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 was at minimum weight then. Twelve different menus are included in the specification. My father used to grumble about C-rations from his service in WWII, also, so it was interesting to read this site. I liked Ham and M..f That meant I always had plenty to eat. Great. In and around Quang Tri with side trips to Hue, Khe San & Dong Ha. noviopera From shop noviopera. C-Rations | Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972 ago. 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. Since I didnt smoke, the cigarette 5-packs (except Chesterfields, which nobody wanted) came in handy for that. Though it had been given a new name, the MCI was in essence still the canned C ration of prior years. So, I have no military or Nam stories to tell, darn it! It was just what I needed. 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. 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. Photos of dissected original pack & other info is included in the pdf file. I was barely more than a toddler during the Vietnam war, and am a non- veteran. 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. Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War A-C I was with the 15th Aerial Port Sq 1968-69, Da Nang. Pour out all of the heavy syrup, and 3.) Remember c rats well . Im writing a book which is fiction loosely based on my real experience for ages 10-14. 2.) Anyway, you made my day this morning. 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. Vintage K Brand Rabbit Family Ration Patch Logo Snapback Trucker Hat On rare occasions when allowed piled stones put tab in middle for stove. 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. I was a dog handler in Vietnam 67-68. He would flatly refuse to eat canned Spam when I was a young girl, saying it reminded him of those C rations! Greg Dearborn says: My favorite meal was SPICED BEEF and GRAVY with crackers and cheese. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. This would include various survival items and rations. God bless you all. VE-1226 Cigarette case from the 67TH TAC Recon Wing. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. Broight back some memories for me from my year in the bush. Saved the coke for when we would be by the tanks or APCs. Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. Dec 18, 2011. Once I got some pancakes that had been stuffed down an elephant rubber. Anything a dog wont eat should not be consumed by a human. As I remember our C rats were marked 1941 &42. 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. 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. Even for me being a FNG they were a treat but I didnt appreciate them as much as the old timers did. The popular brands like Winston, Marlboro, Kools and Salem were always in short supply and benefited the non-smokers who used them to barter. 3-1969 to Feb 1970. Since Cs were pre-cooked, they didnt need to be heated up, but it helped. PDF Vietnam Era C-Ration Cigarette Pack - HardScrabble Farm Fine. I had a couple bites but couldnt get the rest down. Vietnam War Pin Badge Reproductions. 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. We would punch a few holes in the top of the can using a P38 and add a small amount of water and heat it for a bit with a piece of C4. Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. 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. Your email address will not be published. In 1925, the meat ration was replaced with canned pork and beans. Ad vertisement from shop noviopera. The line units were pulled out of the field on occasion, usually about once a month for three days, to enjoy home cooking, barbecues and ice-cold beer and soda a reward we always looked forward to. 1966-67 Also sometimes we added the sugar, creamer, and coffee park in the coco package adding a little water mixing it up. They loved hearing how Tabasco Sauce made even C-rats mostly palatable. BTW, I did some shows with Justin Wilson in New Orleans. C-Ration Pizza - Vietnam Soldier Would turn to soup. 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. Military explosives? Then mix a bunch of mosquito repellent in about a half of can.use the rest of the peanut better on the very thick (hard tack) crackers!! Move away from the Chopper and light with matches from C-rat. Fox 2/7 Marines 0311 June 1969/June 1970. Original Rare U.S. Vietnam War Survival Kit & Ration Packaging Elements of a United States Military Meal, Combat, Individual ration, as served in Da Nang, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, 1966 or 1967. It had a flavor I can not duplicate to this day. Sir, thank you for your service in Vietnam and for the insightful information you provided in this article. I ate a years worth 199LIB 11b20 September 69 September 70. To you and to all the crew chiefs and gunners, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. 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. 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. Most of us knew there were others who had it harder than than we did. Others were downright awful (Ham and Lima beans) and passed over left behind for the Cherries when it is their turn to pick out meals. , Just looking at a can of Ham and MFers makes me wanna puke. 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 . Life-saving use of rations! 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. Marvin J. Wolf, author of Abandoned In Hell, The Fight for Vietnams Firebase Kate.. Cigarettes were bad for your health along with bullets. I have so much respect & admiration for them. Photo via Wikipedia. A second or B unit might include peanut butter and crackers, chocolate, gum, cigarettes, salt, pepper, and sugar, among other items. or four? after this became the way of doing it. Dont forget to stir before putting over fire. The ration had to contain meat, bread, canned fruit, and some kind of dessert. During the monsoon season or in areas with rivers and streams, this is a moot point as water is plentiful! Each soldier was issued three boxes per day containing breakfast, dinner and supper. 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! $40 . My favorite C-ration dish was created as follows: 1.) Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! Who could ever forget about C-Rations? about fruit cocktail. Sometimes I auction off a pack of cigarettes and the highest bidder will give me a whole C-Rat meal. So many times I got something other that ham & Lima so I made out in the bargain department. I got a flashback Ill never forget those days Sometimes I would eat the pineapples, bananas or coconuts if I could get them. Vietnam Era C-Ration Cigarette Pack www.hardscrabblefarm.com The photo above shows the components of the cigarette pack. The C-4 was safe to use as long as it wasnt compressed or using too much at one time. Agree pound cake slice it mix choc sugar creamer make icing. 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. Canned meals for use in the field. It was great when someone got a care package from homewe all shared. Ahh, comfort food in the middle of the jungle. C-Rations | Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972 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. 1967 Vietnam c-rations box being opened for the first time in 43 years. 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. would love to find a rec for them now Patrick Douglas Erb was there from Oct.20,1970-March 15,1971. Beat the heck out of what we scrounged up to eat with our counterparts. Mostly they were awful but I was lucky. Must have been super hot. Last time I tried to replace my Cs the price had gone out of sight. I do! Gotta tell you that the ham and limas were the only c rat I couldnt eat and I love normal ham and limas,but the c rat version were way too salty, we called them the heavies. Every thing else not to bad.