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.

[@KendallKennedy-o1s]

You are welcome.

[@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.

[@johncford3957]

@@dennisreed3382 He was still there.

[@exit5620]

I'm still trying to break the John Wayne bar I got in 72

[@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...

[@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.

[@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.🇺🇲🥪🍔🍕🌭🇺🇲

[@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 🇨🇦😂

[@jackwalker9492]

I did 8yrs AD and 19 ARNG as an Infantryman. I appreciate being thanked although there is no need. My Vietnam Vet leaders did not receive anythingg but hate so stop your whining.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.❤

[@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.

[@0529mpb]

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

[@timmytwodogs]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@lonniemartinez9765]

@@robertbrouillette6767 they have gotten very very good compared to the early stuff.

[@billy56081]

I liked most of the original MREs. The dehydrated beef and pork patties were awesome. My favorite part was the cheese and crackers.

[@robertbenzon6941]

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

[@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.

[@rionthemagnificent2971]

what about ham and motherfuckers? I heard that was the vets worst MRE meal.

[@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.

[@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.

[@semlohde1]

Haha - you were at Camp Evans?? Further north LZ Betty or LZ Sharon?? HHC 1st BDE 1st CAV LZ Betty Apr '68.

[@rionthemagnificent2971]

To all the vets who fought this unwinnable war. Thank you for your sacrifice. I can't imagine the hell you all went through. My late uncle Dick was a tunnel rat, my dad said when he returned from war, something in him just changed. he was more cautious and quiet. Dad was the only person he ever talked to about the war, even though Granddad was a ww2 vet and could empathize with him. Mentioning Vietnam around Dick was a *bad* idea, even mentioned the name of the country would set him off. Though the story dad told me after he passed on what Dick went through.. chilled me to the bone. several men would enter one tunnel system, only a few or none would return.

[@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!

[@SamWicker-su7rp]

One of my favorites was chicken ala king. Freeze dried pork patties weren't bad. I liked the blocks of freeze dried peaches and strawberries.

[@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.

[@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.

[@jerrygoller4269]

The freeze dried LRP rations were provided by Oregon Freeze Dried Foods. When government contracts slowed down after Vietnam, they turned to the exploding outdoor and backpacking market under the brand name Mountain House.

[@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

[@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...

[@Paleotech1]

Loved the chocolate and toffee “John Wayne” bars.

[@craigpeterman27]

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

[@rockyraab8290]

I was a pilot for the highly secret MACV/SOG outfit in '71. We were in the Central Highlands on the border of Cambodia. We had a mess hall, but food deliveries were iffy and so we bought a lot of local foods. Had monkey noodle soup or water buffalo a lot. You hit the nail on many of your food descriptions. I have to correct your pronunciation of Pho, however. It was more like "fu" although we GIs never managed to get Vietnamese phonetics right. It's still one of my favorite meals and is made authentically even here in Utah.

[@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.

[@Paleotech1]

Oh yes. i still have an unopened can of pound cake and one orange nut roll. Opposite ends of the edible spectrum. We call the latter “butt plug” for good reason.

[@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.

[@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.

[@georgemcdaniel8625]

S Vietnam currency was the Piaster. Dong is the North Vietnam currency.

[@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

[@jamesodom5707]

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

[@CrimsonRaven51]

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

[@michaelfred8848]

I remember the green pack Lucky Strikes in the c rations . Probably from the 40’s-50’s. This was after Korea and before Vietnam. I thought that the ham and eggs chopped were the worst😅 My squad leader who hated them ended up drawing them seven meals in a row. I volunteered to trade with him but he stuck with what he drew. He’d bring them back to the squad and turn them upside down so nobody could tell what they were choosing. Very fair but he kept getting the same meal every time! Thanks to Kenny Mets from Rhode Island 👍

[@richardelbert4412]

Thanks for the video. Brought back many memories. Being in the Air Force we had an occasional option. The base In-Flight Kitchen would often run up a few hundred box lunches for those of us guarding the base perimeter at night. They usually had a ham and cheese sandwich, two or three chicken pieces, an apple or orange, warm (nothing stayed cold for long there) milk in a waxed paper carton, and a napkin. For me, it was the rare peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The first time I got a PD&J I found a hide sat down shared the chicken with my partner and then carefully unwrapped the PB&J, turned to pick up the little carton of milk and my partner was finishing off the PB&J just that fast. A 105 lb German Shepard can swallow hole more than you would believe. A Parol Dog will keep you alive, and they will be your best friend but they don't share PB&J sandwiches and if the Base Veterinarian found out you gave the Good Boy peanut butter it was lecture time with threats and additional duties I learned that Peanut butter and chocolates make for very sick puppies. Prince 522M was a VERY GOOD BOY!!!!!!!

[@georgegarcia1445]

I never saw any M&Ms in C rations.

[@babuzzard6470]

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

[@boondocker7964]

Oh yeah, did you like the pigs feet?

[@lewismitchell5367]

My favorite was the Maple nut pound cake in the flight rations. The can of OJ replaced cigarettes. The chocolate fudge was passable.

[@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.

[@Paleotech1]

“John Wayne” bars. Story goes that loved them durning the filming of “The Green Berets “.

POUND CAKE WAS THE BEST!

[@Paleotech1]

Orange nut roll ( butt plug) was the worst. Still have an unopened can on my desk just to remind me that things could be worse.

[@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". 😅

[@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.

[@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.

[@michaelvandyke6715]

It wasn't bad, better than what our brothers are getting overseas nowadays...

[@mikestone9129]

Green eggs and ham, yummy:-( Chiclets was the big treat for me, and the pound cake with 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.

[@semlohde1]

Iummm, fruit can, crackers and peanut butter. Haha, I can barely remember what was in there. Beef stew and spagetti is familiar. We could hest them by taking an empty can, pit dirt in it, cut slits at the top, drain a bit of helicopter fuel into it and presto stove. Fun video, thanks. Memories back to 68, then many more years in the Guard. to.

[@apiwichteralapsuwan2660]

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

[@ToddHavel]

My older brother joined in 1980 for a long career. He sent home some of those C rations. Ham and eggs were excellent, but those chocolate fudge covered crackers mixed with regular ones were excellent. Better than most off the shelf cookies. He managed to get all the old ( historic/classic) stuff from the last generation. Only thing real old he did not care for was the big knife in the leather sheath. Too heavy and too clumsy. He purchased something more practical. Even his issued jungle boots were from the 1960’s! Anyway those canned meals were a delicious treat, and helped me deal with my big brother being away. He retired 30 years later. Amazing career, anytime there was violence in the news, he was in that country operating. Sometimes I wonder if he started it to get someone else in trouble- no wait, that was me the little brother!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@andrewbrinn9914]

I remember going to the mess hall for breakfast. After you poured the powdered milk on the cereal you bounced it on the table to get the mealy bugs to float to the top so you could skim them off.

[@stevenlennaman2073]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@BiscuitsBrown666]

SOS became a family favorite in our house.

[@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!😊

[@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!

[@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!

[@larryfromwisconsin9970]

I liked the C Ration ham and eggs. I thought it tasted the better than the others unheated. Add some cheese spread for an omelet.

[@MichaelGregg-wc2bg]

The spaghetti wasnt to bad

[@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 ☕️

[@Charger1908]

I loved the ham and eggs! The thing I didn’t like was the spaghetti, you would try to cook it and it would rise out if the can and you stabbed it trying to keep it in the can. The pork slices didn’t taste like pork and the coffee was horrible. We would mix everything coffee, cream, cocoa and sugar all together and heat it. The smokes were only good if you were jonesing for a smoke cause they were stale. I never ever saw beans and weiners I guess who ever passed the meals out took the good stuff out. I remember eating rations from the 50’s in the 70’s.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@jsog6]

The B1A unit was a golden treasure along with the fruit cocktail can

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@SamWicker-su7rp]

Im so glad they retired thos 113s. I was a Bradley scout, good protection on them.

[@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!

[@behindthespotlight7983]

It sincerely amazes me what some people consider delicious.

[@ReconRat3]

My team ate things at times that would gag a maggot. Somehow some of us survived. C-Rats were like a 5-star restaurant for us. ‘Nam ‘66-‘67

[@glennso47]

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

[@scottwatts3879]

C-rations are a WW2/Korea product. MCIs were the standard in Vietnam. And yes, even in the 70s, we still called them C-rats.

[@boondocker7964]

We called them C rations, because that's what was on the cases of them.

[@BusterKitten]

I don't know where you got your info from but the ham and eggs were a favorite for a lot of us, I'd trade whatever I had for those. The one I didn't like at all was the spaghetti.

[@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.

[@alpete61]

1955 Rusted Cans of C-rations, everyone fought over the Beanie Weeny rations one in each case.

[@Xarcht]

The eggs and ham canned rations I got to eat weren't all that bad. Maybe the ones I got were the good ones.

[@hylanddilligaf6023]

Beans and weenies was more like beans and baby cranks. Ham and muthafukahs/lima beans. My favorite was spaghetti w/meat sauce. I did not smoke so I would save and trade, same as tp.

[@thurstonpowell8687]

All our fruit cans were blown out on the ends, while tasting okay we were instructed to toss em because of possible bacterial contamination. Every packet of cigarettes was stale and the papers browned. Wiping butt with little tiny papers sucked. We knew what tasted okay and tried to grab them first.

[@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." 😂

[@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.

[@reb1050]

The ham and eggs (IMO) was the best. I would trade almost anything for the canned peaches. The, so called, chocolate sucked. I went over a week on the gum, ham and eggs when I could get it, but mostly peaches. Even the crackers sucked. I had my wife send me ketchup packets from fast food joints to dr. up any meal. One good thing about those C-rations...you were definitely not going to get fat. I lost almost 20 lbs.

[@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.

[@mikelewis01]

Great videos

[@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.

[@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.

[@alexcarter8807]

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

[@Paleotech1]

Discontinued in 1972, but we were still seeing them from time to time in 1980.