Of course it was not their faults, soldiers , at first and second to be fair they needed to go home with their families. Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! Need Easy, Nutritious Food While Blacktail Deer Hunting. 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. Posted March 31, 2018. They have the following menus: Ham & Eggs Ingredients: 82.5% whole egg, 9.3% of pork, onion, herbs, spices, salt, E250, E621, E300/E301, dextrose. https://charliecompany.org/2012/04/20/c-rations/ Reply With []. ;~) [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). Used extensively during World War II. Three of us hailed a cab & that older gent stopped & bought us a six pack. 1967 Vietnam c-rations box being opened for the first time in 43 years. What brands of cigarettes were in C-Rations? That part didn't last long after the war, as the dangers of smoking cigarettes became more widely known. Did not see mention of toothpick that you chewed one end for toothbrush ( sucked). What I have here are various types of B units from year . , Just looking at a can of Ham and MFers makes me wanna puke. Each ration was composed of a B-unit and a M-unit; total weight was approximately 7 pounds. B9719 VIETNAM ERA US Military C Ration Spoon in plastic bag IR19A - $16.35. Each meal was in its own cardboard box, which contained the individual items sealed in cans. yes crissie it was a mess kit one side flat other side had two compartments and you had silverware so to speak. Semper fi !! So the food on a paper My older sister, younger brother and I could only imagine what those canned meals tasted like. I dont recall eating many of the meals warm. Pingback: A brief history of coffee in the US military, Your website really help me and my grandson doing a paper on me. $45: VE-1225 Vietnam Boxed lock and keys. Got some Phillip Morris cigarettes in a dark brown package PM quit using the dark brown package in the late 1940s thats how old some of the Cs were. And my brothers. 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. Our squad leader was fairturned all Cs upside down and would mix up..then we would pick..No Fear!! I delivered beer to you guys. just outside of Da Nang, we were working with the KMC. C-packs also contained cartons of Cigaretts, M&Ms and other favorites, All individual empty cans and trash were buried prior to leaving the table unless he had another use for one of the cans. USMC 2/9 DA NANG , DONG HA, We would either just add sugar pack and eat. Ive been missing those Olive can food image and its opener tool. Every once in awhile they would send us out real food and some Beer and coke. Any leads would be greatly appreciated! Sometimes I auction off a pack of cigarettes and the highest bidder will give me a whole C-Rat meal. The Army colonel popped open an old military 'C' Ration can of pound cake from 1969 at his retirement ceremony, and dug in. Got to Nam in July 68 an assigned as a pilot way down in the Delta. We burned and buried the last ones in the system in1986 in the Sinai desert. I want to thank all the men and women who served in Vietnam. Yes they did in WWI, WWII and right up to Vietnam. U.S.A.F. Sorry 11Bs I always took my favorite out first. Ive often wondered since who made those peaches and if their product is still available. 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. THEY WERE STILL GOOD. I was an US ARMY Veterinary food inspector from 1967 to 1987. When I first got to Vietnam and was assigned to an infantry battalion in the field, I started eating Cs three meals per day. The last two I couldn`t eat and they found botulism in the beans and I almost starved . Tellander Sgt USMC. and more. If you lucked into the peach can, you could trade it for almost anything. Toilet paper and mosquito juice in band on our steel pot to keep them dry. Fortunately I was able to run down a medic with some antacid. 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. 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. Actually, I has been liking and still remember those good smell and tasty of those Military canned food. Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. Cigarettes disappeared from rations in 1975, but their legacy was a . He vowed to hang on to it until the day he retired, storing it in a box with other mementos. 2.03M subscribers Subscribe 129K 9.7M views 6 years ago Check out this full review of a Vietnam War MCI or "C Ration"! 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. Contents:12 ounces of bacon or one pound of meat (usually canned Corned Beef), two 8-ounce cans of hard bread or hardtack biscuits, a packet of 1.16 ounces of pre-ground coffee, a packet of 2.4 ounces of granulated sugar, and a packet of 0.16 ounces of salt. Thank you for taking the time to write this article. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. Mass-2 Marine attached to the 3rd Marine Div. B-unit: (3) 12 ounce cans of bread, coffee and sugar. 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. Hi mates, good paragraph and fastidious urging commented here, I am genuinely enjoying by these. There was a reason they were called Ham & Motherfuckers. We have a great picture of my father, brother and i with our pup tent set up in the back yard cooking C-Rations on my dads small portable 1 can cook stove. (LogOut/ 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. Pork Slices Ingredients: Doc Shyab. 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. He was not overly fond of them, but did eat to stay alive. 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. Smith Bravo Co. 2nd Plt 1st Bn 1st Mar Rgt 1st Mar Div, Old memories Moat says though he warned his children over the years not to touch his pound cake, he did let them eat some other rations when they were growing up in the 1980s, including canned spaghetti and crackers. They loved hearing how Tabasco Sauce made even C-rats mostly palatable. BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. Pall Mall, Luckies, Winston, Salem and Benson & Hedges Menthol were five of the brands found in Vietnam era field ration packets. Old Marine. An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. 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. Camel Cigarettes C-Ration Vietnam Era Vietnam 2 Quart Canteen M1967 Cover Mint 1972 Air Defense Artillery Guidon 1st of the 59th Sleeping Bag Carrier Strap Assembly Vietnam era Vietnam Era Flyers Kit Bag 1972 Vietnam era 1968 Lubricating Oil Tin O-190 Vietnam era 1971 Medium Weapons Oil Bottle Vietnam era 1969 Rifle Bore Cleaner When absolutely necessary, Id empty the water and spoon in a can of cheese, melting it together with a ball of C-4. The next thing I got was the MREs. Prayers-Love and GREAT BIG -Thank you to ALL Military personnel (still here or passed) and their families for serving our COUNTRY. Great articlebrings back many memories of the bad old days. I was the lucky one that LIKED ham and Lima beans! 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. 10 days later gulfort, mississippi.. jus lemme have a p38.. You brought back a lot of memories. They were pretty good .Carried a container of onion salt , and garlic salt for the C rations . We would get a hot meal maybe onced a month. 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. Tastes just like it always did, Mikolashek mumbled with a mouthful of cake as Moak laughed and clapped. Move away from the Chopper and light with matches from C-rat. Ive read some books by Vietnam vets and it was also mentioned how to use a c-rat can for the m60. We were the first army division in the first corps at that time. i was in from 1966 to 1972. i never ate a c ration that was younger than me. Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the accessory packs in 1975. Moak joked earlier this week that he hoped the can wouldnt explode. Enjoy! I can only remember seeing cases of C-Rations stacked inside APCs along with several five-gallon containers of water when we came upon them in the jungle. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. Dont have any Cs any more, but still got several P-38s, three still sealed in the brown paper. I was a crechief on Hueys who resupplied you guys. Change). During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. Give me an address and Ill send you one. one of the better memories of c rats. 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. During the monsoon season or in areas with rivers and streams, this is a moot point as water is plentiful! The brands I remember are: Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Pall Mall, Old Gold, Raleigh, Salem, Kool, Chesterfield, Newport & Lucky Strike . $40 . so what did you feed your dog in nam? It consisted of three meals sealed in a plastic bag together with items such as a can opener/spoon, matches, toilet paper, etc. Chrissy I have a few fng stories about Cs. On rare occasions when allowed piled stones put tab in middle for stove. I will call and order. Thank you so much. Thanks again. 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. Kevin. That was when I had the idea to start my own sauce company. The popular meals and cans of pound cake, peaches and fruit cocktail were prized and worth their weight in gold many soldiers hoarding them to barter for items during evening chow breaks; only one of each are included in every case of meals. 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. I ate C rats in Korea in 1960-61, and in Vietnam 65-66. As an infantry unit our year was pretty much the same as yours. | dng sng c. Each soldier was issued three boxes per day containing breakfast, dinner and supper. 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 ! He would flatly refuse to eat canned Spam when I was a young girl, saying it reminded him of those C rations! The Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) was the name of canned wet combat rations issued by the United States Armed Forces from 1958 to 1980. 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. Your email address will not be published. Welcome Home my brothers & Sisters. Opening a claymore , take a ball of c 4, light it Most used their canteen cups, which nested on the bottom of 1 Qt. I was barely more than a toddler during the Vietnam war, and am a non- veteran. 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. Once I got some pancakes that had been stuffed down an elephant rubber. 98 the LEMCO Cha Rang Valley 66 67. Last time I tried to replace my Cs the price had gone out of sight. 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! Greg Dearborn says: 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. DONT HOW THEY PRESEVERED THEM BUT THEY DID A GOOG JOB TSGT CLARENCE C WOODY USAF. As the Doughboys went to France, the ration changed. In 1975 they stopped putting cigarettes in rations which raised hell with US troops everywhere. So many times I got something other that ham & Lima so I made out in the bargain department. The blue heat tabs emitted a gas that would burn your eyes and c-4 was harder to locate for us. Good article. I too was in Berlin during the cold war. Click Here for web printable Marlboro Cigarettes from C-Ration Accessory Pack. Everyone like cake after that. Open can of peaches with P-38. Smoking in the services came under attack in the 1980s. When I was in there were four: apricots, pears, fruit cocktail and peaches. Food was of secondary importance. THE C-RATIONS I ATE IN VIETNAM IN 1970 WERE DATED 1943 THATS 27 YRS OLD AND My favorite meal was SPICED BEEF and GRAVY with crackers and cheese. 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. Brand New. Stumbled across this interesting site. 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 Nov. 1966 incident happened as his unit left Camp Carroll in the DMZ, walked north, and after two days were ambushed by the NVA and Viet Cong. Same when I came out of the field and started eating mess-hall chow regularly. Pour out all of the heavy syrup, and 3.) Since I didnt smoke, the cigarette 5-packs (except Chesterfields, which nobody wanted) came in handy for that. needs p38 please, thank you!my last original.took leave three yrs ago..jeep became stolen 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. Brings back a lot of memories. We got a hot meal in the jungle only after a firefight. We had to heat them on the engine block of a truck or the exhaust grill of a tank. 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. Not to bad either! Replace with VO or whatever whiskey you can find. Ha, ha! Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 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. Oh, the memories. Crash fire. Dont forget to stir before putting over fire. Ur full of it Old Marine. Being from MN was my home connection. These were the times that made it ok. I know, stupid MF but what the heck, its just ham. Semper Fi. Gun Pilot, B3, the co co package. crispy critters burn victims CS 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. Vietnam Equipment VE-547 Choice Vietnam Jungle Boots, size 12. Canned meals for use in the field. 2nd tour, NO problem, LOACH pilot and home every night if I didnt get shot down! Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette rations in Vietnam were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, or Winston. HI ED- nam 69-70- remember c-rats well. I was always thankful that there was a medic around after I ate the Spiced Beef. Thanks for your service. Your email address will not be published. We called it Coco mo. Marvin J. Wolf, author of Abandoned In Hell, The Fight for Vietnams Firebase Kate.. of my hand did not care about cut hand But mad till this day USA & International; Australia; Canada; France; Germany; Italy; Potable water ( without iodine tablets mixed) was difficult to obtain in the field. 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). I remember that there were no hot meals and you learned the hard way what each unit in the box contained. Click Here for web printable Vietnam Boarding Pass. lol guess I was not human. 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. Great detail Great Job from an old army Grunt. I mixed the cocoa powder, coffee powder and creamer in hot water for a tolerable beverage. 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. and heat a canteen cup of water and it provided you with quick hot water or c rations. 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. Division base camps and some larger firebases had staffed mess halls, serving three hot meals every day. Even though America gov. 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. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. In 1968-69 I ate c-rations that were older than I was. (LogOut/ To you and to all the crew chiefs and gunners, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. I have an entire case of unopened C rations from 1969 for sale on Ebay right now. the cigarettes are sold as a 50 year old collectible and are not intended for consumption. I remember the first time we got to sample some Cs just after we went threw the gas obstacle back in basic training. 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. When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but to a pack. Back I had a couple bites but couldnt get the rest down. Usually the coffee, sugar and creamer had to be worked over with a bayonet pommel to reconstitute it into powder. My father was in the Korean War and war in Vietnam, near the end of his 20 year military service in the US Army. PHU BAI, CAMP CARROLL, NAM 66/67. Answer (1 of 10): I served in the Regular Army, Feb. '61- Feb. '64 and saw many brands of 5 cigarette packs in the C-Rations that we were issued. or Best Offer +C $14.58 shipping. I just put the pound cake into one of my scenes. . Serving in the Marine corps the beef stew in cans, cold,! You were the unsung heroes of Army aviation. Sitting in a bunker with a m60 in the monsoons I try to forget. Anyway, you made my day this morning. Corporal. I was with the 173rd Airborne/2ndBn 503rd Infantry. Thank you in advance! Turkey packed in 30 weight motor oil was the worst. . Cigarettes. 1st tour grunt recon, etc. We took them camping, my sister wanted corn dogs, which the bears ate as they passed thru our camp. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. 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. You did a great job with this. 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. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. I got my first 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. you have any idea how the mean and beans were made have never found a close substitute for them. The 4-Pack Cigarettes Package of Toilet Tissue C Ration Packaging. 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 do not smoke so I save the small pack of cigarettes. recovered jeep. . Left the nam brought one home should have seen the looks I got. about fruit cocktail. Give me pears or apricots any time. Marines were not great cooks, but they were inventive. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. My last CO loved them. A few of the troops didnt like to drink beer. 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. Lots of exploded food and they had to clean up the tail of the ship. Cs provided a good snack during night-time flight line work. Zone (450 sq miles of mangrove). That was the beginning of the Tet Offensive and the hot meals were few. I think the onions were gone in a matter of a few days. description of C-Rations used in Vietnam: The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. Really love your stories. They Tried! In 1975 they stopped putting cigarettes in rations which raised hell with US troops everywhere. Ill never eat C-Rations again, but I can remember when I was glad to have them. The VC had no heart pinned down one day took out my last C-Rations used in Vietnam This is the official US 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. So I gave my last Cs to a Boy Scout Troop and switched to freeze-dried packets (civilian version of MREs) . Today still add sugar to store hot ccco mix and eat it. unopened vietnam c-ration accessory pack with cigarettes. I also still have my P-38. Im also interested in the mail service during this time period. Pingback: Feasting on the Frontlines: The Vietnam War Discussing Food History. Silly me ! L/Cpl P.T. canteens inside a canvas or nylon cover attached to web gear or ruck sacks, or the actual cans that C rations were canned. (Obviously some supply sergeant made himself a bunch of money.) In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. 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. I did that too but I wondered sometimes if a 7.62 round could ignite it. Dec 18, 2011. While on this maneuver I celebrated my birthday by having grape jelly with my pound cake. The Vietnamese will sit for hours with a homemade fishing pole fishing. As a Army pilot, I knew this well. Every thing else not to bad. Explore Vietnam C Ration Cigarette with all the useful information below including suggestions, reviews, top brands, and related recipes,. 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. The standard ration pack issued to infantrymen in Vietnam was the Australian Combat Ration (One Man). Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. Ah! always seemed to get to to the carton last an last was trash eating. We just heated ours with a ball of C-4, i.e., after opening the can. I remember having to eat my C-Ration meal cold because we were either on the move or rushed to leave in the mornings. My favorite C-ration dish was created as follows: 1.) Did you see how expensive they are on Ebay? C-rations and m-60 mechine gun and GOD are what got me through tough times . One case of C-Rations contained 6 rations. Thanks Freddy Wright. Well not like from our great restaurants. Forty years later, Henry A. Moak, Jr., still loves his pound cake.