I was 13. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. As a Army pilot, I knew this well. Pingback: Remember C-Rations? I thought that smoking American cigarettes was a big mistake. Just askin, BTW: I grew up in New Orleans and knew many of the McIlhenny family. When I had my first taste of LRP Rations I thought it was food for angels. Sold by kragsr4c07 in Great Falls Buy Now! Semper fi !! 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. about fruit cocktail. I say all and families because a Military person has or had people waiting for them and worrying about them. Helicopter Pilot. Who could ever forget about C-Rations? Menu. Vietnam War C-Ration Cigarette Pack Lucky Strike Repro Opens in a new window or tab. 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. Prayers-Love and GREAT BIG -Thank you to ALL Military personnel (still here or passed) and their families for serving our COUNTRY. We just heated ours with a ball of C-4, i.e., after opening the can. Potable water ( without iodine tablets mixed) was difficult to obtain in the field. I carry my P38 that i had in Vietnam on my keychain. That part didn't last long after the war, as the dangers of smoking cigarettes became more widely known. During the monsoon season or in areas with rivers and streams, this is a moot point as water is plentiful! The next thing I got was the MREs. 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. Open can of peaches with P-38. The container itself had 2 compartments. Used to put them on the voltage regulators to heat. What is wrong with me? I came from Landisville PA in Lancaster County that was only 12 miles from Lititz. Pingback: Feasting on the Frontlines: The Vietnam War Discussing Food History. Using a John Wayne (a P-38) pierce a series of closely spaced holes around the top and bottom rims of the can. Since your audience is mostly nam vets, Id guess ALL OF THEM remember c-rats. unopened vietnam c-ration accessory pack with cigarettes. Military C-Ration Peanut Butter Can Unopened Cinderella Foods Inc Dawson Ga $13.00 $17.05 shipping I destroyed my taste buds eating my Moms cooking. I would save my fruit and pond cake and trad for their rations of beer. He vowed to hang on to it until the day he retired, storing it in a box with other mementos. (Ham and eggs) they were the worst. Ive read some books by Vietnam vets and it was also mentioned how to use a c-rat can for the m60. Service. Ham and Limas was the favorite for this purpose. Serving in the Marine corps the beef stew in cans, cold,! Great walk down memory lane. The Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) was the name of canned wet combat rations issued by the United States Armed Forces from 1958 to 1980. Ron Perron Thank you for your time. Pound cake was one f the favorites in my platoon. $50: VE-1125 Vietnam Grenade Carrier. Lots of exploded food and they had to clean up the tail of the ship. Tastes just like it always did, Mikolashek mumbled with a mouthful of cake as Moak laughed and clapped. I remember that there were no hot meals and you learned the hard way what each unit in the box contained. Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. During the 1960s C-ration cigarettes were identical to the sample packs of four that tobacco salesreps handed out to the public. Each complete meal contains approximately 1200 calories. It would explain a lot of the stupid decisions Ive made over the years. I was at minimum weight then. 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. 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. 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. I was always thankful that there was a medic around after I ate the Spiced Beef. Brand New. Once I got some pancakes that had been stuffed down an elephant rubber. Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! of my hand did not care about cut hand But mad till this day 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. The standard ration pack issued to infantrymen in Vietnam was the Australian Combat Ration (One Man). We already carried 4 5 quart canteens to keep hydrated until the next resupply. And my brothers. 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. As I remember our C rats were marked 1941 &42. That was when I had the idea to start my own sauce company. Every thing else not to bad. Same when I came out of the field and started eating mess-hall chow regularly. Thanksgiving and Christmas 1967 saw one beer per guy allotted to the troops. Smoking the local product might fool Mr. Charles. Photos of dissected original pack & other info is included in the pdf file. "The bread was awful. The Red Cross also distributedletters from school children, church groups and others for us to read and respond in kind. $45: VE-1225 Vietnam Boxed lock and keys. I had 2 brothers in the military, one in the marines, one in the army. 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. l would buy and eat them today if someone was to make em. The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. I was a high-speed radio operator (MOS 062) during the peacetime years 1955-58, after Korea and before Vietnam. 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). In and around Quang Tri with side trips to Hue, Khe San & Dong Ha. Brought back lots of memories. recovered jeep. The only thing I find myself craving from time to time was the instant coffee with of course dry creamer and sugar although I think it was making it in one of the C ration cans that gave it that special flavor. Cigarettes were eliminated from rations in 1972. taste of C-rats in 1975 in basic training at Fort Polk La. In 1925, the meat ration was replaced with canned pork and beans. When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but Balance food to be heated on bent over lid and can while fire heat main course. 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. $40 : VE-1124 Mortar carrier's shoulder pads, to support the metal barrel. Those wonderful recipes that you made up so the Cs were more palatable. Hot or room temp, either way I always got a major bought of heart burn shortly after consuming the spiced beef. 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. New Reproduction C-Rations Available. Three? Dont forget to stir before putting over fire. 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. noviopera From shop noviopera. It does take one way back. I was there during the transition from C-Rats to MREs during the early 80s. 1 empty C-Ration box 1 toilet paper pack 1 book of matches 1 plastic spoon 1 P-38 can opener Open all 5 cans with the P-38 leaving the lids slightly attached on 2 biscuit cans. Greg Dearborn says: 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. What I have here are various types of B units from year . 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 ! Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the accessory packs in 1975. Took me back,soldier. I liked Ham and M..f That meant I always had plenty to eat. All individual empty cans and trash were buried prior to leaving the table unless he had another use for one of the cans. So I gave my last Cs to a Boy Scout Troop and switched to freeze-dried packets (civilian version of MREs) . 34 watchers Hey me too other good ones were Beans and Balls Beans and Dicks Beef and Potato couldnt eat the egg thing spaghetti could not be cooked in the can, it would just rise up as a blob, cold top and burned bottom Ive got peaches, whos got the pound cake, I saved my ham & lima beans until we returned to the rear, then put the on the stove, boiling hot with a little hot sauce made me happy, Wow, how did we survive. Yuck. Grab a small loaf of bahn-mi or baguette from the village baker with a can of boned chicken gently heated on the V-100 manifoldThat and a ba-moui-ba brewnot bad. Glad to be on my way back to Goliad, TX so many of my buds were not so lucky. Scan of original thanks to Dave Stieghan. Fortunately I was able to run down a medic with some antacid. 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. Abovecrew members on a UH-1 helicopter deliver C-rations to soldiers in the field during the Vietnam War. You did a great job with this. Now I know why I lost 40 LBs. and heat a canteen cup of water and it provided you with quick hot water or c rations. Issued as one boxed ration per person per day. It was reported in the media that each soldier in Vietnam had a hot meal each day. Dear Chrissy, Scottie Hill CW4(Ret) Ret. I wanted to see more of his brave journey. Love the pound cake especially if you saved the fruit cocktail and ate them together. DD345 - Liberty Pass. When out on missions, infantry units were re-supplied with . When out on missions, infantry units were re-supplied with food, water, ammunition, clothes and other items by helicopter every three to five days. Almost never saw heat tabs , we called them c tabs they didnt want us to have flames. 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. Through some investigation he found the manufacturer of it was Sara Lee. The VC had no heart pinned down one day took out my last 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. 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. C-packs also contained cartons of Cigaretts, M&Ms and other favorites, Vietnam C Ration Cigarette : Top Picked from our Experts