At times we actually had to buy cases of C-rats in Phan Thiet where there was a thriving black market. Canned meals for use in the field. Scan of original thanks to Dave Stieghan. Thanks for this article and thanks all American officers and soldiers in the field of VN war. Well, my friends, let me refresh your memory and tell you everything you need to know but have forgotten about those wonderful meals. General Delivery Silver Springs Fl.34489 USA 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). The small cans included in the meal were ideal for making a stove. Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War A-C 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. 1966-67 C-Rations varied considerably through their 20 plus year service. All individual empty cans and trash were buried prior to leaving the table unless he had another use for one of the cans. It would burn hotter and was much better for heating water. B9719 VIETNAM ERA US Military C Ration Spoon in plastic bag IR19A - $16.35. I wanted to see more of his brave journey. (Ham and eggs) they were the worst. I remember having to eat my C-Ration meal cold because we were either on the move or rushed to leave in the mornings. The C-4 was safe to use as long as it wasnt compressed or using too much at one time. Cigarettes were eliminated from rations in 1972. Dec 18, 2011. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 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. Open can of peaches with P-38. C-Rations - vietnamgear.com I have the greatest respect for the grunts they did it with ingenuity and a lot of common sense. But I read as much as I can get my hands on about what it was like to have served in those times. Years later I wonder if the paint was lead based? And how did those taste? Who could ever forget about C-Rations? Little known or unpopular brands. Find great deals on eBay for c rations cigarettes. I remember the first time we got to sample some Cs just after we went threw the gas obstacle back in basic training. Change). Ham and Limas was the favorite for this purpose. Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. The ham and eggs were inedible. 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. 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. He vowed to hang on to it until the day he retired, storing it in a box with other mementos. lemon aid powder was good with some descent tasting water, [] https://charliecompany.org/2012/04/20/c-rations/ [], [] freeze dried meals Ive tried over the years didnt taste much better than the C rations I ate in the military. C Rations & D Rations from WW2 and Korea - Digger History Staf Sargent Larry Bailey. Want My Omelet? The Best and Worst of US Military Rations You don't want soldiers in war zones endangering their health! I really enjoyed reading these replies about c-rations and your experiences in Vietnam. Vietnam Veteran Keeps Vow, Eats 40-Year-Old CakeFriday , July 24, 2009. I was a dog handler in Vietnam 67-68. We had would get rations of beer and soda dropped off often in the jungles. 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. Hey Fred, I was with the same unit as you except I was in B Company, August of 69 through June of 70. I got ham and eggs. My two favorites were green eggs and ham and yes, ham and lima beans. Smoke, if you got 'em.C-Ration cigarettes $90 VE-545 Can Opener from the C-Ration Crate. and more. Great site thanks for the memories. Always let the FNGs learn a lesson the hard way. Sorry 11Bs I always took my favorite out first. Dan DMZ M/co 1969 USMC Hill 461 Sieara Rock Pile , Stud, LZ MAC chopper down! Fishing? Ive often wondered since who made those peaches and if their product is still available. You are describing a military mess kit, but they were not used by most GIs in Viet Nam. 2.03M subscribers Subscribe 129K 9.7M views 6 years ago Check out this full review of a Vietnam War MCI or "C Ration"! Vietnam War-Stories.com: Phu Bai, Seabees: C-Rations descritpion Medevac. and heat a canteen cup of water and it provided you with quick hot water or c rations. Menu. Upon further review it becomes clear that the lists of "things" have a much deeper meaning and carry an abundance amount of . The only thing I miss was the instant coffee with the creamer and sugar. My favorite C-ration dish was created as follows: 1.) were dog rations and c rations the same thing? Reproduction WW2 German MP40 Transit Case $350.00 WW2 K Ration Heavy Duty Cardboard Packing Box (10 in 1, K Ration, Heffenreffer Beer.) He would flatly refuse to eat canned Spam when I was a young girl, saying it reminded him of those C rations! 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. 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. On the rare occasion when we got a fresh bag lunch sandwich some kinda fruit and a couple boiled eggs it was egg salad time what a treet. 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. Vintage Meal Combat Individual Accessory Packet Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopterpilotoff the Vietnamese coast in 1973. Many boxes of C's had WWII dates, but the smokers still smoked the cigarettes from those old boxes. Nov 16, 2013 at 2338hrs, Being an MACV Advisor C-rations always tasted good when ever we had a chance to beg some. I carry my P38 that i had in Vietnam on my keychain. ONE ORIGINAL!! Voilatoasted cheese sandwich. It would explain a lot of the stupid decisions Ive made over the years. Everybody liked Pound Cake, but there was only (1) box per case that had it. 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. 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 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. 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. when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. 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. 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. In the aviation community wed take a can of biscuits, poke holes in it, pour some JP4 into it, and voila a stove!! We just heated ours with a ball of C-4, i.e., after opening the can. I ate C rats in Korea in 1960-61, and in Vietnam 65-66. My dog would not eat the ham and lima beans. 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. 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. $79.95 Vietnam Us Army 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. Vietnam war C-Ration Cigarette Pack Winston Repro | eBay Did C-rations have cigarettes? - Quora I was an US ARMY Veterinary food inspector from 1967 to 1987. Elements of a United States Military Meal, Combat, Individual ration, as served in Da Nang, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, 1966 or 1967. Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. 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. And to you Vietnam soldierswelcome home sincerely wished to you all. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Since your audience is mostly nam vets, Id guess ALL OF THEM remember c-rats. We burned and buried the last ones in the system in1986 in the Sinai desert. The new menu (late 1968 onward) included good stuff like beans & weenies. Not to bad either! George Newport dynamite and dirt merchant Combat Engineer. c rations cigarettes: Search Result | eBay 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. Great article, I was USMC 1966/67 Vietnam. It let off a whooshing sound as the pressure seal broke. about fruit cocktail. New Reproduction C-Rations Available. On the way we had C-Rats, I liked the Ham and Lima beans, they were easy to trade for as a lot of guys like you did not like them. Marines were not great cooks, but they were inventive. Toilet paper and mosquito juice in band on our steel pot to keep them dry. C-rations combat rations. Blocks of c 4 began to be available, this spared claymores. My father used to grumble about C-rations from his service in WWII, also, so it was interesting to read this site. It would swell up and we wood take it away from the exhaust port until it went back to its original size. My father was in the Korean War and war in Vietnam, near the end of his 20 year military service in the US Army. Forgot to mention earlier that battalion sometimes surprises us during resupply and brings out hot food in thermos containers. As a Army pilot, I knew this well. B-unit: (3) 12 ounce cans of bread, coffee and sugar. Brings back a lot of memories. 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 . . And in spite of all their faults, I do sometimes miss C-Rats, especially the Pound Cake! This is the officialQuartermastersdescription 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. Other then that, fantastic blog! I got out of the field with 12 days left and went to Song Be. 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! I ate a years worth 199LIB 11b20 September 69 September 70. Anyway, you made my day this morning. On rare occasions when allowed piled stones put tab in middle for stove. The section on C-rations brought waves of memories of those days. C $19.38. Explore Vietnam C Ration Cigarette with all the useful information below including suggestions, reviews, top brands, and related recipes,. If you lucked into the peach can, you could trade it for almost anything. 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. Most of them were manufactured the year I was born, or the next after. Prayers-Love and GREAT BIG -Thank you to ALL Military personnel (still here or passed) and their families for serving our COUNTRY. Replace with VO or whatever whiskey you can find. So many times I got something other that ham & Lima so I made out in the bargain department. I got pretty good at stealing C4 to cook with , and those LRRP rations . The military marches on its stomach - Sidney Daily News HI ED- nam 69-70- remember c-rats well. An afternoon like this was a celebration, unfortunately, it only happened about once or twice a month. Well not like from our great restaurants. Forty years later, Henry A. Moak, Jr., still loves his pound cake. Nate Hill, Pres, TAC Tankers Assn. I get a lot of the cans of fruit cake. all were palatable, but the peaches were outstanding. Id buy several cases in an instant. Mostly they were awful but I was lucky. Even for me being a FNG they were a treat but I didnt appreciate them as much as the old timers did. C-Rations | Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972 Man do I remember C rations. Today still add sugar to store hot ccco mix and eat it. C-RATIONS - Brownwater Vietnam Veterans I was a high-speed radio operator (MOS 062) during the peacetime years 1955-58, after Korea and before Vietnam. b9719 Vietnam era US Military C Ration Spoon in plastic bag IR19A Where can I buy this rations ?I like this food too much. Patrick Douglas Erb was there from Oct.20,1970-March 15,1971. 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. ago. If I remember correctly, we used heating tablets in our stove to heat a can of whatever (no ham and lima beans for me) well I guess that qualifies as a hot meal. From Sylmar, CA. Thank you for taking the time to write this article. Those wonderful recipes that you made up so the Cs were more palatable. Kindest regards. The next thing I got was the MREs. Need Easy, Nutritious Food While Blacktail Deer Hunting. Check my other listings for different quantities. 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. Wait until they run out of cigarettes and trade them for C-Rats. In addition to the two carboard parts, you will need four cigarettes & two pieces of foil. What is wrong with me? Original was from a formerly unopened original accessory pack. And one day I plan on working as a flight RN / EMT-P as well as continuing to either work or volunteer as a firefighter. However, none of us wanted to carry that much extra weight on our backs, instead, most settling for a single complete meal per day and extra cans of crackers, cakes and fruit to supplement their diet until the next resupply all stuffed into a sock and tied to the back of a rucksack. That was like eating the congealed fat from a canned ham. The standard ration pack issued to infantrymen in Vietnam was the Australian Combat Ration (One Man). WWII Cigarettes and other 1940s Smoking Reproductions Well presented and will share with fellow Vietnam veterans and family. P-38! 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.