SHOCKING Vietnam War Meals Soldiers SURVIVED On

[@bigbuck762]

To all the Vietnam veterans thank you for your service and welcome home

[@GeorgeLaBranche]

Keep your P38 handy

[@tomschmidt381]

@@GeorgeLaBranche I still have a few 50 years later.

[@raywhitehead730]

Most of the rations I got, were Korean war era made. But when your hungry its all good. Loved the early morning coffee.

[@thadstaples]

Yep, I think some of it could have been WW11 . I ate only for fuel.

[@dennisreed3382]

That's how I know you're an honest veteran. Ditto.

[@edmedlin2936]

Hell, I was there. I was a grunt in the field in the 1st Cav. We got 2 Cs and 1 LRRP ration per day. We carried 3-5 days food and water (Plus a lot of ammo). That meant you were supposed to get resupplied after 3 days, but you might need to stretch it a couple more days. The chow was OK, nothing shocking about it. the "hot meals" we got once in a while actually sucked. Tough, stringy roast beef, greasy gravy, soupy mashed potatoes. Probably some guys in the rear had good chow, but we never saw that. BTW, I still resent it when someone says "Thank you for your service." I was treated like crap when I came back and still have an attitude about that. So don't be thanking me "for my service"'; you could have enlisted and done your duty as well.

[@dennisreed3382]

If you got LRRPs . You were late getting there.

[@rogertemple7193]

My dad and uncles were in WW 2 or Korea said that military ration foods were horrible but you either eat them or starve have a great week and thank you.🇺🇲🥪🍔🍕🌭🇺🇲

[@At-07461]

My take on military meals has always been "keep your standards low and you will never be disappointed". If it tastes like crap, you expected it. If it tastes good, you are pleasantly surprised. It is what it is. It's not a home cooked meal...

[@jacobishii6121]

Best way to thank a vet isnt with words its with your actions......We dont want to be thanked,makes a lot of us uncomfortable.Take these rights and freedoms use them,celebrate them and protect them like we did

[@mr16ga]

We sure wern't thanked when we got back. People threw sacks of trash on us when we went under the Golden Gate. USS Coral Sea, CVA43

[@namvet1968]

Spot on!

[@RobertSkene-qw3ob]

Artichoke hearts with Cranberry Sauce only on XMAS from Santa 🇨🇦😂

[@loverhood2016]

My uncle was on standby for Vietnam but wasn't called up Military foods changed a lot now. Brilliant video....God bless😢😢😢😢😢 all the guys who never made it home

[@namvet1968]

Your uncle was lucky. Drafted, 14 months in Nam. 68-69.

[@boboneil6479]

Kids now think 6months combat station a big deal, try 13 months!

[@namvet1968]

@@boboneil6479 My tour was 14 months in Nam, 68-69. Felt like 5 yrs.

[@wallyssalas]

Believe it or not, I miss those C Ration cans. They are part of the memories we forever hold in our minds. Most of us Vietnam Veterans, anyway.

[@dennisreed3382]

I sure don't. Thank God my mother sent plenty of goodies.

[@wallyssalas]

@dennisreed3382 Well, Lucky you, soldier boy.

[@0529mpb]

The LRPs were honest Mountain House meals. Very high quality backpacking food.

[@timmytwodogs]

We hoarded the LRPs. Those Kellog energy bars were great.

[@jonlewis7562]

Chopped ham and eggs were my favorite! I could always come up with a surplus. A lot of the guys would just give them away, and I was the guy they would give them to!

[@scottwatts3879]

I loved them too. Beef slices in tomato sauce were ghastly on a cold morning.

[@charlie1571]

Yeah man that was my favorite too along with the spaghetti especially if you had some tobasco!

[@gulliver3644]

I was one who gave it away.

[@scotthinger6397]

​@@gulliver3644Smart man!

[@timmytwodogs]

I used to trade my "ham and eggs" for just about anything.

[@wolfgangholtzclaw2637]

the Ham and Eggs I hated until one time it was all I had and I was starving. Now I miss it! My ultimate favorite was Spaghetti in the can. My least favorite spiced beef in gravy... tasted good always gave me heart burn. Didn't like beans and weenies, but I ate them. liked the sliced peaches, I felt the pears were a rip off. Now I make spaghetti at home in bulk, so it lasts for two months. My recipe mirrors the army consistency and flavor. I am proud of my spaghetti for that very reason. Loved C Ration Spaghetti.

[@namvet1968]

Agree 100%!. C ration Spaghetti was tasty. I would trade my cigarettes for other food. I liked the crackers and that canned cheese spread. I'm also a spaghetti junkie. It must have mushrooms and oregano. Drafted, Nam 68-69.

[@DavidTucker-e2j]

The ham and lima beans .....NOT!

[@donaldkgarman296]

I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW GOOD THE SPAGHETTI WAS

[@wolfgangholtzclaw2637]

@@DavidTucker-e2j Yeah, I thought that one was a coummunist trick.

[@alancranford3398]

One quibble--the C-ration, K-ration, Air Force flight rations and MCI were issued three boxes per day/one box per meal. The WW2 C-rations didn't have a spoon--the soldier had his mess kit spoon. The K-rations and early MCI (and Air Force flight rations) were provided with flat wooden paddles to use as spoons. Late MCI had a white plastic spoon. Early MRE's were also issued three bags and had the white plastic spoons, later replaced by long-handled brown plastic spoons. Spoons were important! I appreciate the difficulties getting the right vintage visuals. Early C-ration cans were gold colored, with late WW2 and Korean and early Vietnam ration cans painted green. I was an Air Force brat and sometimes the C-rations came down my way in the Sixties, replaced by flight rations. I started my 27-year military career when I enlisted in the Marines in 1974, and I retired from the Nevada Army National Guard in 2010--I had breaks in service going to college and other adventures which means there were some years I wasn't in uniform during those 35 years. Older rations were at one time sold as surplus but I'm guessing that the danger of food poisoning from expired rations put a halt to that sometimes in the Seventies--old C-rations and even MCIs found their way to the surplus market. Carrying 24 hours of rations with WW2 backpacks (issued in boot camp) was a chore--fortunately that usually was just two MCI meals and we' Marine recruits would be issued two MCI's at the one hot meal from a field kitchen during our two-weeks of infantry school. I can only imagine where the WW2 Soldiers and Marines put their 48-hours of rations (12 large cans plus accessories) when hitting the beaches during amphibious assaults. Paratroopers got K-rations, a bit more compact and lightweight. I grew up as a poor boy and was happy to have anything to eat--I probably would have consumed dog food without complaint under field conditions. Others were more discriminating, but it was probably more presentation than the actual food. When the wind was in the wrong direction, the fragrant latrines could ruin appetites--real battlefields might have unburied rotting corpses. The battle areas were noisy even when battles were not in progress. The dining room was outdoors and shared with insects and small critters. Bathing was a luxury--everybody reeked! You had no table and sat on the ground unless you made something. If it rained, your dinner got it, or you could hide under a poncho. Mood lighting--the less said, the better. And you might have only a moment to gulp down cold rations because you were halted on the march, or you were detailed for camp chores or guard duty or just wanted to get as much sleep as possible. I was lucky--nobody shot at me and interrupted my meals. By the way, "your welcome" for "thank you for your service" on behalf of those who served but are no longer with us. Among those who served are my aunts, my uncles, my father and two brothers. At least my Air Force veteran sisters are still around to talk to.

[@tazkrebbeks3391]

To all of you Brave men and women who served in Vietnam. Thank you for your service and God bless each and everyone of y'all.❤

[@jerrygoller4269]

Life was good when one of your meals had pound cake and another had peaches. It just didn't get better than that. USMC Infantry. 1966, '67, '68.

[@lonniemartinez9765]

I was in when MREs were coming out. Tabasco sauce was a good thing to have

[@scotthinger6397]

A very good thing to have!

[@robertbrouillette6767]

After Katrina, all through south Mississippi we got a lot of those MREs to all of us civilians. They are not that bad. But in August when it’s hot and you don’t have electricity and nothing but storm damage it just about like a war zone and they were pretty good.

[@Mike-mz8dl]

Inflight rations were the Air Force's version of the MCI. The cans were not painted and they had a can of orange juice or grape fruit juice. The canned juices were a great trade item. The food from home most loved was hard salami and a wheel of cheese. Add a bottle of wine and sit on top of a bunker and watch Puff, Spooky, or Scorpion work out. Pyrotechnics at it's best unless it got close.

[@donaldkgarman296]

MCI POUND CAKES WERE GOLD ....DANM GOOD .

[@DavidTucker-e2j]

As were the fruit cocktail and peaches....I used to save a little of the peach juice and drizzle it over the pound cake.

[@robertbenzon6941]

Ham and Eggs Chopped were my favorite. Those little glass bottles of tabasco sauce were great.

[@craigpeterman27]

Beef Steak and potato's was the king of C Rations in 1965. After two weeks in the field all were good.

[@sauquoit13456]

I am a proud U.S. Navy veteran, served from 1963 to 1967, during the Vietnam War era. The following incident happened at least twenty years ago on Veterans Day, which would have made me around sixty years old at the time. I was exiting a Hess gas station in upstate NY, while holding the door open for an elderly woman, and maybe because it was Veterans Day, she asked me if I was a veteran. I nodded, and she replied with “Thank you for your service” My response was “Well, I didn't do much, I'm not combat veteran” and she came back with “That doesn't matter”. To me, it did matter, most of my fours years was on the USS Wright (CC-2), a ship whose home port was in peaceful and safe Norfolk, Virginia. While halfway around the world thousands of my military brothers were putting their lives on the line. Here is the sad reality; over 58,000 of our American heroes were killed, in addition there were 766 POWs, and 114 of them never made it home, for they died while in VC prisoner of war camps. Shame on us if we ever forget to honor those brave American souls. Two Footnotes: 1. The price of gas at the fore mentioned Hess station was $2.30 per gallon. 2. July 18th, 2015: DT “John McCain is only a hero because he got captured, I like people who didn't get captured”. SOB

[@BigBear11141]

Hey Sauquoit, the Street or Town? I lived on the Street... Anyway - I did two tours in Vietnam... And I say, "Thank you for Your Service, Man! By going in the Military, You showed Up, and said, "Do with me, what you wish'," ...It just so happened that they didn't want you to go to Vietnam. Just say, Thank You, Jesus! And enjoy you life, without any shame of remorse!

[@donotneed2250]

Army 1974-81 and I liked the Ham & eggs. We also traded for whatever. One of the round chocolate disks was a lot better than the other. Reminds me of a round Whatchamacallit or Nestlé Crunch. The cigarettes weren't what I smoked so I also traded them. The Ham & Eggs were best when heated with a bit of Texas Pete added. I'm still not a fan of the bottle of the hot vinegar they put in the box. I also remember how I was treated coming through LAX in 1977 and 1980 after my tours in Asia and as an over-the-road driver. People wonder why I call it The People's Republic of California...

[@ferdonandebull]

During desert storm I was sending packages to family. I would pad things with popcorn. Just pop and salt popcorn and pour it in the boxes while you shook it. The popcorn was actually a hit with the guys.

[@paulkeith5000]

Vietnam 1968-69 veteran, 25th Infantry Division. The best part of the old C-Rations (C-Rats, as we called them) was the pack of 4 cigarettes - if you were a non-smoker. Best trading item in the box! If you got a can of Ham & Lima Beans (aka Ham and Mother-F---ers) you could trade the smokes for something more palatable like the Beef w/Spiced Sauce or a Hershey bar. Quit smoking just so I could trade them!

[@davidjulio5127]

I think if you are posting the meals from the Vietnam conflict you should use photos that portrays the years involved. Most of the photos were of WW2 and current conflicts. I served from 3-67 to 3-68 with the 25 infantry Division. Our big treat was Fizzy Tablets since the drinking water was so bad

[@behindthespotlight7983]

14:15 in Stephen Ambrose’s tome about building the transcontinental railroad, “Nothing Like It in the World” Ambrose discusses how the Chinese of the Central Pacific are versus the Irish laborers of the Union Pacific. The Chinese pooled their money to make group purchases of dried vegetables and meats with which they were familiar. They had hundreds of crates shipped up weekly from San Francisco. Their fragrant woks of various dishes all started with boiling water as did their preferred hydration: tea. Compared to the Irish who often suffered “consumption” (near death food poisoning) from eating spoiled beef, rancid beans and sour beer. The Chinese were an interesting case study in health that still bears relevance today

[@davidelkins3229]

Wrong video this is about Vietnam

[@BigBear11141]

I was in Vietnam for 18 Mo's = 2 Birthdays... My parents sent me a couple of Real Polish Smoked Kielbasa's made in the neighborhood (New York Mills, NY) Polish Store; for each of my birthdays. Me and my buddies cooked those up... Man, you can't imagine how good they were!!! The guys never had anything better in their whole lives!

[@jimcaufman2328]

I was in a helicopter company in the 1st Cav 67 to 68. When TET of 68 started we moved to a firebase north of Hue. It was cold, wet and nothing but mud. The supply system was maxed out with essentials. Ammo of all kinds was in short supply. We got a box or two of "C" a day. I lived in a tent with a mud floor. After a while we started getting "better" food. Everything came in a gallon cans (B-Rations) and was cooked in a field kitchen. Can you say hot plate warmed by burning fuel. The problem with this system was there was never enough and the choices were limited. We would get boned chicken for a week or two followed by boned turkey followed by beef and finally a month of SPAM. Three meals a day. Our cooks were over worked with not only fixing meals but pulling guard duty, flying as door gunners, filling sandbags and building bunkers. I was not a coffee drinker, so it was Cool-Ade. True to the modern Army supply system we would be issued one flavor for a couple weeks followed by another. No one ever referred to it by its flavor but its color. Green, purple, red etc. No ice or refrigeration so it was warm. To heat water, we lite C-4 plastic explosive on fire. Worked well but be careful you could blow a finger or hand off if you did not know what you were doing. No showers and a 4 hole out house for a couple hundred men. No booze, women, PX, laundry, movies, TV or clubs. Oh, the only way to see an American woman was to get shot and go to the hospital. In 4 months, I went from 175 to 120 pounds, look like death warmed over and was holding up better than most. I am now 77 and have not been camping singe 1968, do not allow SPAM or Cool-Ade in the house and always have at least a 100 rolls of toilet paper in the house all the time. Would I do it again? Hell yes, I was an 18-year-old helicopter pilot supporting the finest division in the Army.

[@jamesodom5707]

MCI were C rations just minimally upgraded, if that is what you want to call them

[@babuzzard6470]

The best thing about Asian food is it’s always fresh and tasty, delicious.

[@boondocker7964]

Oh yeah, did you like the pigs feet?

[@wasblindbutnowsee]

During the Vietnam War, I was one of the highly trained kitchen engineers who dropped cans freshly boiled in a garbage can onto your metal tray. My main skill was dripping a little too much gasoline into the water heaters . When I threw in a lit match , the heater boomed like a 20 gauge shot gun. I was so good that I was made e-4 , my highest rank........ for several weeks. BTW , some of those C-rations were older than I was. The P-38s were always surprisingly sharp, and they worked great.

[@wasblindbutnowsee]

@MichaelTheophilus906 Until 1978, I had a p38 and my "dog tags" from the army AND the navy on my key ring. One of my dear neighbors took them from a kitchen drawer one day. I was a cook in an armored cavalry unit , then I went to submarine and electronics school. I got terribly sick, though, and medically retired in 1975. I mean TERRIBLY SICK. I had brain damage and didn't have a conversation with another human being until I was 65 in 2017 , when I was healed by a miracle. Of course, I believe it was God who healed me, and I know He loves us , and I'll love Him forever.

[@robertw4230]

I know exactly what you mean about the immersion heaters, had one blow up in my face, blew off my hat singed my hair and blew apart the sections of pipe and I was also a spec 4 .

[@wasblindbutnowsee]

@robertw4230 I never saw one explode like that , but one time, a KP undid the clamp that held the heater down in the water, and it popped up and hit him in the face.

[@seikocitizenwatches]

LOL American soldiers in Vietnam had the best foods in the world. When I was a kid, American soldiers always give us kids chocolate candies, C rations B1,B2, B3. The foods were delicious and convenient and I wish they still make C rations, I will buy it. I feel sorry for the modern American soldiers who have to eat really weird MRE Mea Ready to Eat = Meal Everyone Refuses to Eat.

[@markcollins2666]

The MRE pouches were a problem, for the longest time. Anything tomato based was pulled for years, because the tomato acid would eat through the pouches. All in all, it took about 20 years to fix. Then consider inflation: Rations are already the cheapest food money can buy, naturally, it's only gotten worse.

[@alexcarter8807]

MREs tasted better, could be heated by using a heater unit or setting the bag on a hot surface in the sun like the hood of a Jeep, and you lost less weight on them. I was one of the test subjects, living on mostly C's and we all lost weight - more than the Army wanted us to.

[@behindthespotlight7983]

11:35 a lot can be said for taking a Vietnam Era P.I.R approach to packing for longer term bugging out. In North America it doesn’t take long to learn how to trap, shoot, snare or fish certain easy prey. Thing is most of them taste pretty bad: possum, raccoon, pigeon, coots. There are a few potential meals scrambling around that are slightly more palatable: squirrels, rats, ducks, geese. I don’t know where porcupine fits in cuz I’ve never eaten it. I’d imagine somewhere less tasty than squirrel but better than raccoon or possum? The Asian and Latin sections of grocery stores should be utilized to prepare for such contingencies. Oyster sauce, fish sauce, hot sauces et al make everything more edible. However something almost none of the preparedness minded channels discuss is the dead giveaway of aroma when cooking potential SHTF dishes while others are hungry. Southeast Asian food or anything with curry can travel miles. Especially when it’s empty bellies doing the smelling. So does cigarette smoke. Menthols travel 1/3rd farther than plain tobacco. Another aspect to consider as our nation disintegrates around us is stealth. Wise is the man who invests in a couple wrist rockets, spring loaded fish traps and maybe a small novelty crossbow with a few dozen bolts. I’ve read that certain garbage eaters like raccoons and possum can be trapped and fed things for a week or two that aren’t necessarily ideal human food but motivate a less foul tasting harvest. Unboiled acorns. Tree cambium. Spruce and elm. Again here’s where slightly spruced meat might benefit from “foreign” spice profiles Is any of this necessary knowledge? We will know next month. Today is October 6, 2024. Regardless of one’s political views there’s a large swath of Americans who are gonna be very angry in 30 days from now.

[@zackzittel7683]

I’ve eaten a couple hundred pigeons, they’re delicious! Step on the wings, pull on the feet pop the breast out. Tastes just like a bigger less gamey quail.

[@lancerevell5979]

I grew up in the 1960s eating squirrel, rabbit, dove, a fat robin and woodpecker on occasion. Whatever Dad and I bagged when hunting. Gopher tortoise was good too, as were river turtles. Of course, several of these are protected nowadays. Ducks and turkey were great. Coots weren't bad, a bit oilier than duck. Geese were for the "rich folk". 😅

[@CrimsonRaven51]

Rice balls with dried fish wrapped in banana leaves was another long range quick meal on the run.

[@Deluxedracula]

I think if you post clips of SteveMRE1989 ( 1:10 ) you should credit him at the bottom of the clip

[@armorer94]

Agreed.

[@TheOutsiderStudios]

Beat me to it.

[@williamsanford8267]

My father always told us that the hot item was canned peaches. God bless the 11th ACR.

[@jacobishii6121]

That's Dark Horse....I got to train with them.

[@Arizonawatercolors]

On a PBR, on the Mekong Delta area, between Qui-Non and Chu-Lai, river patrol. We were so far ahead of normal supply routes that when we did get rations, they were field rations from world war 2. The package was dipped in wax to preserve contents, but when we opened it everything in a can was ok. (Like peaches or beans.) Everything in packages like cigarettes and crackers were infested by worms. We pealed the plastic off the boxes and chewed the wax like gum. If we wanted more food, we traded our black berets(which later we found out they were selling to the NVA FOR BOUNTIES, and menthol cigarettes with the natives for rice, vegetables and fish. As I was allergic to fish, when I became injured and transferred to a VA hospital, they hooked me up to an I.V. because I was way under weight at 114 lbs. 2-1/2 tours.

[@donaldparlett7708]

Loved the MCIs they were good.

[@glennso47]

I was a crew member of a standby salvage ship The USS Grasp ARS-24. Our ship was tasked with fixing damaged underwater oil pipes or towing stricken vessels. We were in Vietnam much of the time. Thankfully we didn’t see much combat or we would have been sitting ducks! 😮

[@gregsmith7428]

My fave was the beefsteak. Most of the meat rats were OK if heated. Everybody hated lima beans and ham! Pound cake, cheese, crackers were OK as well. Lucky Strike and Marlboro were most popular cigs. If you got a can of pears that was like gold!

[@philiptamer8995]

GOD Bless ALL OUR VETS !!!!! MY DAD was on the Baatan Death March in WW 2'And continued to serve for ALMOST 20 years

[@lancerevell5979]

Being an old born&raised Southerner, I actually kinda liked the dreaded "Ham and MFers". 😅 In my first hitch - USAF 1976-1980 - I ate C-rats a couple times. During my second hitch - US Navy 1980-1986 - again had C-rats a couple times during training ashore. MREs were just coming into service, but I think the Girines in Gitmo were saving them, gave us Squids the old stuff. 😅

[@dburns8381]

Good old ham and lima beans (ham and MFers.)

[@sgtcrabfat]

2003 , We really appreciated savory snacks, chips, nuts pretzels and real coffee!!!

[@DavidTucker-e2j]

Definitely REAL coffee ☕️

[@catherinefletcher3258]

I remember making cookies with my best friend in the summer for her mom to send her brother for Christmas, it took months to reach him.

[@Jims2517]

Played army with freinds in the fields and woods behind my house growing up in the late 60s early 70s. My friends dad had alot of these for some reason. My first cig was a stale Winston at 12 years old. Loved the beans in red sauce.

[@williamrosenow6176]

My dad was Korean war and the truck driver and carpenter were Vietnam. I got rejected because of a heart defect but I had to eat what they ate on construction sites in the middle of nowhere. A can of beanie weenies, a can of Viena sausages and a can of fruit. Nobody was shooting at me but eating that 5 days a week shooting myself was on the table. I bought Vienna sausages once for nostalgia and they are really bad. The old guys just ate that crap every day like it was normal.

[@charlie1571]

At this outpost ,Kie Geo bridge, I had C rats for over 4 months some of them were pretty good but when you are hungry anything tastes good. My favorite was the spaghetti and the ham and eggs. Needless to say i lost a lot of weight before I went home.

[@doskraut]

Guess being 71 my memory is bad, I recall those meals was horrible. What made the food tast a bit better was the weed we all smoked most all the time.

[@wallyssalas]

@@doskraut Not all, old man. Some of us followed the rules and didn't touch that stuff. Specially if we were in position of leadership and had to worry about some of your channanigans. I don't pretend to judge any Veterans, dead or alive. You all have gained and deserve the Nation's respect and gratitude, no matter what!

[@jacqueschouette7474]

I was in the USMC when we switched from the MCI C-rats to the MRE. Like the issue with the LRP rations, the first MREs needed water to actually eat. You could eat them dry, but they didn't taste all that good. Because of this, we preferred the older MCIs since they didn't need water to eat. We also liked the older MCIs since a box of C-rats held twelve meals and each box had one of the twelve different meals. Each meal had the same items in it, so very quickly we knew which meals had the good things to eat and which one's didn't. I thought everything tasted like tuna fish, except the tuna fish. Hahahahaha.

[@Snuffy03]

I used to save the smokes and trade them to those nicotine addicted guys for extra chow. My favorite was actually the ham&egg one. Or the spiced beef.

[@jackwalker9492]

I loved Ham and Eggs, particullarly with a little hot sauce. We transitioned to MREs in my first 2 years and man, they were far worse at first. Got a lot better to the point they are good now and have been for years. They had a meal Vegetable Omelet which was teh same as Ham and Eggs without the ham. Everyone called it the VOMLETTE!

[@Snuffy03]

@@jackwalker9492 Yep, hot sauce makes everything better. The MRE didn't come along until after my time. I have tried them, though. Some good, some not so good, just like the C's. They are an improvement over the weight of the C-ration cans.

[@jackwalker9492]

@@Snuffy03 The reason they have tabscoe sauce is because at first, theft of hot suace from the chow halls was rampant to kill the taste. Too many sweets for me now. Meat and potatoes is better. Great screen name there Snuffy! Have heard that term in a while. Salute

[@Snuffy03]

@@jackwalker9492 I used to have my Mom send me small bottles of McIlhenny's Hot Sauce.

[@craigpeterman27]

I traded my cigarettes for the small toilet paper roll.

[@cecillanter3207]

we got the Hot Water by using C4 explosives, a piece was all that was needed to heat the water

[@barrysmith3621]

Yep, I remember using C4

[@davidb6347]

Everyone in America knocks Spam, but most other nations have their versions and it’s all the same. I’ve had it in Hungry, Slovakia, Korea, China, Philippines, and the good old Spam/rice/egg Hawaiian delicacy.

[@georgegarcia1445]

Boned chicken was one of my favorites.

[@robertw4230]

Me to

[@BiscuitsBrown666]

SOS became a family favorite in our house.

[@davejohns6694]

Soon as pho got a mention, I thought of Principal Skinner, "A thin stew made of fish, vegetables, prawns, coconut milk, and four kinds of rice. I came close to madness trying to find it here in the states but they just can’t get the spices right." 😂

[@formerice]

Remember eating frozen scrambled eggs and ham on the DMZ in Korea 1971. C Rations were dated 1945 . Right about the beans and macaroni was ok. Always had a heartburn after eating. We had no heat to cook with and froze our ass off.

[@Whoremembersusa]

My friend often told me that everything was difficult for him when he first came to Vietnam. Last year, he had a chance to return for a vacation and was surprised by how much the country had changed.

[@boondocker7964]

Returned for a vacation? You couldn't pay me to go back there, ever.

[@veetsv1597]

Not C Rations, by Vietnam the US Army combat ration was the MCI, or Meal, Combat Individual. It’s on the box in the first minute.

[@raywhitehead730]

Sorry, but I ate mostly Rations, made during the Korean war. You have to.remember, over 2 million American fighting men rotated through Vietnam over about a 10 year period. The first American fighting men in Vietnam didn't get rations, at all. They ate with the Vietnamese. Some guys never got off of bases, never ate a ration, always at a chow hall.

[@JMcdon1627]

For some reason, I got more pork slices than anything. They looked a bit like Gaines Burgers, a commercial dog food at that time. We came up with our best guess as to how they were made. An entire hog was dropped into a giant blender. This made hog puree. It was then extruded into individual fibers and then freeze dried. While still frozen, they would saw off the slices and can them with the white paper surround that you find holding a cupcake together while it bakes. On the good side: If you got fruit cocktail, Marlboro cigarettes, or hot coco mix, you were rich. Those items could buy most anything, perhaps even your buddy's sister's address and phone number. Grin. Welcome Home my Brothers and Sisters.

[@Grunt-pr7od]

I was in Country in 69 we were still getting C Rats from the 40s and 50s

[@apiwichteralapsuwan2660]

good content from a small channal , keep up the good work!🥰

[@daveb2280]

I started service in the USAF in 1987. MRE'S were considered new technology. While serving in the first Gulf War (circa 1990's), most MRE'S had dehydrated meals and the worse was the pork patty. Horrible. The best condiment, by far, was the little bottles of Tabasco Sauce that would randomly appear in packets. Those little bottles would literally make any MRE product edible. To this day, I always have a bottle of Tabasco Sauce on my dinner table.

[@The_Oldguy]

Back in the mid 1960's we would all beg our families and friends to send us Kool Aid packets. They didn't have sugar in them back then, but we used them to change the flavor of the water. When you're in the jungle, found water, even if you boil it, strain it - still smells and tastes like old leaves or old socks. Cool Aid hide the smell and taste! My favorite was Root Beer, hard to find but loved it!

[@johnbell6956]

1966. Phu bai. My mother sent me a box of chocolate chip cookies for my bday. Wasn’t one piece bigger than a BB. We all broke out spoons and went at it. 😂

[@gud2go50]

I liked the chopped ham and eggs! The spaghetti and beanie wearies were great. I liked the cheese spread better than the peanut butter as well. We called the chocolate with toffee, “Shit Discs” and I always traded my fudge bar for them!😊

[@alexcarter8807]

Chocolate came in a flat round puck that tasted exactly like Twix chocolate but with little bits of toffee in it. And the canned pound cake was good! And my favorite canned meat was the canned tuna.

[@glennso47]

Don’t forget the USO shows that featured Bob Hope and other celebrities. Also Armed Forces Radio with stateside music! 😅

[@1murder99]

The best of the "Cs" was Pork slices, salted, canned and cooked. Open it, take the top of the 3 slices and sail it into the jungle. Open the can of pineapple jam and put it into the can with the pork slices and heat to a boil. That was quite good if you could actually have a fire, not always a possibility. We had to carry 10 days food on us and we were resupplied once a week, usually on Friday. We were given to boxes per day.

[@99Racker]

The HAM AND LIMA BEAMS are not noted here but were probably the most detested ration; referred to as Ham and M***** F******. Frequently the boxes were stripped down. The cans were commonly placed in a clean boot sock and into your pack. Combined two easy to carry items. Not mentioned, the rations case shown was covered with a hard cardboard sleeve and banded with a tight wire. I saw to many Marines put the wire in the slots of the 3-prong flash hider and twist the M16 rifle until the wire snapped. It was to much for the rifle and armorer`s had to replace barrels and recievers that had warped. They replaced the effective 3-prong with the birdcage type that was not solid on the bottom. Not many items survived CARE packages. Even the fast food seasoning packages were treats. Since this was before the internet, snail mail caused a lot of relationships to die on the vine even though it was probably faster than Korea and WW2. What would we do without memories? At least I still have them. Thanks.

[@jerryfarmer5989]

I remember when me was but a we lad there was an army surplus we went to. They had barrels sitting around of them old cans of, um what ever. We would get them to stock up on for snowmobile outings and hunting trips. I ate more of them things than I can feel to admit to. Later in life we sure as did not get the stuff they get now.

[@timmytwodogs]

I liked the "John Wayne" biscuits with a cup of coffee. Guys would trade their souls for the canned peaches

[@samspade7522]

We had C-rats when we were deployed with NATO forces on maneuvers. By the time chow came around it didn't matter if it was caviar or something Uncle Virgil would give the hogs. It was filling and kept you going. Getting a pound cake was like gold and if you didn't smoke the four cigs in each meal was like money when bartering with your buddies.

[@Tinbender]

How many ham and eggs to trade for beans and weenies, a dozen but no takers. Thanks for this video, brought back a lot of memories, not all pleasant ones.

[@georgeburns7251]

Great video. Thanks for bringing back the memories. I sometimes long to taste these again. The cake and peaches were favorites. Pho is pronounced PHA in Vietnam.

[@martykitson3442]

I fell between Vietnam and Kuwait, the modern mre came into service as I was getting out, I never got cigarettes but i got most f the food choices in the rations in basic training, I'd still go for the indigenous ration, lighter weight and closer to the local cuisine.

[@curthenry9398]

I like the MCI meals, even the ham and lima beans, called MF by most of my fellow GI's. The rare date cake was a real treat. Maybe I was really hungry after a hard day or night. I was given a couple of MRE's, I found MRE to we much worst tasting compared to MCI, the beef tips in gravy looked and smelled like dog food. I also receive a couple of care packages, cookie crumbs. My aunt sent me Jiffy Pop popcorn, attempted to pop it over an open fire, all we did was burn the popcorn. My friends sent me Easyriders magazines, read and re-read until the magazine fell apart.

[@wasclit11]

When the BX ran out of cigarettes the four cigarette pack in the rations became golden. As a Huey door gunner got paid an extra $4 a day which was my Hazardous Duty and Flight pay. Good thing beer was only 10 cents a can and a carton of cigarettes was $2. 20th SOS MACV/SOG - UH-1N Huey, Green Hornets

[@raywhitehead730]

The Vietnam war lasted about10 years for American fighting men. Over 2 million American fighting men rotated there over that time. There were many different experiences with food. The very earliest fighting men did not get rations, at all. They ate entirely with the Vietnamese. Some never got off a base and always ate at a chow hall.

[@larrysanxter6343]

I was 11B in Nam and ate all my CRations out of the can. We ate the meat and fruit out of the can and threw away the rest which was garbage. We were already carrying 80 lbs. Screw the LERPS who were only in the field for 5-7 days. We grunts were in the boonies for around 30 days.

[@stevejorgensen5274]

The fun thing about C rats is when you are eating them you look at the date it was made and realize it is older than you. The same with MCI meals.

[@robertbrouillette6767]

I think of the navy and coast guard ships and creamed chipped beef on toast and corned beef hash. To this day I can still taste S.O.S. and corned beef hash.

[@stevenlennaman2073]

GI Fudge is a peanut butter mixed with coco powder drink.

[@ChesterCochran]

My father was a WWII Army Air Corp vet who became a doctor after the war. He told me that he thought the cigarette companies ultimately killed more WWII soldiers than the Germans and Japanese did. They gave soldiers free cigarettes and addicted many millions of them, including my father. He quit the day my oldest brother was born and my mother said it was hell but he did it. Many of those soldiers died of cancer and emphazema years later.

[@cecillanter3207]

we had C Rations that had been made in 1944, this was in 1969, the real good thing included was a P38 can opener

[@scottwatts3879]

Somebody sure hated you guys. "Hey, 1st platoon are dicks. Let's find the raunchy slope rations send them out to them."

[@henrytowne7463]

I still have my 'Shelby' tool... I tried the current MREs at Burning Man! timeless!

[@morgangallowglass8668]

Loved the spiced beef and the BEST chocolate ever!

[@mangelwurzel]

1966-67, 8th RRU, Phu Bai, we had a "field mess", which lived up to its name. It was godawful, with a menu of mystery meat, powdered eggs, bug bread, Kool Aid. There was a tent full of C-rats, but had armed MPs guarding it 24/7. We would have killed for the C rations. Whenever the field mess broke down or ran out of garbage to feed us, we could get C rats and we were overjoyed!

[@behindthespotlight7983]

It sincerely amazes me what some people consider delicious.

[@NorthRunner64]

Thanks some good memories, these kind are the ones I smile when remembering. CC Cookies by the spoon full with Real milk, a double treat. C rats were mostly a novelty when we were unable to get to prepared food, always a swap fest cans and jokes flying around.

[@patrickpotter1229]

Hell I used to eat them in 1980-83 in Germany

[@rickdaystar477]

I remember pound cake that if you gathered enough of them you could build a brick house lol. Vietnam era.

[@geoffkeahey2651]

Loved the chopped ham and eggs. A little Tabasco some pepper, and it filled you up. The only problem with C rats was the fact that it would stop you right up. This was in the late 70s and early 8s, so the smokes were gone. My favorite were the LRRP rats. But you had to use water to rehydrate. Either way, they took up a ton of space in your ruck.

[@louisstennes3]

When I was in 'Nam I hit the jackpot if I got the meal with the fruit cocktail and really hit the lottery if I got to the bx and they had the small cans of Beenie Weenies and Vienna sausage. A lot of the stuff was inedible to me, but other guys liked them. The one I remember was some meals had this dense fruit cake like cake in a small can but the can seemed like it weighed a pound. Never could eat that, like I said some of it was inedible to me even when I was really hungry. My career ended in Desert Storm just when MREs were coming into favor. They were better because the main courses were better.

[@tankman7711]

My favorite C ration was the meatballs and beans in barbecue sauce!

POUND CAKE WAS THE BEST!

[@alexcarter8807]

We used C-rations in the early 80s but ours didn't come with cigarettes lol.

[@henrybucki7813]

i was a cook e5 stationed at long binh best job in Viet Nam never was hungry had lots of friends due to my job stood bunker guard duty but never had any close ..calls.1970

[@garyfeldmann4084]

Spaghetti and beans and weanies were the only palatable C rations IMO. Of course, if you didn't have a P 38 you were SOL. That could be a blessing if you ended up with eggs or pork patties, lol!

[@nealkrueger6097]

Good info. But a few minor inconsistencies. : One a typical issue for a soldier, marine was three Boxes or rations if it was going to be a 24 mission. Two the government nomenclature was: Meal Combat Individual ( MCI for a single meal unit or MCI'S for multiple meal units. However, the term (C Rats) was used by a lot of the older troops. Hence, it became accepted slang. Like asking someone from the north for a cola and getting a Pepsi and asking someone from the south for a "soda" and getting a Cocola Cola same thing but different. Also the LRP Rations that my Marine unit ( early 1980s)received at Ft Sherman gave a lot of my unit severe farming. The early MRE' s aka( Meals Rejected by Everyone or Meals Rejected by Ethiopians ) had the same problems with the farming after consuming them. Luckily by 1985 tge menu's were getting better.

[@donaldsimmons253]

Makes me home sick they were pretty good

[@drewmueller3913]

Wow, who'd wait to be drafted? I'd have gone to enjoy those cold beans and franks any day! -Just kidding, thanks to all you Viet Vets for doing your time there!

[@douglas2632]

Ham and MFs were the absolute worst. I can't eat Lima beans to this day. My favorite was the pork steak

[@michaelf7093]

I could not eat the ham and MFs. I cannot stand limas. I'd rather go hungry for a day.

[@markcollins2666]

Never ate the Army ham and MF's. I never enjoyed lima beans, until I had a Portuguese girlfriend. Her grandmother made the best lima beans ever! Like butter! I guess you really had to know what you were doing, to cook them.

[@dennisyoung4631]

@@douglas2632 I’ve but read about those - could not get into the military due to being born deaf on one side. What made them so unappetizing? Was it the taste? Texture? Excessive fat? Indigestion? Were they, uh, of poor quality, or worse yet?

[@harrypairatestys4230]

Seems like you and I were the few who liked it