One thing I remember about Cs was the fruit. C-rations featured options that included a variety of entrees, like spaghetti and meatballs, turkey loaf, ham and eggs, etc. They are not any where near as sensitive as civilian explosives. Chrissy The brands I remember are: Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Pall Mall, Old Gold, Raleigh, Salem, Kool, Chesterfield, Newport & Lucky Strike . 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. Fox 2/7 Marines 0311 June 1969/June 1970. Not to bad either! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these posted messages about C rations, even though Ive never tasted even one bite of food from one of those cans. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. 3-1969 to Feb 1970. We were supplied by air drops and you ran to the pallet to get the best c ration unit. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. THEY WERE STILL GOOD. Today Gover keeps a . Marvin J. Wolf, author of Abandoned In Hell, The Fight for Vietnams Firebase Kate.. 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. A plastic spoon. 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. Pound cake was one f the favorites in my platoon. Hated Ham and Lima beans. Anyway, you made my day this morning. When absolutely necessary, Id empty the water and spoon in a can of cheese, melting it together with a ball of C-4. For the new guys flying for the first time, we never let them know how to do it. We had to heat them on the engine block of a truck or the exhaust grill of a tank. Only once was stupid enough to eat the WHOLE LRRP ration at onne, swells up pretty big after the water goes down! Years later I wonder if the paint was lead based? Matches The suggestion of including matches was done at the same time as the inclusion of the cigarettes. Serving in the Marine corps the beef stew in cans, cold,! My story is written in letter form with letters to the characters father, to Walter Cronkite and to some other people. During World War II, C-Rations included a cigarette packet of nine cigarettes. Always let the FNGs learn a lesson the hard way. As an infantry soldier in Vietnam, C-Rations was my sole source of nourishment for at least 300 of the 365 days I served in-country. Hey Fred, I was with the same unit as you except I was in B Company, August of 69 through June of 70. It does take one way back. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The one in the marines was stationed in ChuLai. You are describing a military mess kit, but they were not used by most GIs in Viet Nam. You could take a rats head off at 20 feet with them. Helicopter Pilot. I got out of the field with 12 days left and went to Song Be. The Armycolonelpopped open an old military C Ration can of pound cake from 1969 at his retirement ceremony, and dug in. And at 75 years old, thats a blessing. FOR SALE! great footlocker or combat field pack display item. 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. I would save my fruit and pond cake and trad for their rations of beer. Enjoy! Now you could use an ammo box with a thousand rounds instead of the standard ammo box and metal feed chute limited to 300 rounds. Used to put them on the voltage regulators to heat. Beef and Rocks, Scrambled Rubber Eggs, Chili, Applesauce, and Shit Disks. C Ration Cigarettes (1 - 3 of 3 results) Price ($) Any price Under $25 $25 to $100 $100 to $250 . recovered jeep. This would include various survival items and rations. 4.) Great site thanks for the memories. Bill McD In 1968-69 I ate c-rations that were older than I was. Living in Florida, for years I kept a couple of cases of Cs on hand as part of my hurricane supplies. This is the officialQuartermastersdescription 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. I liked Ham and M..f That meant I always had plenty to eat. Wow brings back a lot of memories. I was at Pleiku AB 67-68 and we used to open up the tin of peanut butter, take a match and light the top layer of oil, and it burned excellent! This brought back memories from 68-69 in the jungles of the central highlands. C-Ration: Development began in 1938 and was completed between 1941 and 1945. It was illustrated by Fred Rhoads. The Food Service Officer (Canadian Major) thought she got a deal on them. Pingback: A brief history of coffee in the US military, Your website really help me and my grandson doing a paper on me. I did 3 tours 69-71 with Army artillery..Our 1st c rats were stamped 1946 and tasted no differnt than those made in the 60s..Beans and Weenies all the way! Might you, or anyone else have an idea? Division base camps and some larger firebases had staffed mess halls, serving three hot meals every day. 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. Agree pound cake slice it mix choc sugar creamer make icing. New Reproduction C-Rations Available. Meatballs and beans! Would turn to soup. Even though America gov. Being from MN was my home connection. In the aviation community wed take a can of biscuits, poke holes in it, pour some JP4 into it, and voila a stove!! Patrick Douglas Erb was there from Oct.20,1970-March 15,1971. 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. They were the best canned peaches Ive ever had. The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. The ration was very heavy, weighing 5 lbs . As the Doughboys went to France, the ration changed. It was a great job. 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. Vietnam Era C-Ration Cigarette Pack www.hardscrabblefarm.com The photo above shows the components of the cigarette pack. And how did those taste? Open the cracker can leaving the lid attached, fill half way with dirt, then drain some JP-4 from under the Huey in to the can. Issued as one boxed ration per person per day. A strictly utilitarian use of C-rations for crew chiefs and gunners on our D model Hueys was to replace the M-60 feed chute with a can of Cs. Jerry. 98 the LEMCO Cha Rang Valley 66 67. Returned 13 months later via Tiger airlines to a civilian air port in LA & greeted by a lot of people flipping the bird at us. Great. Abovecrew members on a UH-1 helicopter deliver C-rations to soldiers in the field during the Vietnam War. I mixed the cocoa powder, coffee powder and creamer in hot water for a tolerable beverage. Really putrid stuff, For anyone who was there I was with VF213 flying Demons, flying hydraulic leaks! What is wrong with me? Dont forget to stir before putting over fire. I lived on pound cake and chicken noodle soup cooked with a pinch of C4. Change). OK, now that your memory is refreshed, do you remember how you cooked your C-Rations. Currahee. shows storage age and wear and is still sealed. This isnt Larry Craft from Pittsburgh, is it? I was a helicopter crew chief in 1967 with the 25th Infantry out of Cu Chi. Yuck. I do! In the fall of this year I will be in a paramedic program. [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). description of C-Rations used in Vietnam: The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. I appreciate the education you help to provide and for keeping it real for those like myself who have never had these experiences. 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. $40 : VE-1124 Mortar carrier's shoulder pads, to support the metal barrel. The MCI was intended as a modest improvement over the earlier canned Type C or C ration, with inclusion . You, and all veterans have my utmost respect and admiration. My dad knew few young kind and handsome American colleagues that I admired and impressed at that time. No heat tablets before Vietnam. 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. C-rations combat rations. Pall Mall, Luckies, Winston, Salem and Benson & Hedges Menthol were five of the brands found in Vietnam era field ration packets. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vietnam war C-Ration Cigarette Pack Winston Repro at the best online prices at eBay! Every once in awhile they would send us out real food and some Beer and coke. Some of the guys cannot stand to watch me eat one. from United Kingdom. The new menu (late 1968 onward) included good stuff like beans & weenies. When I first got to Vietnam and was assigned to an infantry battalion in the field, I started eating Cs three meals per day. 2nd tour, NO problem, LOACH pilot and home every night if I didnt get shot down! Semper Fidelis. I was an infantry radio operator with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, located in the Hiep Duc. 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. German military outfitter Bausenwein is offering brand new, reproduction C-rations. It tasted like delicious warm and moist cake fresh from the bakery. Spicy Beef, One of my favorite meat dishes in a case of Cs. It was such a shock to my system that I had diarrhea for a week! Vietnam War C-Ration Cigarette Pack Lucky Strike Repro Opens in a new window or tab. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. The local food in Thailand deserves its stellar reputation. 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 also still have my P-38. Last time I tried to replace my Cs the price had gone out of sight. Hi mates, good paragraph and fastidious urging commented here, I am genuinely enjoying by these. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. Oh, the memories. 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. 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. Same when I came out of the field and started eating mess-hall chow regularly. Cigarettes disappeared from rations in 1975, but their legacy was a . Always cigarettes, toilet paper and matches. of my hand did not care about cut hand But mad till this day Three? I think the onions were gone in a matter of a few days. Thank you for taking the time to read this. The Red Cross also distributedletters from school children, church groups and others for us to read and respond in kind. Dec 18, 2011. From Sylmar, CA. Our company left San Diego with a Navy Band giving us Marines a memorable send off. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage K Brand Rabbit Family Ration Patch Logo Snapback Trucker Hat Cap USA at the best online prices at eBay! Required fields are marked *. I agree almost entirely with you assessment of taste and quality and preferences, with one exception: I was a combat photographer with the First Air Cav, and made it my personal mission to photograph an op from each of our original 8 infantry battalions , all of our artillery battalions, and the engineer and cavalry units, plus every company in the Aviation brigade. Had to have Tabasco sauce for the C rats. He was not overly fond of them, but did eat to stay alive. Crash fire. would love to find a rec for them now We called it Coco mo. The section on C-rations brought waves of memories of those days. , Just looking at a can of Ham and MFers makes me wanna puke. I am a VA RN and a volunteer wildland firefighter / EMT-B. When out on missions, infantry units were re-supplied with food, water, ammunition, clothes and other items by helicopter every three to five days. Cigarettes, once considered crucial to American fighting men, have sadly gone the way of the daily rum ration. $50: VE-1125 Vietnam Grenade Carrier. I did that too but I wondered sometimes if a 7.62 round could ignite it. Three of us hailed a cab & that older gent stopped & bought us a six pack. Everyone I knew always had a John Wayne (P-38) can opener on his dogtag chain and a plastic spoon in his pocket. Army here, 67-70, most of 70 spent in Vietnam. USMC 2/9 DA NANG , DONG HA, Ron Perron There wasnt a USMarine anywhere near Saigon. I know, stupid MF but what the heck, its just ham. Very interesting. I want to thank all the men and women who served in Vietnam. The foil pieces are 1.75"x1.75" and 1.75"x6" in size. It was illustrated by Fred Rhoads. Thank you in advance! The components of the MCI were the M - "Meat Unit", the B - "Bread Unit", and D - "Dessert Unit". I drew ham and eggs. 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. And in spite of all their faults, I do sometimes miss C-Rats, especially the Pound Cake! The Meal, Combat, Individual ( MCI) was a United States military ration of canned and preserved food, issued from 1958 to 1980. I remember having to eat my C-Ration meal cold because we were either on the move or rushed to leave in the mornings. Sitting in a bunker with a m60 in the monsoons I try to forget. 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. It consisted of three meals sealed in a plastic bag together with items such as a can opener/spoon, matches, toilet paper, etc. HI ED- nam 69-70- remember c-rats well. Semper Fi. They were pretty good .Carried a container of onion salt , and garlic salt for the C rations . A can opener (called both a John Wayne or a P-38) was needed to open the cans. crispy critters burn victims CS I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to you, and every single veteran for your honor, your valor, and for sharing what little you had with my father and our family. C-ration cigarettes were discontinued in 1972. Gentlemen, I was wondering if you ever ate at a local shack/stall in town or did you ever go fishing? 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). 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. WWII US Army Marine Corps K- Ration inner wax box ration Dinner ad vertisement by noviopera. Some of the meals werent too bad, especially if somebody from home sent Heinz-57 Sauce or Hot Sauce to doctor them up. i was in from 1966 to 1972. i never ate a c ration that was younger than me. The coffee, sugar, creamer and hot cocoa came in paper envelopes. PHU BAI, CAMP CARROLL, NAM 66/67. Packages of 20 cigarettes each are the same as the regular civilian packs and were sold in US Army operated PX stores. Original Vietnam era US Military C Ration white plastic Spoon.From C Ration 382314172092. fruit cocktail about to down it and a 60mm blasted my can out $90 VE-545 Can Opener from the C-Ration Crate. When I had my first taste of LRP Rations I thought it was food for angels. C-Rations varied considerably through their 20 plus year service. We never had cold meals. Ad vertisement from shop noviopera. Ah! Posted by webmaster webmaster has not yet written their Bio. While on this maneuver I celebrated my birthday by having grape jelly with my pound cake. Service. I think I was one of a few who actually liked ham and Limas. Thank you for your time. As an infantry soldier in Vietnam, C-Rations was my sole source of nourishment for at least 300 of the 365 days I served in-country. 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. TM 21 1965. I got my first I was a high-speed radio operator (MOS 062) during the peacetime years 1955-58, after Korea and before Vietnam. As I recall, only about 30% of the soldiers in my platoon did not smoke. We were at the end of the supply line so we ate a lot of C-rations. 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. Everybody liked Pound Cake, but there was only (1) box per case that had it. Brings back a lot of memories. Read about all of these, noticed that none of you brothers mentioned using the tin of peanut butter as a stove. This was so insightful to read! 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 outer layer of clear plastic is starting to delaminate from the brown plastic. 2. I liked ham and limas. With the water pouring down on us. Welcome back. When were cigarettes removed from C rations? I had a couple bites but couldnt get the rest down. 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..). Best dessert was peaches & pound cake, but you had to trade for stuff. The blue heat tabs emitted a gas that would burn your eyes and c-4 was harder to locate for us. Must have been super hot. Viet Nam most of 68. Ive been missing those Olive can food image and its opener tool. I will always remember that time 1967-68 Fortunately I was able to run down a medic with some antacid. and more. Loved the lerps when we could get them. Today still add sugar to store hot ccco mix and eat it. Warrant officer. We already carried 4 5 quart canteens to keep hydrated until the next resupply. My last CO loved them. B-unit: (3) 12 ounce cans of bread, coffee and sugar. Thanksgiving and Christmas 1967 saw one beer per guy allotted to the troops. These meals came in a case containing 12 meals. Once lit it would put out a decent flame..my favorite was spiced beef.but had to be served hot.cold it sucked. I served in Co. B, 1/12th, 1st Air Cav I 1967-68. The ham and eggs were inedible. Glad to be on my way back to Goliad, TX so many of my buds were not so lucky. When we were operating our radio nets in the outback wilds of Fort Riley, KS, wed put our The standard ration pack issued to infantrymen in Vietnam was the Australian Combat Ration (One Man). Reunion 2006 Grand Lakes O The Cherokees,OK, Audie Murphy Presidential Medal ofFreedom, https://charliecompany.org/2012/04/20/c-rations/, http://1-22infantry.org/pics4/richard.htm, Army C Rations: 21 Cool Facts - Citizen Soldier Resource Center. yes crissie it was a mess kit one side flat other side had two compartments and you had silverware so to speak. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. Old Marine. Original Vietnam era US Military C Ration white plastic Spoon.From C Ration 382314172092. It woul heat a bunch of c-rats. In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. All those you show here was my usual meals at the jungle in Vietnam. What I have here are various types of B units from year . 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. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopterpilotoff the Vietnamese coast in 1973. The 10-in-1 Ration included packages with 10 cigarettes each. $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 If I admit to actually liking and trading for ham & lima beans, does that imply Im strange beyond? $45: VE-1225 Vietnam Boxed lock and keys. Going through a box of memorabilia a couple days ago. $50: VE-1123 Vietnam period shoulder bag for machine gun . Fishing? My dad knows what its called in Vietnamese, but has no clue what it is in English. One SP was intended to meet the requirements of 100 men for one day, but we usually saw one SP per platoon (30 men) every two to three weeks. needs p38 please, thank you!my last original.took leave three yrs ago..jeep became stolen Four can openers are provided in each case of 12 meals. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. Was in army boot basic in 1980 Jan I Remer those c and b rations still have my P38 on my Dog tags from boot camp. I really enjoyed Meat balls & beans. 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 ( ? Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. But I read as much as I can get my hands on about what it was like to have served in those times. Thanks for your. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. It was a common thing to trade C rations for cigarettes. I always wanted or traded for boned chicken or turkey, because if I remember correctly they were made in Saint James MN. So, I have no military or Nam stories to tell, darn it!
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