would turn to soup. We learned how to cook rice in an ammo can and that Ham & MFs with greens, heated and served hot over the rice with some kimchee as a condiment was a decent meal. About C-Rations. Loved the lerps when we could get them. Every thing else not to bad. Smith Bravo Co. 2nd Plt 1st Bn 1st Mar Rgt 1st Mar Div, Old memories I will call and order. Never told 2nd Lts about the hazards of heating an un-opened can. Hey Fred, I was with the same unit as you except I was in B Company, August of 69 through June of 70. They Tried! We used to make stoves by using a can opener to open up the two sides of a small can on both sides (which were then pushed in). I wanted to see more of his brave journey. Posted March 31, 2018. Yuck. Hi, Never saw anyone eat pound cake without spitting it out. I had 2 brothers in the military, one in the marines, one in the army. I appreciate the education you help to provide and for keeping it real for those like myself who have never had these experiences. Did not see mention of toothpick that you chewed one end for toothbrush ( sucked). yes crissie it was a mess kit one side flat other side had two compartments and you had silverware so to speak. and heat a canteen cup of water and it provided you with quick hot water or c rations. Nate Hill, Pres, TAC Tankers Assn. Wait until they run out of cigarettes and trade them for C-Rats. $40.00 WW2 German Patronenkasten 88 Ammunition Crate $150.00 WW1 German Patronenkasten 88 Ammunition Crate $150.00 WW1 British and Commonwealth Biscuit Ration Crate $90.00 Vietnam War C-Ration Cigarette Pack Lucky Strike Repro Opens in a new window or tab. Beef and Rocks, Scrambled Rubber Eggs, Chili, Applesauce, and Shit Disks. Semper Fi. In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); My c-rations in 1965 that I ate in Vietnam were dated 1945 being 20 years old ! With this type of stove only half a Trioxin heat tab was needed to heat the meal and then the other half could be used to heat water for coffee or cocoa. Message me for more detailed photos and orders in bulk. the cigarettes are sold as a 50 year old collectible and are not intended for consumption. Back I say all and families because a Military person has or had people waiting for them and worrying about them. took the fire extinguisher and use it to get our cokes cold. 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. USMC. The military teaches you to be a thief . Ham and Limas was the favorite for this purpose. (LogOut/ unopened vietnam c-ration accessory pack with cigarettes. I have the greatest respect for the grunts they did it with ingenuity and a lot of common sense. My favorite recipewas to get a can of bread from the B-3 unit and a can of cheese from a B-2 unit; open both cans but do not take off the lid; place both cans in an empty B Unit box; light the box on fire until it burns completely; remove the bread and open it; pour the melted cheese over the bread and voila a toasted cheese sandwich. C-Ration: Development began in 1938 and was completed between 1941 and 1945. We had C Rations to eat while in the Pentagon Oct 21st 1967 while the war protest march was going on. It let off a whooshing sound as the pressure seal broke. Our squad leader was fairturned all Cs upside down and would mix up..then we would pick..No Fear!! This establishment made Beans and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce shipping thousands of cases a month out. 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. It tasted like the congealed fat from a canned ham. Our company left San Diego with a Navy Band giving us Marines a memorable send off. Shop with confidence. Sometimes I auction off a pack of cigarettes and the highest bidder will give me a whole C-Rat meal. So it was c-rats for at least two meals a night. Well, my friends, let me refresh your memory and tell you everything you need to know but have forgotten about those wonderful meals. We had the dubious honor of being the first Army ground unit deployed to VN in early May of 1965 from Okinawa and all enjoyed consuming our fair share of those gourmet C rations. I am a VA RN and a volunteer wildland firefighter / EMT-B. In and around Quang Tri with side trips to Hue, Khe San & Dong Ha. 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. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. Turkey packed in 30 weight motor oil was the worst. The heat tabs gave off exhaust like tear gas, which could drive guys out of a tent or bunker, so a little C-4 was just the thing burned hot and clean, and no danger of exploding because C-4 was a stable substance. I was a dog handler in Vietnam 67-68. Left the nam brought one home should have seen the looks I got. Ive been missing those Olive can food image and its opener tool. Stand tall and thank you for your service. When I was in there were four: apricots, pears, fruit cocktail and peaches. Toilet paper and mosquito juice in band on our steel pot to keep them dry. when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. Fishing? U.S.A.F. Though it had been given a new name, the MCI was in essence still the canned C ration of prior years. At times we actually had to buy cases of C-rats in Phan Thiet where there was a thriving black market. Stumbled across this interesting site. Marines were not great cooks, but they were inventive. Pingback: Remember C-Rations? Bill McD Reproduction WW2 German MP40 Transit Case $350.00 WW2 K Ration Heavy Duty Cardboard Packing Box (10 in 1, K Ration, Heffenreffer Beer.) 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. There are several websites dedicated to US military combat rations that show all the brands. Everyone like cake after that. Ur full of it Old Marine. The Army also sends out a Sundries Pack or SP for each platoon, containing writing paper, envelopes, blue ink pens, foot powder, toothbrushes and paste, chewing gum, m&ms, Hershey bars, Almond Joy, Mounds, Three Musketeers, Snickers and assorted cartons of cigarettes providing us with many of the simple articles that helped make life a little easier. Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. My last CO also liked them. 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. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. 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. Move away from the Chopper and light with matches from C-rat. The cigarettes were even contaminated with bugs ! of my hand did not care about cut hand But mad till this day But I read as much as I can get my hands on about what it was like to have served in those times. Glad to be on my way back to Goliad, TX so many of my buds were not so lucky. Back in 1958 while flying the Pacific we had only Cs for flight lunches on aerial Tankers. Missed the initial one 4 years ago. The "Honcho Club". Excellent piece and very true in every respect. description of C-Rations used in Vietnam: The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. I got my first In the aviation community wed take a can of biscuits, poke holes in it, pour some JP4 into it, and voila a stove!! A whole heat tab had to be used. Id buy several cases in an instant. Lots of exploded food and they had to clean up the tail of the ship. Jerry. 4.) Today still add sugar to store hot ccco mix and eat it. The blue heat tabs emitted a gas that would burn your eyes and c-4 was harder to locate for us. I do have a question the meat and beans I liked but raised on beans, I recently found and on line copy of the Us Army cook book. These reminiscences take me back. Good article. Thank you for taking the time to read this. While on this maneuver I celebrated my birthday by having grape jelly with my pound cake. New Reproduction C-Rations Available. (LogOut/ As I remember our C rats were marked 1941 &42. The components of the MCI were the M - "Meat Unit", the B - "Bread Unit", and D - "Dessert Unit". This brought back memories from 68-69 in the jungles of the central highlands. Check my other listings for different quantities. Used extensively during World War II. Each menu contains: one canned meat item; one canned fruit, bread or dessert item;one B unit; an accessory packet containing cigarettes, matches, chewing gum, toilet paper, coffee, cream, sugar, and salt; and a spoon. $79.95 Vietnam Us Army Fortunately I was able to run down a medic with some antacid. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopterpilotoff the Vietnamese coast in 1973. Cigarettes, once considered crucial to American fighting men, have sadly gone the way of the daily rum ration. Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the MCI accessory packs in 1975. (Ham and eggs) they were the worst. Pork Slices Ingredients: I REMBER C-RATS I LIKED POUND CAKE AND RANGER PUDDINGDENNIS 4TH INF DIV 69-70, So cool, i love your post, I am from Vietnam. I thought that smoking American cigarettes was a big mistake. On the rare occasion when we got a fresh bag lunch sandwich some kinda fruit and a couple boiled eggs it was egg salad time what a treet. Vietnam War Pin Badge Reproductions. 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. While there me and a buddy were starved one night so we go to the helicopter pad and find loads of empty cases of c rats, we start searching after about 10 minutes my buddy finds a can, lights up his zippo and with his southern twang says Michael, I cant hardly believe someone left a can of ham and M F ers behind. And in spite of all their faults, I do sometimes miss C-Rats, especially the Pound Cake! yes i remember . The only drawback was that hot water was needed to make the meal edible, however, the weight of extra water was offset by the lightweight meals. That went for Officers and enlisted men. Mass-2 Marine attached to the 3rd Marine Div. Hated Ham and Lima beans. Today Gover keeps a . If you lucked into the peach can, you could trade it for almost anything. It would swell up and we wood take it away from the exhaust port until it went back to its original size. Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette rations in Vietnam were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, . Its chief use was to hold several ounces of insect repellant, which we then set afire and used in place of a heat tab, which were in short supply. Excellent, brought back some good memories. Thank you for the information on the sauces. In Vietnam I was with Regional and Popular Force troops in Rung Sat Special They came sealed in foil . It was intended to be issued to U.S. military land forces when fresh food (A-ration) or packaged unprepared food (B-Ration) prepared in mess halls or field kitchens was impractical or not available, and when a survival ration (K-ration or D-ration) was insufficient. Thank you for your time. 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. The ration was very heavy, weighing 5 lbs . Daddys description was not very glowing! Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! Division base camps and some larger firebases had staffed mess halls, serving three hot meals every day. I served in Co. B, 1/12th, 1st Air Cav I 1967-68. Every C-Ration meal contained a single four-pack of cigarettes; ten different brands were primarily offered, but like the meals, some were more popular than others. $90 VE-545 Can Opener from the C-Ration Crate. A stove was usually carried in the back pack or cargo pocket and used repeatedly until the metal began to fail. He would flatly refuse to eat canned Spam when I was a young girl, saying it reminded him of those C rations! Trying to spread the word to potentially interested people. Honestly, the scrambled egg chunks or beans and weenies werent bad cold, but the rest needed to be heated in order to be palatable. Levine named the threats as mold and deadly botulism if the sealing on the food has been broken, which isnt always visible. fruit cocktail about to down it and a 60mm blasted my can out Thank you for taking the time to write this article. Once lit it would put out a decent flame..my favorite was spiced beef.but had to be served hot.cold it sucked. We just heated ours with a ball of C-4, i.e., after opening the can. Havent heard that in eons. Gentlemen, I was wondering if you ever ate at a local shack/stall in town or did you ever go fishing? The brothers always would trade for Menthols. The one in the marines was stationed in ChuLai. They learned quickly when the cans exploded and Messed up my airplane said the M/Sgt who was the flight engineer sitting across from the voltage regulators. Your email address will not be published. never gave that a thought until now. Miss those soldiers from our lives deeply. recovered jeep. He dared anybody gutsy enough to join him, and retired Lt. Gen. Paul T. Mikolashek, who was theU.S. ArmyEurope commander when Moak served overseas, took an even bigger piece. 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. 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. Id get an onion from FSB mess tent and chop them up into whatever meat I was eating, thank god LURPs became widely available for the 2nd half of my tour because I just couldnt stomach Cs other than the fruit. All individual empty cans and trash were buried prior to leaving the table unless he had another use for one of the cans. 4th infantry, Great article. 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. My story is written in letter form with letters to the characters father, to Walter Cronkite and to some other people. crispy critters burn victims CS What brands of cigarettes were in C-Rations? I was with the 173rd Airborne/2ndBn 503rd Infantry. Gen. Walter S. McIlhenny 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. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. Military explosives? 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..). Matches The suggestion of including matches was done at the same time as the inclusion of the cigarettes. Thought it was really good. . C-rations featured options that included a variety of entrees, like spaghetti and meatballs, turkey loaf, ham and eggs, etc. . [1] Although officially a new ration, the MCI was derived from and very similar to the original C-Ration, and in fact continued to be called "C-Rations" by American troops throughout its production life as a combat ration (1958-1980). after this became the way of doing it. Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. Issued as one boxed ration per person per day. The photo above shows an original VN era Marlboro cigarette pack from a . , Just looking at a can of Ham and MFers makes me wanna puke. HI ED- nam 69-70- remember c-rats well. 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. On the way we had C-Rats, I liked the Ham and Lima beans, they were easy to trade for as a lot of guys like you did not like them. A whole heat tab had to be used. B9719 VIETNAM ERA US Military C Ration Spoon in plastic bag IR19A - $16.35. Dear Chrissy, USMC 2/9 DA NANG , DONG HA, So I gave my last Cs to a Boy Scout Troop and switched to freeze-dried packets (civilian version of MREs) . While serving in the Central Highlands with the 1/12th Inf. DONT HOW THEY PRESEVERED THEM BUT THEY DID A GOOG JOB TSGT CLARENCE C WOODY USAF. Moak said he wasnt worried about getting sick from any bacteria that may have gotten into the old can, because it looked sealed. Photo via Wikipedia. Pound cake was one f the favorites in my platoon. Barges were loaded with ammo and stores, I especially like the little flecks of OD paint mixed all through the food from opening the can with your P-38. I dont recall eating many of the meals warm. Not to bad either! A must have item for your helmet display, uniform or gear. We had to heat them on the engine block of a truck or the exhaust grill of a tank. Medevac. SO, GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Might you, or anyone else have an idea? Photos of dissected original pack & other info is included in the pdf file. I always wanted to be in the military but because I about cut my foot off as a kid, I could not get in. lol guess I was not human. Welcome Home my brothers & Sisters. What is wrong with me? Cigarettes disappeared from rations in 1975, but their legacy was a . And at 75 years old, thats a blessing. Years later I wonder if the paint was lead based? Prayers-Love and GREAT BIG -Thank you to ALL Military personnel (still here or passed) and their families for serving our COUNTRY. Not sure how the armor units split their meals. 1966-67 I remember the first time we got to sample some Cs just after we went threw the gas obstacle back in basic training. Sorry 11Bs I always took my favorite out first. It was a great job. Serving in the Marine corps the beef stew in cans, cold,! What I have here are various types of B units from year . A typical . My first thought was that Crap,weve killed someone,but thankfully the only problem was that every bottle had been stolen off the tables,and he wanted to know if we would make him some more,which we did,and they were also stolen. It`s the meal that had the pound cake. Voilatoasted cheese sandwich. My favorite C-ration dish was created as follows: 1.) (Obviously some supply sergeant made himself a bunch of money.) Had to have Tabasco sauce for the C rats. The container itself had 2 compartments. Items; Share. would love to find a rec for them now You could take a rats head off at 20 feet with them. taste of C-rats in 1975 in basic training at Fort Polk La. 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. You were the unsung heroes of Army aviation. Water was critical. When out on missions, infantry units were re-supplied with . l drove a 5 ton dump and heated meals for everybody on the manifold a hot can of SOS in your belly goes a long way towards boosting your spirits. Sir, thank you for your service in Vietnam and for the insightful information you provided in this article. Though intended only for use in combat conditions, troops often ate K-rations for weeks on end, and they quickly tired of the monotonous meals. The can fit the input chute clip perfectly and provided a smooth curved surface for the linked 7.62s to feed ammo into the M-60. To eating our faithful C rations. A generation full of Peace&Love did not belong in Vietnam ever! in Nam and why I dont like fruit cocktail to this day.In the last part of my tour, it was pecan roll and coffee. If you want to learn more about the Vietnam War and its Warriors, then subscribe to this blog and get notified by email or your feed reader every time a new story, picture, video or changes occur on this website the button is located at the top right of this page. The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. My older sister, younger brother and I could only imagine what those canned meals tasted like. Give me an address and Ill send you one. Three? Going through a box of memorabilia a couple days ago. "The bread was awful. Corporal. C-Rations are commercially prepared meals, used in the field and at times when hot meals were not available. so what did you feed your dog in nam? Army here, 67-70, most of 70 spent in Vietnam. wished Id known that neat way of PBJ. These simple treats brought so much joy to my dad; It has sparked a lifelong love in him for them even to this day (the canned peanut butter and fruitcake to be exact). The C-Ration was replaced in 1958 with the Meal Combat Individual (MCI). In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. Really love your stories. In an effort to keep things fair, Ive witnessed squad leaders dumping cases of C-Rations upside down (hiding the name of the meal) and mixing them up to give everyone an equal chance of selecting a popular meal. I carry my P38 that i had in Vietnam on my keychain. Kindest regards. We had would get rations of beer and soda dropped off often in the jungles. I was a cold war veteran spending my 3 years in Germany, but we were issued them for field trips, alerts and exercises. Of course it was not their faults, soldiers , at first and second to be fair they needed to go home with their families. In 1922, the ration was reorganized to consist of 16 ounces (450 g) of meat (usually beef jerky ), 3 ounces (85 g) of canned corned beef or chocolate, 14 ounces (400 g) of hard bread or hardtack biscuits, coffee and sugar. The next thing I got was the MREs. Close to Mom!s chocolate cookie mix before she put on the cooking ban to bake. It woul heat a bunch of c-rats. C-ration cigarettes were discontinued in 1972. We, the Army Inspectors, condemned them all. Always enjoyed the meals when I was out in the field. 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. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. The dehydrated pork and beef hockey pucks were supposed to be the big thing but the dried fruit was the best part. Ive eaten both and they do indeed taste the same. This was so insightful to read! Old wolfhound hereA/1/27.66,67,68..no one mentioned the hobo stove which when out of heat tabs or C-4 we would open a can of peanut butter. I know, stupid MF but what the heck, its just ham. So many times I got something other that ham & Lima so I made out in the bargain department. I have a few fng stories about Cs. Read about all of these, noticed that none of you brothers mentioned using the tin of peanut butter as a stove. You could boil a canteen cup of water with a pea-size ball of it in 30 seconds. I liked the Cs better. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! No heat tablets before Vietnam. Heres a few of the photos from my page: http://1-22infantry.org/pics4/richard.htm. The Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) was the name of canned wet combat rations issued by the United States Armed Forces from 1958 to 1980, when it was replaced by the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE). Cases of C-Rations are assigned and split among a squad of soldiers theres an ample supply to cover three meals per person 4.5 pounds of canned wet food for each days adequate nourishment. I too was in Berlin during the cold war. or Best Offer +C $14.58 shipping. l would buy and eat them today if someone was to make em. I do recall being thirsty. Each usually consisted of a can of some basic course, a can of fruit, a packet of some type of dessert, a packet of powdered coca, a small pack of cigarettes, and two pieces of chewing gum. 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. I have so much respect & admiration for them. All those you show here was my usual meals at the jungle in Vietnam. Do you remember your special recipes? were dog rations and c rations the same thing? The 10-in-1 Ration included packages with 10 cigarettes each. Moak joked earlier this week that he hoped the can wouldnt explode. Required fields are marked *. Took me back,soldier. 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. Did you see how expensive they are on Ebay? Greg Dearborn says: Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. This isnt Larry Craft from Pittsburgh, is it? We would do the same process one more time and it would be ready to eat after you wiped it down to get as much black exhaust crap off and open it with your P38. Blocks of c 4 began to be available, this spared claymores. got there 170 pounds left at a 110 pounds. 98 the LEMCO Cha Rang Valley 66 67. We were supplied by air drops and you ran to the pallet to get the best c ration unit. We just throw a fragmentation hand grenade in the pond, which is usually a bomb crater, then all of the fish will come to the surface of the water dead. 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. I found this very interesting Agree pound cake slice it mix choc sugar creamer make icing. 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.