Meals such as beef stew, spaghetti and meatballs, chili and others were a wonderful diversion from the mundane canned food we were subjected to. A generation full of Peace&Love did not belong in Vietnam ever! I too was in Berlin during the cold war. Military C-Ration Peanut Butter Can Unopened Cinderella Foods Inc Dawson Ga $13.00 $17.05 shipping They are not any where near as sensitive as civilian explosives. A whole heat tab had to be used. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. VE-1226 Cigarette case from the 67TH TAC Recon Wing. I Opened Some C-Rations From The Vietnam War And This Is What Happened Corporal. I destroyed my taste buds eating my Moms cooking. The components of the MCI were the M - "Meat Unit", the B - "Bread Unit", and D - "Dessert Unit". 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. Always cigarettes, toilet paper and matches. 1960s US GI Vietnam era C-Ration PLASTIC SPOON Brand New $14.95 klink-one (11,878) 99.9% Buy It Now Free shipping 125 sold Sponsored Vintage Vietnam era unopened Combat C Rations B1 B2 B3 Unit Crackers & Candy Brand New $45.00 southern-surplus2016 (1,355) 100% or Best Offer never gave that a thought until now. Welcome back. I found that these meals are easy and quick to prepare and they rehydrate []. The next thing I got was the MREs. MCI Rations | Hotel 2/5 Vietnam Marines yes crissie it was a mess kit one side flat other side had two compartments and you had silverware so to speak. Best dessert was peaches & pound cake, but you had to trade for stuff. The Vietnamese will sit for hours with a homemade fishing pole fishing. A stove was usually carried in the back pack or cargo pocket and used repeatedly until the metal began to fail. I liked ham and limas. I lived on peaches & pound cake for breakfast with hot chocolate. Did not see mention of toothpick that you chewed one end for toothbrush ( sucked). There are several websites dedicated to US military combat rations that show all the brands. God bless you all. How Hershey's Chocolate Helped Power Allied Troops During WWII In the field 90% of my tour. Our squad leader was fairturned all Cs upside down and would mix up..then we would pick..No Fear!! I thought that smoking American cigarettes was a big mistake. Not sure how the armor units split their meals. The blue heat tabs emitted a gas that would burn your eyes and c-4 was harder to locate for us. Excellent, brought back some good memories. I know heat tabs were around but c4 burned hot and fast. We just sold out all of our products in February 2018 except for this hot sauce,which we are going to sell as private label. THE C-RATIONS I ATE IN VIETNAM IN 1970 WERE DATED 1943 THATS 27 YRS OLD AND Went back a few months ago, the whole country has changed. I really enjoyed Meat balls & beans. Twelve different menus are included in the specification. In 1976 I found the notebook in some old Marine stuff I was going through and I finally got to make the sauce,and it was pretty darn good. We had to heat them on the engine block of a truck or the exhaust grill of a tank. You could buy cases of beer and soda too. C-Rations | Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972 It would swell up and we wood take it away from the exhaust port until it went back to its original size. Hot BBQ beef. Back Turkey packed in 30 weight motor oil was the worst. So it was c-rats for at least two meals a night. Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien | ipl.org And at 75 years old, thats a blessing. were dog rations and c rations the same thing? 'C-Rats' Fueled Troops During and After World War II The Red Cross also distributedletters from school children, church groups and others for us to read and respond in kind. 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. I delivered beer to you guys. Beef and Rocks, Scrambled Rubber Eggs, Chili, Applesauce, and Shit Disks. The 4 meals I remember are 1- chopped ham and eggs 2 beans and wieners 3- ham and lima beans 4- beefsteak and potatoes. Most used their canteen cups, which nested on the bottom of 1 Qt. Smith Bravo Co. 2nd Plt 1st Bn 1st Mar Rgt 1st Mar Div, Old memories I was 13. MACTHAI advisor here. I , however, could not find its same taste and flavor in America after 30 years in USA. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. Chrissy Vietnam C Ration Cigarette : Top Picked from our Experts Division base camps and some larger firebases had staffed mess halls, serving three hot meals every day. C-rations combat rations. Use the removed lid to cut 4 thin slices from the biscuit, toss the unused biscuits. It was such a shock to my system that I had diarrhea for a week! ODE TO THE "C" RATION - Mazurland Blog Everyone like cake after that. I use to take chip BBQ beef and cut the lid open, set the lid back on top, put the can back in the box and light it on fire. Vintage K Brand Rabbit Family Ration Patch Logo Snapback Trucker Hat Thanks for summing up all the C-ration experiences. Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette rations in Vietnam were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, or Winston. The dream of being a SEAL, US Marine, PJ, Delta, Recon, and the like is still very much alive within me to this day. 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 ate a years worth 199LIB 11b20 September 69 September 70. I wanted to see more of his brave journey. took the fire extinguisher and use it to get our cokes cold. Each complete meal contains approximately 1200 calories. 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. 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. Welcome Home my brothers & Sisters. Ill never eat C-Rations again, but I can remember when I was glad to have them. That part didn't last long after the war, as the dangers of smoking cigarettes became more widely known. I thank each of you for all you have done and all the countless sacrifices you made. Other then that, fantastic blog! Marvin J. Wolf, author of Abandoned In Hell, The Fight for Vietnams Firebase Kate.. 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. Only hot meal was the last morning for chow. 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. taste of C-rats in 1975 in basic training at Fort Polk La. Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette ration were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, or Winston. In Thailand, sriracha sauce was even better than Tabasco. With me it seemed the meals that were my least favorite when I first arrived in country were my favorite ones towards the end of my tour. $79.95 Vietnam Us Army needs p38 please, thank you!my last original.took leave three yrs ago..jeep became stolen Click Here for web printable Vietnam Boarding Pass. 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. It tasted like delicious warm and moist cake fresh from the bakery. . l would buy and eat them today if someone was to make em. I drew ham and eggs. What I have here are various types of B units from year . We, the Army Inspectors, condemned them all. At An Khe and Bong Son. I dont recall eating many of the meals warm. 2nd tour, NO problem, LOACH pilot and home every night if I didnt get shot down! While on this maneuver I celebrated my birthday by having grape jelly with my pound cake. 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. 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. You could boil a canteen cup of water with a pea-size ball of it in 30 seconds. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Thanksgiving and Christmas 1967 saw one beer per guy allotted to the troops. Saved the coke for when we would be by the tanks or APCs. C-RATIONS - Brownwater Vietnam Veterans Water was critical. The desserts and the B units got better, too. Wow brings back a lot of memories. The dehydrated pork and beef hockey pucks were supposed to be the big thing but the dried fruit was the best part. Items; Share. Every thing else not to bad. Since I didnt smoke, the cigarette 5-packs (except Chesterfields, which nobody wanted) came in handy for that. US Army K-Rations, 1941-1945. | Minnesota Historical Society It tasted like the congealed fat from a canned ham. Vintage Veitnam Era Military " C" Rations Pack of Cigarettes Unopened Photo via Wikipedia. $40 . We were the first army division in the first corps at that time. Did C-rations have cigarettes? - Quora Prayers-Love and GREAT BIG -Thank you to ALL Military personnel (still here or passed) and their families for serving our COUNTRY. T004. Vietnam Unopened C-ration Accessory Pack W/ Cigarettes Miss those soldiers from our lives deeply. I flew as a Crewchief on a UH-1C Gunship. We would take the white bread can open a tiny hole in it and put a few drops of water in ithold it over a ball of C-4 to instantly steam itopen the can cut the bread add peanut butter and jelly, and wow warm peanut butter and jelly sandwich on hot bread. Never know when you may have to open a can of crackers! 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. 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 . Less known is that an unlikely snack . Tay Nihn..68 Nui Ba Din. Would turn to soup. I was an infantry radio operator with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, located in the Hiep Duc. It had a flavor I can not duplicate to this day. It replaced the earlier C-ration, which it was so similar to . Great walk down memory lane. The brands I remember are: Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Pall Mall, Old Gold, Raleigh, Salem, Kool, Chesterfield, Newport & Lucky Strike . At times we actually had to buy cases of C-rats in Phan Thiet where there was a thriving black market. The container itself had 2 compartments. This establishment made Beans and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce shipping thousands of cases a month out. 4th infantry, Great article. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. 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. 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. For sure peaches were like gold I was one of the few guys who didnt like them and could trade them for almost anything. Using a John Wayne (a P-38) pierce a series of closely spaced holes around the top and bottom rims of the can. When were cigarettes removed from C rations? - Short-Fact Give me an address and Ill send you one. Trying to spread the word to potentially interested people. a b -1-a unit was the topstobasco was the best.didnt have much time to cook in the 4th inf .but there were times ! When were cigarettes removed from C rations? CIGARETTES and MATCHES | K RATION | K-RATION We had C Rations to eat while in the Pentagon Oct 21st 1967 while the war protest march was going on. Great detail Great Job from an old army Grunt. I think I was one of a few who actually liked ham and Limas. after this became the way of doing it. Just askin, BTW: I grew up in New Orleans and knew many of the McIlhenny family. of my hand did not care about cut hand But mad till this day With the water pouring down on us. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. 1966-67 $100.00 Vintage Complete Sealed Vintage Complete Sealed Vietnam Era Us C Rations Accessory Packet Wspoon Vintage Complete Sealed Vietnam Era Us C Rations Accessory Packet Wspoon. The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. It would explain a lot of the stupid decisions Ive made over the years. Open can of peaches with P-38. I spent my early Navy years aboard the Lexington in the South China Sea and the worst meal I can remember was Spam in fruit cocktail glaze!! To eating our faithful C rations. 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. . I do! t004. 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. 2. Moak said he wasnt worried about getting sick from any bacteria that may have gotten into the old can, because it looked sealed. You were the unsung heroes of Army aviation. Thank you in advance! They loved hearing how Tabasco Sauce made even C-rats mostly palatable. Marines were not great cooks, but they were inventive. 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. noviopera From shop noviopera. Hot or room temp, either way I always got a major bought of heart burn shortly after consuming the spiced beef. A couple of days later our friend David called and told us that there was a problem with the sauce. 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. Left the nam brought one home should have seen the looks I got. I always made it in a c rat can. We got Cs from both the old menu (1950s and early 1960s) which included such delectable stuff as ham & mothers, beef & rocks, canned bread and so forth. Hats off to all of you guys! Remembering Vietnam: Heating C-Rations with a Pinch of C-4 I also still have my P-38. I liked Ham and M..f That meant I always had plenty to eat. Find great deals on eBay for c rations cigarettes. If you read this and you would like to try it,just give me a call at 1-800-347-2823 and i would be happy to send you a free bottle. Semper Fi. In 1975 they stopped putting cigarettes in rations which raised hell with US troops everywhere. Message me for more detailed photos and orders in bulk. C-rations and m-60 mechine gun and GOD are what got me through tough times . I think the onions were gone in a matter of a few days. Thank you for your time. My dog would not eat the ham and lima beans. 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 did that too but I wondered sometimes if a 7.62 round could ignite it. 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. As I remember our C rats were marked 1941 &42. When out on missions, infantry units were re-supplied with . C Rations, Invdividual Combat Meals Case of 12 Meals. The ration was very heavy, weighing 5 lbs . Pleasure speaking to you. I always wanted or traded for boned chicken or turkey, because if I remember correctly they were made in Saint James MN. Abovecrew members on a UH-1 helicopter deliver C-rations to soldiers in the field during the Vietnam War. Cigarettes. Though it had been given a new name, the MCI was in essence still the canned C ration of prior years. Pingback: A brief history of coffee in the US military, Your website really help me and my grandson doing a paper on me. Vietnam C Ration Cigarette : Top Picked from our Experts 2.) It was a great job. When did the military discontinue cigarettes in the C ration? As I recall, only about 30% of the soldiers in my platoon did not smoke. Need Easy, Nutritious Food While Blacktail Deer Hunting. Any leads would be greatly appreciated! At the time no one wanted the egg The 1st Inf Div was not allowed beer in the field due to some previous incident. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account.