I was at minimum weight then. C-Rations are commercially prepared meals, used in the field and at times when hot meals were not available. Hey Fred, I was with the same unit as you except I was in B Company, August of 69 through June of 70. German military outfitter Bausenwein is offering brand new, reproduction C-rations. DONT HOW THEY PRESEVERED THEM BUT THEY DID A GOOG JOB TSGT CLARENCE C WOODY USAF. Water was critical. (Obviously some supply sergeant made himself a bunch of money.) Only hot meal was the last morning for chow. I too was in Berlin during the cold war. 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. Free Sample first six chapters of Cherries both Written and Audiobook, Author interview War & Life: Discussions with a Veteran, Feasting on the Frontlines: The Vietnam War Discussing Food History, A brief history of coffee in the US military | We Are The Mighty, A brief history of coffee in the US military. 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 ! I ate a years worth 199LIB 11b20 September 69 September 70. Did not see mention of toothpick that you chewed one end for toothbrush ( sucked). I dont recall eating many of the meals warm. Only down fall was it was instant heart burn. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. crispy critters burn victims CS VE-1226 Cigarette case from the 67TH TAC Recon Wing. https://charliecompany.org/2012/04/20/c-rations/ Reply With []. And my brothers. I miss the guys I hope all are doing well. great footlocker or combat field pack display item. . Moak joked earlier this week that he hoped the can wouldnt explode. Give me an address and Ill send you one. I do recall being thirsty. l would buy and eat them today if someone was to make em. Elements of a United States Military Meal, Combat, Individual ration, as served in Da Nang, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, 1966 or 1967. Semper fi !! it seemed like that to me :)) , and shredded beef ( per my visual to call it as such) . I got my first I came from Landisville PA in Lancaster County that was only 12 miles from Lititz. Photos of dissected original pack & other info is included in the pdf file. I remember that there were no hot meals and you learned the hard way what each unit in the box contained. C-packs also contained cartons of Cigaretts, M&Ms and other favorites, Hill 55 out of DaNang. C Ration Cigarettes (1 - 3 of 3 results) Price ($) Any price Under $25 $25 to $100 $100 to $250 . If I admit to actually liking and trading for ham & lima beans, does that imply Im strange beyond? . Got to Nam in July 68 an assigned as a pilot way down in the Delta. 34 watchers Remember c rats well . 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. We had c-rats (MCIs) in basic and in Germany on FTX until about 83, then we got MREs over there. A typical . A whole heat tab had to be used. I had 2 brothers in the military, one in the marines, one in the army. Steve Miller Three of us hailed a cab & that older gent stopped & bought us a six pack. In the field 90% of my tour. In 1966 during the Vietnam war Brig. Sorry 11Bs I always took my favorite out first. C-Ration: Development began in 1938 and was completed between 1941 and 1945. Most of us knew there were others who had it harder than than we did. We called it Coco mo. What do you think? The cigarettes were even contaminated with bugs ! $90 VE-545 Can Opener from the C-Ration Crate. | dng sng c. 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. You could boil a canteen cup of water with a pea-size ball of it in 30 seconds. But, Nuac mam still sucks ass! Non-smokers were known to swap the C-rats cigarette. Hi mates, good paragraph and fastidious urging commented here, I am genuinely enjoying by these. God bless you and I hope that this note finds you well, Sir. Opening a claymore , take a ball of c 4, light it description of C-Rations used in Vietnam: The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. General Delivery Silver Springs Fl.34489 USA $50: VE-1123 Vietnam period shoulder bag for machine gun . A couple of days later our friend David called and told us that there was a problem with the sauce. If you lucked into the peach can, you could trade it for almost anything. We were at the end of the supply line so we ate a lot of C-rations. The daily ration of 3 meals provides approximately 3600 calories., 1 Beef w/Spiced Sauce, Halved Apricots, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 2 Tuna Fish, Quartered Pears, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 3 Ham and Eggs, Chopped, Quartered Pears, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 4 Pork, Sliced, Cooked with Juices, Halved Apricots, Peanut Butter, B-1 Unit crackers, candy, 5 Beans w/Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce, Blackberry Jam, Fruitcake, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 6 Beef Slices and Potatoes w/Gravy, Pineapple Jam, Orange Nut Roll, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 7 Spaghetti w/Beef Chunks in Sauce, Peach Jam, Cinnamon Nut Roll, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 8 Beans w/Meat Balls in Tomato Sauce, Grape Jam, Pound Cake, B-2 Unit crackers, cocoa beverage powder, 9 Beefsteak, Sliced Peaches, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 10 Chicken or Turkey Boned, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Fruit Cocktail, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 11 Ham Sliced, Cooked with Juices, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Fruit Cocktail, B-3 Unit crackers, candy, 12 Turkey Loaf, Cheese Spread, Cheddar Plain, Sliced Peaches, B-3 Unit crackers, candy. 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 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. The 1st Inf Div was not allowed beer in the field due to some previous incident. So it was c-rats for at least two meals a night. 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. I think the onions were gone in a matter of a few days. However, brilliant military minds said we could not eat there and our 12 hour shifts were intense preventing us from taking a journey to the other side. When were cigarettes removed from C rations? Most of them were manufactured the year I was born, or the next after. This is the food US soldiers ate when deployed in the Vietnam War.. There wasnt a USMarine anywhere near Saigon. Vietnam C Rations and Stuff Cigarette Coupons Free Printable Free Coupons By Mail Newport Cigarettes Nostalgia Marlboro Cigarette Vintage Metal Signs Okinawa American History Vietnam War - included in each C-Ration; great for batering if a non-smoker Military Life Military History Military Food Veterans United Military Signs Military Ranks The blue heat tabs emitted a gas that would burn your eyes and c-4 was harder to locate for us. Today still add sugar to store hot ccco mix and eat it. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. It consisted of three meals sealed in a plastic bag together with items such as a can opener/spoon, matches, toilet paper, etc. Pound cake was one f the favorites in my platoon. Smilesnada but smiles. 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. An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. The dehydrated pork and beef hockey pucks were supposed to be the big thing but the dried fruit was the best part. Blocks of c 4 began to be available, this spared claymores. ate a lot as a kid . Great articlebrings back many memories of the bad old days. C-Rations were developed in 1938 as a replacement for reserve rations, which sustained troops during World War I, and consisted chiefly of canned corned beef or bacon and cans of hardtack. Then there was the white worms in red sauce. C-Rations varied considerably through their 20 plus year service. 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. Development began in 1938 with the . Gentlemen, I was wondering if you ever ate at a local shack/stall in town or did you ever go fishing? The popular brands like Winston, Marlboro, Kools and Salem were always in short supply and benefited the non-smokers who used them to barter. Toward the end of my tour, we began having access to the freeze-dried LRRP meals. They Tried! 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. U.S. Army photo Best dessert was peaches & pound cake, but you had to trade for stuff. Used extensively during World War II. Do you remember your special recipes? Broight back some memories for me from my year in the bush. We were the first army division in the first corps at that time. My father used to grumble about C-rations from his service in WWII, also, so it was interesting to read this site. I got ham and eggs. ago. Division base camps and some larger firebases had staffed mess halls, serving three hot meals every day. TM 21 1965. But I read as much as I can get my hands on about what it was like to have served in those times. iI LOVE C RATION WISH I HAD SOME NOW I ATE THEM EVERY DY WHEN I WAS IN NAM I W THERE FOR 18 MONTH WIT THE 101 ST ABN. The ration was very heavy, weighing 5 lbs . OK, now that your memory is refreshed, do you remember how you cooked your C-Rations. 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. Tellander Sgt USMC. We were supplied by air drops and you ran to the pallet to get the best c ration unit. Chrissy vet 69-73 does any one have a recipe for meat and beans? C rations boxes contained three meals for each of eight men. A plastic spoon. 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. 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. I liked ham and limas. Usually the coffee, sugar and creamer had to be worked over with a bayonet pommel to reconstitute it into powder. Everybody liked Pound Cake, but there was only (1) box per case that had it. 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. Each menu contained approximately 1200 calories and consisted of: One canned meat course One canned fruit or cake I want to thank all the men and women who served in Vietnam. Vietnam Equipment VE-547 Choice Vietnam Jungle Boots, size 12. I do remember about a week after I was out in the field we received a case of onions by mistake. You did a great job with this. Being from MN was my home connection. Voilatoasted cheese sandwich. They came sealed in foil . I lived on peaches & pound cake for breakfast with hot chocolate. Enjoy! There are several websites dedicated to US military combat rations that show all the brands. Back 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. I also still have my P-38. Lots of exploded food and they had to clean up the tail of the ship. THE C-RATIONS I ATE IN VIETNAM IN 1970 WERE DATED 1943 THATS 27 YRS OLD AND Our squad leader was fairturned all Cs upside down and would mix up..then we would pick..No Fear!! Had to have Tabasco sauce for the C rats. Levine named the threats as mold and deadly botulism if the sealing on the food has been broken, which isnt always visible. Wow brings back a lot of memories. Pork Slices Ingredients: It was often supplied by water trailer or inflatable bladders from helicopters (called water buffaloes) because they were black rubber, and placed on a Gerry built wooden stand surrounded by sandbags to prevent shrapnel or small arms fire from penetrating and emptying the water. These reminiscences take me back. 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. Went back a few months ago, the whole country has changed. 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. Move away from the Chopper and light with matches from C-rat. Interesting article but a really dumb question? It was reported in the media that each soldier in Vietnam had a hot meal each day. guy came by and collected all our heating tabs said they caused cancer. I WONDER IF HE DIED FROM AGENT ORANGE. The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. 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. I was the lucky one that LIKED ham and Lima beans! We got a hot meal in the jungle only after a firefight. Pingback: Remember C-Rations? C-ration cigarettes were discontinued in 1972. Posted March 31, 2018. Original was from a formerly unopened original accessory pack. BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. The C-Ration was replaced in 1958 with the Meal Combat Individual (MCI). It`s the meal that had the pound cake. 1967 Vietnam c-rations box being opened for the first time in 43 years. The new menu (late 1968 onward) included good stuff like beans & weenies. Love the pound cake especially if you saved the fruit cocktail and ate them together. taste of C-rats in 1975 in basic training at Fort Polk La. I carry my P38 that i had in Vietnam on my keychain. Used to put them on the voltage regulators to heat. Spicy Beef, One of my favorite meat dishes in a case of Cs. 1st tour grunt recon, etc. Kindest regards. The Vietnamese will sit for hours with a homemade fishing pole fishing. 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. I have great memories of C-Rations. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. meal eggs always looked greenish . It tasted like delicious warm and moist cake fresh from the bakery. HI ED- nam 69-70- remember c-rats well. The section on C-rations brought waves of memories of those days. 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. C $19.38. The VC had no heart pinned down one day took out my last P-38! The 4 meals I remember are 1- chopped ham and eggs 2 beans and wieners 3- ham and lima beans 4- beefsteak and potatoes. The desserts and the B units got better, too. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Looked for the fruit cans mostly, but some of the other items were tasty too. Within shouting distance of us was a huge Marine Mess. 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. A second or B unit might include peanut butter and crackers, chocolate, gum, cigarettes, salt, pepper, and sugar, among other items. I got out of the field with 12 days left and went to Song Be. After a formal retirement ceremony, dozens of friends and relatives joined Moak in the Pentagons Hall of Heroes as he opened the can to cheers. When I first got to Vietnam and was assigned to an infantry battalion in the field, I started eating Cs three meals per day. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Never saw anyone eat pound cake without spitting it out. I thought that smoking American cigarettes was a big mistake. A must have item for your helmet display, uniform or gear. Almost never saw heat tabs , we called them c tabs they didnt want us to have flames. I liked the Cs better. Service. The coffee, sugar, creamer and hot cocoa came in paper envelopes. Beat the heck out of what we scrounged up to eat with our counterparts. 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. I think I was one of a few who actually liked ham and Limas. Scottie Hill CW4(Ret) Ret. Oh, the memories. Hot or room temp, either way I always got a major bought of heart burn shortly after consuming the spiced beef. 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 remember the first c-ration meal we received. Smoking the local product might fool Mr. Charles. I was a crechief on Hueys who resupplied you guys. Shop with confidence. 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. Thought it was really good. 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. Honestly, the scrambled egg chunks or beans and weenies werent bad cold, but the rest needed to be heated in order to be palatable. 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. Trying to spread the word to potentially interested people. I was 13. It woul heat a bunch of c-rats. When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but I thank each of you for all you have done and all the countless sacrifices you made. As the Doughboys went to France, the ration changed. Thanks for your service. If somebody liked Lucky Strikes, Parliament, Chesterfields or Pall Malls, they would never run out. Never heard of that version before. Greg Dearborn says: We had would get rations of beer and soda dropped off often in the jungles. 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. Even then I ate one like an apple but the fellows that had been there longer made c rat stew and threw in the onions. I mixed the cocoa powder, coffee powder and creamer in hot water for a tolerable beverage. 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. Old Marine. That was the beginning of the Tet Offensive and the hot meals were few. 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. In 1975 they stopped putting cigarettes in rations which raised hell with US troops everywhere. 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. In the fall of this year I will be in a paramedic program. 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 standard ration pack issued to infantrymen in Vietnam was the Australian Combat Ration (One Man). CA. Brings back a lot of memories. $40 : VE-1124 Mortar carrier's shoulder pads, to support the metal barrel. 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. lol guess I was not human. Serving in the Marine corps the beef stew in cans, cold,! 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. 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. Remember chunks of pork with an inch of grease on top. after this became the way of doing it. Mostly they were awful but I was lucky. It smells good, Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. Living in Florida, for years I kept a couple of cases of Cs on hand as part of my hurricane supplies. Saved the coke for when we would be by the tanks or APCs. unopened vietnam c-ration accessory pack with cigarettes. 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. I drew ham and eggs. Tay Nihn..68 Nui Ba Din. The C-ration (officially Field Ration . Fishing? were dog rations and c rations the same thing? I found this very interesting Yuck. As a Army pilot, I knew this well. Free delivery for many products! I destroyed my taste buds eating my Moms cooking. noviopera From shop noviopera. My favorite was, Ham & Eggs Chopped. A stove was usually carried in the back pack or cargo pocket and used repeatedly until the metal began to fail. Pour out all of the heavy syrup, and 3.) New Reproduction C-Rations Available. Each ration was composed of a B-unit and a M-unit; total weight was approximately 7 pounds. To eating our faithful C rations. I lived on pound cake and chicken noodle soup cooked with a pinch of C4. Funny story, Buzz. Just askin, BTW: I grew up in New Orleans and knew many of the McIlhenny family. and heat a canteen cup of water and it provided you with quick hot water or c rations. At topa C-ration with P-38 can opener. I remember having to eat my C-Ration meal cold because we were either on the move or rushed to leave in the mornings. Currahee. to a pack. 2. The brands I remember are: Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Pall Mall, Old Gold, Raleigh, Salem, Kool, Chesterfield, Newport & Lucky Strike . 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. Since your audience is mostly nam vets, Id guess ALL OF THEM remember c-rats. 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. Loved the lerps when we could get them. Use the removed lid to cut 4 thin slices from the biscuit, toss the unused biscuits. He was not overly fond of them, but did eat to stay alive. Right? 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. The Armycolonelpopped open an old military C Ration can of pound cake from 1969 at his retirement ceremony, and dug in. 1966-67 You, and all veterans have my utmost respect and admiration. We went through East Germany on the Autobahn to Holiefields in Weat Germany for a training mission. Using a John Wayne (a P-38) pierce a series of closely spaced holes around the top and bottom rims of the can. Though it had been given a new name, the MCI was in essence still the canned C ration of prior years. God bless you all. This establishment made Beans and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce shipping thousands of cases a month out. Last time I tried to replace my Cs the price had gone out of sight. Put 1 slice on the bottom of the 2 cans with attached lids. As an infantry unit our year was pretty much the same as yours. 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!! Took me back,soldier. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. from United Kingdom. Vietnam (1961-75) Collectibles; Militaria; Vietnam (1961-75) Original Period Items; Other Vietnam War Orig. Glad to be on my way back to Goliad, TX so many of my buds were not so lucky. $40 . Heres a few of the photos from my page: http://1-22infantry.org/pics4/richard.htm. 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. all were palatable, but the peaches were outstanding. 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. MACTHAI advisor here. You don't want soldiers in war zones endangering their health! 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. 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. One thing I remember about Cs was the fruit. 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 ( ? The Army colonel popped open an old military 'C' Ration can of pound cake from 1969 at his retirement ceremony, and dug in. But themilitarydiscourages eating from old rations. 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. It replaced the earlier C-ration, which it was so similar to . Welcome back. I was an US ARMY Veterinary food inspector from 1967 to 1987. Good grief.that was 50 years ago and I had just turned 18. Listing is for 1x Pin Badges, please specify the design at checkout or a random ones will be sent out. Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette ration were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, or Winston. Today Gover keeps a . Forgot to mention earlier that battalion sometimes surprises us during resupply and brings out hot food in thermos containers. 3-1969 to Feb 1970. I explored the possibility of having the hardware removed and obtaining a medical waiver, but the consultation I received from docs and my own inner wisdom left me deciding on the path I am currently on. so what did you feed your dog in nam? Brand New. We burned and buried the last ones in the system in1986 in the Sinai desert. For the new guys flying for the first time, we never let them know how to do it.