WWII Field Kitchen Overview

The GI Field Kitchen during WWII was part of the Company HQ, designed to serve 150-180 men. They intended to serve 2 hot meals per day: Breakfast & Supper, with Dinner (Lunch) as a combat ration. They were equipped with stoves, water heaters and mermite cans to deliver the hot food to the troops.
While sound in theory, often times in reality the kitchens had to make do with less equipment and were forced to adapt to the situations in which they were forced to operate. Despite this, mess staff did their best to keep the fighting man's body and morale fed.
Filmed at Rockford WWII Days 2018
Special thanks to Nick Yi Photography: www.nickyi.com/
Facebook: / tristatelivinghistorya...
Website: www.tslha.org/
Donation info. support.google...
Print Sources:
TM 10-405 (Apr 24, 1942) - The Army Cook
TM 10-406 (Nov 22, 1943) - Cooking Dehydrated Foods
TM 10-400 (Nov, 1944) - Stoves, Ranges, Ovens, and Cooking Outfits
TM 10-701 (Dec, 1945) - Range, Field M-1937
T/O 7-17 (Sept 1, 1942): www.hardscrabbl...
Footage Sources:
The Battle of San Pietro - John Huston (1945)
TF 10-1237 - Rations in the Combat Zone Part 1 - Fighting Food
TF 10-1215 - Rations in the Combat Zone Part 2 - Unit Messing
TF 10-2454 - Unit Messing in the Field
TF 10-1202 - Baking in the Field Part 1 - The M1942 Field Baking Unit
MISC 1282 - Quartermaster Activities in the European Theater
Picture Sources:
185th Field Artillery, 34th ID from the H. Smith collection: 34thinfantry.co...

[@keithrogers589]

My grandfather served in the liberation of France. One day when i was a young kid i asked him "did you ever kill anyone" he went silent looked me deep in the eyes and said " probably i was the cook"

[@americanpanzer4163]

Did he chuckle

[@Marniv2002]

Ah, feeding the soldiers to fight, correct.

[@AltoAtik]

Lmfao

[@nightflyer3242]

"Death from within!"

[@dockbabington422]

Got nothing but love for the "cookie" One of the most important jobs in the Military. Right after Ordnanceman or course ;)

[@pleaseenteraname3607]

M9-37 Range Stove... even the cooking equipment sounded like a weapon

[@johnblackstone5261]

USA has M everything

[@TouhouFan]

The M is for luck

[@johnborland4133]

Luchis “M” simply means “model number” or “model of”

[@TouhouFan]

@@johnborland4133 I know, its was a joke

[@_nocturno]

@@johnborland4133 Sorry But, r/whoosh

[@imjusttoodissgusted5620]

My dad decided he wanted to stay in the Army after WW2 but didn't want to be shot at anymore so he became a cook, He spent the Korean war in warm tent with food. He was also a very good cook, man he could make buttermilk biscuits that where like eating a tasty cloud. I miss him.

[@dixiewhiskey3273]

😢😭I want that recipe

[@MaxwellBenson80]

Awesomeness!

[@Steffsh]

It's sounds like he was a great man, thanks for sharing

[@oliverkalamata2753]

...you're not gonna start..like...crying are you? I can't hug men.

[@hayesmasopust8732]

I’m sorry for your loss but I thank him for his service

[@steppebro]

1944 western front: "Cornbeef hash or beef stew boys?" 1944 eastern front: "sawdust would hit the spot right now."

[@Hexrax]

A girl making history references? WHAT

[@blackappleslo]

Oh America land of stupid. Yeah Russian didn’t eat anything at all. They just ate air and snow.

[@wearemotorhead4747]

😱

[@wearemotorhead4747]

Katie ...child of tv .

[@johnborland4133]

@@Hexrax an idiot making social commentary? WHAT

[@frequentfiler]

Times have changed very little. An Army still travels on it's stomach. I remember breakfast out of Mermite cans (in the 80's and 90's) and C's/MRE's the rest of the day. When we had a good field kitchen with a good NCO in charge, the chow could be worth writing home about! I remember getting field chow in W Germany; creamy potatoes, pork chops that were juicy. The Mess Sgt had just come up from Italy. HE never served a bad meal! My hats off to all the cooks that worked so hard to feed us grunts in the field. Thank you!

[@scovserbcurmudgeon6818]

frequentfiler yep! I remember dipping my mess kit (with a 1945 date stamp on it!) Into the immersion cans on an ftx in '90, and wondering "what the hell good is this?", because the water was so filmy. It beat getting MREs, thought, especially the dreaded pork patty.

[@MrKWiley918]

Yep.... same as my unit in 88

[@deekim8164]

Nothing like eating green eggs, cold bacon or sausage patties, grits or hash browns, and crunchy biscuits in the rain.

[@billblount5955]

Thank you all for your service and our freedom

[@lippesterlippester400]

@David Quintero doubt it

[@paulj.plaster1465]

That was very interesting. This is a part of warfare that NEVER gets shown or talked about, and is just as important as a combat units fighting capabilities and composition. Until I saw this video, I'd never even thought about it. Thanks for sharing.

[@jimbotheassclown]

It's 90% Filipino and other second world citizens that U.S contractors hire that do the cooking down range now .

[@j.h-j5j]

That is an interesting aspect. Were the Filipino contractors? Did they only participated in the pacific theater, or the European one as well?

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

@Roderick storey Steve will at least try anything that isn't fully rotten. The peanut butter cans he has opened have been seriously surprising.

[@williamkeith8944]

@@j.h-j5j no, he's talking about current era since 1st Gulf War in 1991 and before in Bosnia.

[@MrAlumni72]

Agreed - hardly ever thought about it (I think the only field kitchen I've ever seen on screen may have been the one on MASH). This video was very informative and the food actually looked pretty darn good!

[@jimf1964]

The unseen logistics of war. Most people don't realize how big a part logistics plays in war, or how many non combat personnel it takes to support them. Imagine all that food, for all those soldiers had to come all the way from the US.

[@cdev2117]

Î always try to explain it like this, you've got a tank with four crewman, these crewman need food, so you need a cook to prepare meals, the cook needs a truck for his field kitchen and supplies, the tank needs fuel, so you need a guy with a truck loaded with fuel, the tank needs ammunition, so next guy next truck. All these guys need medical care, next guys next truck. All these trucks need mechanics too, all these trucks need fuel too, all these guys also need food too, and all of them have a military record and want to get their pay om time. All this for 4 guys and a tank, speaking oversimplified.

[@LawnPygmy]

@@cdev2117 Pretty good summary of it. You should also mention all the people needed to track this stuff and move it around. What these four guys need, how much of it, and where. To track where that stuff is while it's moving (and who is carrying what, where) so they can make sure it actually gets to them. More trucks, more fuel, more guys.

[@jimf1964]

And the guys who make out the pay checks, their clothing, even toilet paper.. all that stuff had to come across on ships, and those ships required all that stuff all over again, etc etc etc......like I said originally, logistics is what runs and army. How they fight and use it is another story of course, but to maintain what ever the do choose to do with it, takes a huge amount of effort.

[@timmteller871]

Logistics and intelligence wins you the war.

[@gaborfabian1239]

Even more baffling was for me that the term supply line/supply chain is not a figurative term. Not long ago I red an article on the operations of Habsburg imperial troops against ottomans in Hungary. They had an endless chain of wagons coming after the army just 10-15 000 men strong, unloading supply and immediately turning back for more. It is estimated that without this chain of wagons the army would disband in 3 days due to lack of supply. It was truly enlightening.

[@ramal5708]

"Hot food, coffee, cigarettes we're making a push sure as shit" - your Sgt. before your squad attacks the Siegfried Line.

[@proudamerican3595]

When trumpets fade

[@rangerup1804]

I remember being out on patrol for several days just eating our C-rats and while we were heading back to the company position we ran across a field kitchen down in a shallow depression. I ordered my guys to fall into the end of the chow line and we ended up eating chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy and fresh vegetables. Best meal ever. The mess sergeant looked at us kind of funny because we were so dirty but didn't say anything. You don't know what a great morale booster that was for my team. Those guys cooking and preparing food in the field should be highly respected.

[@iamvan7243]

When was this?

[@imperialguardsman8088]

@@Roger-rh5lu you understand that feeding the troops is extremely important right? The Germans had men feeding the troops too. Your grandpa would have been totally fine with it.

[@ke6ziu]

As someone that preferred working out in the field, you're very welcome! Marine 3381 here...

[@rangerup1804]

@@Roger-rh5lu Guess you were never in the military were you?

[@mmasque2052]

@@Roger-rh5lu women’s work? Look around at the restaurants near you. How many male cooks? How many female cooks? Cooking for a family is one thing, even if it’s a big family. This is cooking for a 150-200 at a time. It’s logistics, pure and simple. Knowing what you had told you what you could prepare and you had to prepare it quickly.

[@zakkyun]

“Let’s get this onto a tray. Nice!”

[@BAZZAROU812]

Oh Steve.. Lol

[@HexrMage21]

I was hoping someone would say that

[@mrdoe8484]

"Nice hiss" lol

[@kvnmcinturff1]

"I can't believe that I'm eating this. OK, one more bite". 👍

[@joerhodes213]

"Alright, while that's doing it's thing, let's check out that instant coffee"

[@nahbro104]

Also keep in mind! During the liberation of France and the Netherlands during the summer, they would get fresh vegetables donated from farmers, now THAT must have been such a huge morale booster!

[@marksheiman1538]

That's their way of saying "merci ". Maybe a little local wine with the chow

[@davidgudlaugson528]

I thought the Dutch were starving in the last year of the war.....

[@bizzyizzy9526]

Farmers that didn't know that they were donating😂

[@justnoob8141]

@@davidgudlaugson528if you’re a farmer, you don’t know the different in time of war, only when the government came when you did

[@WforBogart]

@@bizzyizzy9526 I understood that reference!

[@rosssmith4638]

I was in the Australian Army as a cook in the 99’s, I remember using the stoves. It was a good bit of kit

[@ke6ziu]

Try working a 2 watch in a USMC messhall in the '80s! You'd work lunch, dinner day 1... day 2, breakfast, lunch, dinner... day 3, breakfast... 6 meals; you didn't get off until 1930-2000 that night! Man, that sucked!

[@rosssmith4638]

@@ke6ziu ours was 0530-1900. Two days on two days off, every second weekend was a long weekend. It was good. A seven day fortnight, but you done two weeks work in those seven days.

[@johnolive3425]

I think they finally replace the gasoline powered stoves and immersion heaters some years back. The Army was moving to all Diesel fuel and they were trying to ease the logistics aspect.

[@Minute_Sniper]

Americans: food and cook German : can we get food too? German supply line: we don't do that here

[@Romanov117]

It's funny but true. When one German Commander during at the Battle of the Bulge got his hands on an American Food ration and saw a chocolate bar inside, he knew that War is lost.

[@Supperdude9]

Didn't they just have meth?

[@yomangfoo1]

@@Supperdude9 pervitin for breakfast, lunch and dinner ( sometimes second dinner)

[@Chuked]

@@Romanov117 it was actually a Chocolate Cake from a bakery in New York, not a chocolate bar

[@Bustermachine]

@@Romanov117 Pretty sure that by the battle of the bulge they knew the war was lost regardless of what Americans were eating. Though I'm sure it was one more nail in the coffin of any lingering delusions.

[@jtj1331]

I remember being out in the field for weeks with nothing but MRE’s.... then returning to the field HQ and having a warm meal. Definitely a morale booster

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

Infantry, Korea, DMZ 1984-85; I was surprised how often our cooks got hot rations out to us. Very welcome.

[@nickr2351]

Mikhailia Gacesa Thank you for your service!

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

np

[@Spider-Too-Too]

thamks to the lack of air supreiority in the commie force.

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

?

[@raysheng5724]

@@mikhailiagacesa3406 He's saying the cooks were able to get hot food to you often because the lack of communist air control meant they did not have the necessary intel to stop your cooks from making it out to you guys closer to the front...I think

[@FirstStrikeSabre]

Canadian Army, we still use the immersion heaters. If it ain’t broke...

[@stevestruthers6180]

I was a Canadian Army reservist from 1979 until 1981. I remember the immersion heaters very well. On a chilly morning, the warm water was really appreciated as it made shaving and cleaning oneself much more comfortable.

[@blacksunapocalypse]

Yea I was just gonna say, still use those fuckers.

[@teufelhund4921]

Canada has an army? why?

[@blacksunapocalypse]

@@teufelhund4921 Our southern friends fuck everything up ;)

[@liberatetutemeexinferis5902]

@@stevestruthers6180 They made us shave with cold water at CFB Borden!

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Very informative. Wish it was actually longer.

[@Belioyt]

This needs a feature film length documentary

[@erickus36]

The cook is a role of real importance! Imagine not having a hot meal for a week and then having a real hot meal ! I say the cook as always been underrated!

[@rakaman27]

Meanwhile in the German army: "Hans, what's for dinner?" Hans: "Well, all the horses are gone so ... boot leather."

[@slopcrusher3482]

“ we’ll eat what the Frenchman down the road is having for supper!”

[@amxelcbis4464]

The German army in WW2 was called the Heer.

[@valf1733]

Eric No, it was the Wehrmacht. Heer is the modern day German army.

[@HoLSurena]

@just some dude without moustache it was heer, the wehrmatch was all the armed forces (heer, luftwaffe and kriegsmarine)

[@kenken8765]

Boot leather and meth

[@nautifella]

My uncles say the best meals they had in the war came out of those field kitchens. They fought under Gen Clark in Italy and Patton after the breakout from Normandy.

[@RandomDudeOne]

2:22 Real combat footage. One guy drops his rifle, another loses his helmet.

[@TouhouFan]

Touche

[@kangarookidnapper9785]

Their training wasn’t as advanced as it is nowadays.

[@landlockedcroat1554]

must be italians

[@heyyou9472]

Yeah, most soldiers were barely or never trained and just drafted out to war. All you had to learn was how to shoot a gun and handle equipment.

[@airmackeeee6792]

@@landlockedcroat1554 I dunno... Those soldiers are moving FORWARD.

[@BrianMax]

I served in the US army as a cook in the 1980s. Our equipment was almost identical to what is shown in this video. In the field, my job included waking up at 4:00am, starting the generator and lighting the immersion heaters. I also fueled the stoves.

[@zoarmhirr2964]

Evilstorm11 I shouldn't laugh but LOL.

[@vaporsouls6752]

@Evilstorm11 kinda disrespectful dont you think?

[@zoarmhirr2964]

Evilstorm11 What are you talking about?

[@kevinpasion5281]

Evilstorm11 sounds like we have a Napoleon syndrome going...

[@funnyguy3D]

Evilstorm11 You're a moron and a scumbag.

[@Liam-ly8rv]

Having been in the Army for over 20 years its good to see people like yourselves keeping history alive and not just something to be read in a book. I think you guys are underestimated by many historians and academics.

[@noah6416]

Her: He’s probably out there cheating. Me and the boys:

[@leslielively3092]

Most people don’t think about the cooks so to any military cooks who reads this thank you for keeping the military running.

[@vospersb.thorneycroft602]

Leslie Lively Hello ☺️ That goes for ships, cattle drives, some trains. But from what I have heard not to sure about air planes?

[@beach7138]

Imagine being cold and miserable close to the front line and the field kitchen shows up and you have warm grub ready for you. It would lift spirits pretty high I reckon.

[@KevinThomascolorado]

I served as a US Army cook (94b) from 1985-1989 and much was still the same, In training we learned how to set up both the "m1948 kitchen tent" and the MKT or mobile kitchen trailer. We still used the m2 burner unit and the stove/oven pictured. In practice we used a deuce and half truck that was "built out" for a field kitchen and quarters.

[@juanlupe30]

An it used diesel fuel instead of gasoline...... you rarely see these things now,unless you're in the reserves or national guard...

[@vinceking2349]

@@juanlupe30 And still uses the trashcan with the burner to clean the pots and pans.

[@curiousentertainment3008]

Keiith if it ain’t broke don’t fix it that’s especially true for aussies

[@nikolas_schreck]

I was born in 81 while you were learning cool stuff.

[@patriotpioneer]

Crap, I possibly ate some of the food you cooked....

[@kellilangley3875]

Awesome...my grandfather served in the Pacific, and he told us stories of the difficulties in getting food and setting up the kitchens.When he was older he had gained weight, but he always laughed and said if we had starved like he did we’d be fat forty years later also! RIP Papa, Semper Fi!

[@gnarshread]

Everyone thinks of the armaments in war but rarely do we think about the logistics if feeding an army on the move. Thank you for the interesting perspective.

[@dorothygale5896]

True. "The amateur studies tactics, the professional studies logistics."

[@PugilistCactus]

Tactics are for boys, logistics for men.

[@bigduke6764]

Terrific video. My father-in-law was a cook in the 3rd Army during WWII. Died in 2001 when our daughter was 2 and I just sent her this video so she would have a better idea of what her Grandpa did for his country during the war.

[@2009Berghof]

Great job. This was filmed at Rockford, IL's Midway Village WWII Days re-enactment, one of our nation's largest. When WWII re-enacting began at Weldon Spring, MO, we had a WWII field stove that we used to cook our Sunday morning breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage. It warms my heart to see how far recreating WWII has improved since when I produced that first event in 1975.

[@Chelios6661]

You cant find videos about this things out there. As a WW2 enthusiast, i will like to encorage you to make more of this videos. Bravo, and well done :)

[@tyttiMK]

Well here is one, made in 1942, about the logistics... kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6C6p35qjNNmiZY

[@sfperalta]

Fascinating (to me at least). This is part of the logistics story that rarely gets told. Lots of video about guns, bullets, grenades and shells. but not enough about how they got those war materials to the front line troops. Nutrition, communications, and intelligence are just as important as tactics and firefights. Good job. Please post more videos!

[@scotanderson7689]

This was one of the best videos I have watched. We were still being fed like that in Germany when I served there in the Army back in 1987. One morning we were standing in the chow line in a blinding rain storm with water running off our steel pots right in to our food. Just like in the movies.

[@paulwolf2775]

I experienced having eaten from different field kitchens, doing three different periods. Civil War, World War 1 and 2. There was a group called, "Combat Caterers". Very authentic, and tried to serve as period as possible. You guys looked great. It's, a subject, that gets overlooked, by a lot of historians, both from the modern military, and throughout history. There have been several books that touched on the subject. The most memorable one, was "Private", by an author, who was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, Lester Atwell. He writes, about the field kitchens and how they prepared the rations. Thanks again for an interesting video

[@Alphonselle]

Check out James Townsend

[@LawnPygmy]

There's an amazing book done by a Civil War veteran called 'Hardtack and Coffee' by John D. Billings. It's an excellent read about camp life during the Civil War, though it focuses mainly on the Army of the Potomac because it was the one that the author had served in. It goes into not just the food but also the patches and communications technology of the time, as well as several chapters about what camp life was actually like.

[@andremaines]

I remember some civil war guys came to our middle school. They gave us hardtack and then shot a cannon in the middle of our football field.

[@paladin0654]

Great post; spot on, thanks. I spent a career in the Army 70s-90s: our field kitchens used the same equipment...it worked well and the food was great. The standard fare was "As" for morning and evening and "Cs" for lunch. If we weren't moving, "Cs" were often heated with immersion heaters. Immersion heaters were dangerous to light for the uninitiated...very easy to lose your eye lashes by seeing if the heater was working by looking down into it too soon.

[@johnborland4133]

Paladin 06 They can be a little scary even if you know what you’re doing.....

[@KevinThomascolorado]

I was an army cook from 1985 to 1989 and we were still using the m2 burner unit, the 1939 stove and the emertion. Heaters but the mermite cans were rectangular and held 3 inserts

[@blip98]

I served with the Australian Army as a cook for 11 years till 2000 all this kit was still in service!

[@nathanielcohen9890]

i still have my military mess kits (3) and use them every day. i cook and eat out of it. one of those benefits of being single and 67 yrs old. i also use the U.S. dining ware too. very easy cleanup. old habits are hard to break.

[@philliplapkovitch311]

I have a question you're Nam age you ever have an actual cooked hot meal or was it see rats cook in the warmer been there done that 🤣

[@nathanielcohen9890]

it was actually a cat and not a rat....it really wasn't too bad. served with rice and vegetables in a pho broth...…I would like to never do that again...but that being said at the time it was delicious and hot……..miss nam, I would like to go back.……….@@philliplapkovitch311

[@nathanielcohen9890]

I gave my 4 stainless steel trays away a few months back.....now I miss them.@Adam Brady

[@EastBayFlipper]

That was really well done and you really deserve credit for capturing this piece of historical information. Thank you.

[@AliceObscura]

This is so amazing! Especially when you consider that in spite of all of these logistical hurdles, the US military was the best fed force in the entire war.

[@tabskitchen3283]

The logistics for the war in incredible. Honestly, that is part of the reason we started doing a living history field kitchen. You don't win wars without logistics and manufacturing.

[@AliceObscura]

@@tabskitchen3283 I never considered it until I saw a video a about "tooth to tail." It's really fascinating though how the USA has managed to maintain a competent and well fed military no matter it has been deployed. It's truly an amazing feature of American productivity and adaptation to serve the needs of the military when deployed.

[@pwrplnt1975]

This was SO Very cool! I'm a HUGE history buff and I enjoyed this immensely!! Thank You For Sharing!!!

[@1337Mo]

Revisited this once more, since i recently got a printed copy of TM 10-412 out of curiosity after viewing other videos. Good meals with 4-5 ingredients, a bit bland for todays standard, but fills my stomach. Just have to say thanks for the references to other printed sources.

[@TheLimbReaper]

I've heard it said that for every man on the front, there was 100 in the rear supporting him. It took everyone to win.

[@steveelmes9273]

Just remember, even though you are a cook, doesn't mean you can't end up on the front. :In the Battle of the Bulge, cooks and clerks were thrown into the line, and fought like tigers, and died like heroes. As the Marines say, "Every man is a rifleman!"

[@AnonEMus-cp2mn]

If WWII-era propaganda was to be condensed into a single message, it would be just that.

[@milesmack2798]

I have to say this is like the most interesting thing to me when comes to learning about WWII, like yes the battles are interesting but learning what the soldiers ate or what the did when not fighting or how they entertain each other is just maybe a bit more interesting. Kinda puts you in the shoes of a WWII solider as you imagine what it was like back then.

[@jds6206]

While in the Marine Corps in the 1980s, one of my additional duties was to sign for the Field Mess....so, I supervised inventory of the field mess "system" assigned to our unit. I think we took it to the field once and our assigned bakers and cooks used it for several days, preparing "two hots" for the Marines. A real novelty....this was as field messes were beginning to be phased out and better quality "Meal Ready to Eat" were being phased in with "tray-packs" and other alternatives to the field mess phenomena. Among Marine Corps occupational specialties, and even within the Combat Service Support "MOS'", there were many professions that did not get the credit they were due; in my opinion, while Motor Transport was unheralded, the profession of cooks and bakers was absolutely taken for granted. I cannot think of a more difficult job in the Marine Corps, in the post-Vietnam era, than that of Food Service.

[@buckeyeranger6438]

Nice video. My Combat Engineer unit used this into the late 1980’s & my Military Police HQ units had cooks assigned until the late 1990’s

[@ManagingVideo]

Okey, its now recommended. This food would being serve again as WW3

[@kenken8765]

@Mickey Zombish There better be at least some unfiltered Camel cigs and instant coffee in those rations

[@TheMaster4534]

@Mickey Zombish also GMO Corn Syrup giving the illusion of healthy food.

[@TheMaster4534]

@Mickey Zombish also GMO Corn Syrup giving the illusion of healthy food.

[@ColonelFrontline1152]

*_"A Army Marches On It's Stomach."_* - _Napoleon Bonaparte._

[@cougar2k720]

This reminded me the good ol' stories of chuckwagon, cookie, and it's band of cowboys. Back in 1800s, it was essential for a cattle drive company to have a good chuck wagon and a good cookie ( often retired grumpy cowhand). As the cowboys' morale pretty much depends on the hot meal at the end of the long hard day, and the overall success of the cattle run. I expect the military field kitchen and the cooks give the same vibe to the soldiers as well. Nothing beats a hot and well prepared meals to boost your morale during turbulent and difficult times.

[@Callsign_Bear]

Hell yeah! Shits rough out there, and I know it keeps me going knowing I got a hot meal ready for me at home, and I'm not even military!

[@Pygar2]

Seen Cowboy Kent's channel?

[@cougar2k720]

@@Pygar2 yup, that's where I got my Cookie's fix from.

[@skyking6333]

Nothing’s better than a hot cooked meal in the field. They were known as “A-Rations.” US Army/ USAF cooks are the best. In my 31 years in the US Army, I never ate a bad “A-Ration” My first combat experience was 1990-1991, Operation DS & DS. It sucked! We ate MRE’s 3x per day. Not too good. I can only remember a handful of “A” meals once the combat kicked off. During the latest wars “GWOT” OEF & OIF, civilian contractors provided the meals & they were all incredible. Absolutely incredible!

[@cameronlarson4078]

Great to see those reenactors that are apart of the 34th infantry! My dad served with the Red Bulls over seas so I have a special place for the Red Bulls. Unfortunately I'm medically unqualified to serve in the military, but if I could, I would love to serve with the Red Bulls. "Attack, Attack, Attack!"

[@old-time-family-cooking]

I served with the 34th in Iraq.

[@randallpope363]

My uncle served as a cook with the A Company, 763rd Tank Battalion in WWII. From Sicily, Italy, France, Southern Germany, ending in Austria. He was trained as a tanker but volunteered to be the cook after the primary cook volunteered for tank duty (lots of casualties). He said he knew how to operate and fix the stoves. He told me the best meal he prepared was French rabbits. He said he was strafed and shot at by snipers. My experience with our battery cook in the field was when he let a huge pot of spaghetti stick together. It was different but it tasted fine.

[@theairwaybat1830]

After being in the shit I bet a warm meal was such a moral booster

[@boondocker7964]

It sure as Hell, did not hurt, not that I really knew what shit really was, and for that I am glad, cuz, I know what I don't like, and what I am not.

[@keldon_champion]

I think it is funny that during my time in the army we still called them mermites even though they no longer used the mermite cans. No one seamed to know where the mermite name came from and I finally have an answer.

[@edmondlau511]

We still call them mermites. For me, I’ll take MREs over mermites for weeks at a time.

[@keldon_champion]

@@edmondlau511 I kind of figured they still did i got out in 2014 so not that long ago. Also I agree I would much rather MREs than mermites, they usually suck, nothing like eating hour old dry ass waffles with no syrup.

[@reubenmarchant2229]

I knew a front line cook from ww2. MPs asked why he wasn't carrying his rifle on his shoulder. He told them he kill more Germans with his cooking than with his rifle. He couldn't hit the broadside of barn.

[@57629589]

I went into the Army in 1975, this equipment was basically what we used in the field.

[@NickFerry]

Fascinating video - thanks for preserving & providing insight into history

[@ajb7876]

During my time in the British Army in the 1980s I well remember using petrol fuelled water heaters very similar to the ones shown here, if you got a good one that worked as they were meant to,they were brilliant, you could have a metal dustbin of water boiling in no time.If you got a bad one with a dodgy drip valve you ended up with one that would go out but would still have a considerable amount of unburnt petrol in the bottom of the burn chamber,it became a running joke to have the new guys light these particular heaters and then laugh like idiots when they lost their eyebrows to the column of roaring fire that would erupt out of them when they dropped a lit match into the burn chamber.Yeah I know, very childish,iresponsible and somewhat dangerous but most of us were barely out of our teens and at the time we all thought it was funny as fuck.

[@americanpanzer4163]

I would be laughing to

[@samueldamewood5273]

That's just part of soldiering, Remember we was young and a bit wild. When you think bout it a 35 year old was OLD and near retirement.

[@aeroswede]

LMAO...Same experience with US Army, Germany in 80's. Had a guy in the platoon trying to light the submersible with the drip valve. Wouldn't light, kept dripping, put his head over the exhaust vent to look in...BOOM. Happened to be watching and about ready to warn him. He had hair bangs and glasses. Scared the crap out of him. Ran over to check him out...Face black from soot, eyebrows gone, what was left of his bangs curled up, and 2 white eye sockets from his glasses. The good ole days.

[@minuteman4199]

They would have been a heck of a lot easier to light if we had the lighter the guy in the video had, instead of trying to light them with matches.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

@@minuteman4199 never thought of just finding a stick, split one end and jam a wad of kerosene soaked rags in the split to use it as an improvised lighter device?

[@charlespowers850]

a lot of that equipment was srill in use in the 80's when I served

[@PhattPhillip]

Thank you for the great sources.

[@ctla3043]

The amount of times I have watched this is unhealthy

[@ericlarson9386]

In 1989 when I joined the Army National Guard, the emersion heater was the firs piece of equipment I was ever licensed on. The good old days.

[@timfronimos459]

This is one of the best military videos I've ever seen. Informative on a subject lot of veterans remember and civilians look over.

[@johnborland4133]

Thank you

[@crispinjulius5032]

“You fucked up good this time, Anderson. Guess who’s going to clean up the 360 mess kits after they’re done using them?”

[@shawnbeckmann1847]

How about you cook a WW2 meal for us To see?

[@ballagh]

Shawn Beckmann1 , I'll second that!

[@ufc990]

Seriously, I was so excited, it was about to start and then ended.

[@jameskish4044]

Let me just take a wild stab at this; Ham, Potatoes, Lima Beans & Peaches! my old man was U.S. Army in the mid 50's.

[@privatebubba8876]

In the field most meals were cold k rations and if you were lucky they would heat a drum of water to heat the rations in.

[@ufc990]

@@privatebubba8876Oh wow no fooling? Get outta here with that answer man, we want the nitty gritty not what your 7th grade history textbook mentions.

[@piehound]

Thanks for that bit of WW2 history.

[@Huntress_Hannah]

There really isn’t anything better than a perfect, hot meal, after a long day

[@MrLaughinggrass]

That gentleman is a great source of knowledge. Thank you

[@tabskitchen3283]

He's a wealth of knowledge and really is a gentleman.

[@williamkeith8944]

I remember using GI mess kits, Jerry cans, and army tents in the Boy Scouts in the 1960s. We learned how to shoot through the Civilian Marksmanship Program using converted to 22LR Springfield 1903 rifles at the local National Guard armory range. We wore NRA shooting medals on our scout shirts. Times have sure changed (and not for the better)🇺🇸

[@georgeburns7251]

Yep. Today they takes their guns to school instead of the range. So sad.

[@RecordedRacoon]

Kids took guns to school back then too just not with malicious intent. Charles Whitman walked in front of multiple people armed to the teeth but nobody cared because it was texas and people usually shot pigeon's off of the college's tower anyways.

[@patrickgaffney8174]

You guys should make more videos

[@tabskitchen3283]

We will be. There will be some field kitchen gear restoration videos coming this summer.

[@barryhopesgthope686]

The feeding system is still that way. Two hots and an MRE.

[@Bustermachine]

The bit about the order of battle at the beginning, how the kitchen is a company element but usually attached to the battalion HQ, is always interesting to me. Neatly illustrates the difference between how some elements are organized for management and how they're actually implemented in reality.

[@Harry-tb8fh]

I never knew this aspect of battlefield,thanks for the info sir.

[@StrikeFreedom78]

As a cook, I can appreciate the history of this method of preparing food for the troops in the field during times of war. Thanks for posting.

[@kevincho1187]

this stuff looks better than my schools lunch. The fact they ate better in 1944 than students in 2020, is saying something

[@harrisonfuller5015]

Well they are better at this reenactment. I’m sure their ingredients and the freshness are better at the reenactment

[@kevincho1187]

@@harrisonfuller5015 I know that but even so with the preperation you could make subpar and even shitty ingredients taste good

[@acrustykrab]

Your school sucks then geez

[@samuelhowie4543]

​@@kevincho1187 Thing is, nowadays most of the food in school lunches is premade frozen stuff whereas tho food back then was mostly homemade not pulled out of a can or a freezer.

[@kevincho1187]

@@samuelhowie4543 Most of this stuff is freeze dried, infact a good chunk of the food GI's ate were a preserved kind, a canned or dried food.

[@dreyegon]

I’ve watched this 3 times in over a year. I love this video. I wish there were more.

[@KOLDBLU3ST33L]

Made me appreciate the "cooks" waaay more.

[@jessegutierrez6923]

God bless the cooks who kept and to this day continue to feed our troops!

[@ritochkabasaev]

Very interesting stuff! Wish u guys will make long-ass videos about field kitchens and meals!

[@toddsmith1617]

I was cook in the coast guard from 83 to 03. Thanks for this video. It was informative. Thanks to all the cooks in every war.

[@corvuscrow5485]

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. :>)

[@stoneblue1795]

Never seen any of that before-- wow, that was enjoyable and informative. Thank you!

[@glorybound7599]

Very good. Boy does that bring back Army memories from the 1970’s - 80’s , twice, when I was serving in West Germany 🇩🇪. First as a Cavalry Scout in a Mechanized Infantry Unit and Second as a Warrant Officer flying a Scout Helicopter 🚁. It is true that an Army lives or dies on its stomach. I greatly appreciated the people that kept us fed.

[@jeverettrulz]

My father served in the Pacific, I'm sure he looked forward to food like this as all soldiers do. Those are some good looking biscuits btw!

[@rockbay79]

During my 20 years of service in the U.S. Military I was involved in two major conflicts: Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm we normally only received one hot meal each day and this was late in the evening or Supper. Normally dry cereal and warm condensed milk for breakfast and an MRE for lunch. Many times I would skip these two meals, so I was basically eating one meal each day. After 6 months of this I went from weighing 135 pounds down to 110 pounds. When I returned to my home unit I was directed to the base Hospital for evaluation. I was found to be under-weight and they placed me on the Ensure Dietary Supplements. I soon gained my weight back, but it was mostly from getting three meals a day again. My point, I was not impressed with the USAF's attempts at feeding troops in the field. Operation Enduring Freedom was better for feeding the troops, but the combat side of the house was greatly intensified! On this deployment I was better fed, but came home with some mental issues I had to work through. It was much more up close and personal. In March 2002 I retired after 20 years and one month of Active Duty service. I've been retired now for almost 19 years. The time has passed fast. Much faster than when on Active duty. The first thing I noticed was how well everyone was fed. I don't understand what happened from WWII until Operation Desert Storm. Why the drop off in quality food for the Service members? When I was in Desert Storm I did notice several things that indicated we were not really prepared for this operation. We were not even issued "Desert" BDU uniforms! We were wearing Jungle BDU's in the desert as just one example. Enjoyed the video!

[@terran046]

two words rockbay: Cost cutting. in Desert storm bean counters where shaving costs because of the fall of the soviet union. in Enduring and Iraqi freedom the Neocons were convinced you could fight a war and nation build after on the cheap by privatizing everything they could. I remember a story i was told back in 2008 how one airbase got shafted on who was contracted to feed them because it turned out the contractor the saudis royal family recommended to the airforce for that base was skimming on the top, provided substandard food and didn't train their staff at all. the contractor vanished off the face of the earth when the CO bitched to the saudi's about the guy. a meal i was told about from that base was just cheap noodles boiled with so little water that the water turned to gel from the pasta starch and it was served cold.

[@Brandywine53]

Fascinating. The true unsung heroes of the war.

[@jmeyer3rn]

God bless our troops and veterans. Thank you all for serving our country.

[@drdnout]

Meyer isn't german name?

[@jmeyer3rn]

Дредноут Императоров yes it is.

[@jmeyer3rn]

It is my husband’s family. I’m a Brown.

[@thgentleman9210]

Just need a pack of Chesterfield..

[@peterderiemer3854]

28 years in the military ...you guys made breakfast at the READING air show. I was a German panzergrenadier. It was the BEST BREAKFAST I'VE EVER HAD!😜💖💓 you guys had bloody bucket patches. I retired from the 28.

[@johnborland4133]

Thanks, but that wasn’t us.

[@ricki7187]

Even into the 1980's the immersion heaters were still quite common. I remember how nice it was to have an immersion heater with fresh water to use for shaving or to heat C rations before MRE's became a thing.

[@HAN0N777]

I get suggested this video every 6 monthes and I have watched it everytime.

[@MrEye4get]

We used similar field kitchens in Berlin in 1983! HHC maintained four field kitchens, one for each company in an Infantry Battalion. The troops were happy to see them in operation and the fresh meals they made!

[@justinfowler2857]

When I was in the army I quickly learned to never piss off the cook or supply sergeant.

[@1punchbrownyt338]

Friend: yeah me and the hot teacher totally kissed Me: 1:48

[@johnborland4133]

If you're implying that we're wrong and that hot food never reached the front lines, then show yow your research and your sources.

[@1punchbrownyt338]

@@johnborland4133 its said *cap*

[@johnborland4133]

@@1punchbrownyt338 Try that again in English please”

[@1punchbrownyt338]

@@johnborland4133 the can legit said *cap* 1:48

[@johnborland4133]

@@1punchbrownyt338 oooooooookay

[@MetalsirenIXI]

Always good to learn something about WW2 that didn't involve killing. Ive never known about this until this video. Bringing hot meals to the front must have been a life saver.

[@seriousgoat76]

When a soldier in ww2 had better nutrition than a millennial.

[@ThroatSore]

Marvellouse. Thanks for keeping this important part of history alive.

[@Thepourdeuxchanson]

During training my husband's unit at Fort Carson was sent out into the wilderness and forced to subsist on supplies they brought with them, and a field kitchen already in place in the bush. Upon opening the first stove they found it full of swarming cockroaches. They closed the doors, cranked up the heat, and the next twenty minutes listened to the sound of roaches popping like popcorn. Then they shoveled out the remains and began cooking proper food.

[@mattgbam]

0:12 teeth and gums fryup