c-rats

[chilidog]

Who decided which c-rats you got? I read once where a guy turned the box upside down so you couldn't see what they were. It worked for a while, but they were always packed the same way, so the guys soon learned which ones to grab. I read another account where they were passed out by seniority. The writer said that he ate ham and limas 3 times a day for a month. Did every unit divide them out a different way?


Chilidog

[DMZ-LT]

Probably several different ways Chili.Since a Cavalry platoon had tracks we carried a ton of ammo and C's. Every one on the track just took what they wanted from the tracks stash. Trading with other track crews was a given. I think I ate Beef with spice sause for four months. Got in a fist fight over the last carton once

[Bill Farnie]

To tell the truth, I don't remember how the C-rats were distributed. I do remember a lot of trading going on. God?.ham& mothers?hated them. When we went into the Ashau Valley the companies of the Brigade would rotate from the field to either FSB Currahee, Eagles Nest or Berchesgarden. When we would go to Currahee we always made it a point to "liberate" some lrrp's (MRE's at that time) and pretty much stocked up on them to carry into the field and only eat C-rats when we were at a FSB and save the lrrp's for the boonies.

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by Bill Farnie To tell the truth, I don't remember how the C-rats were distributed. I do remember a lot of trading going on. God?.ham& mothers?hated them. When we went into the Ashau Valley the companies of the Brigade would rotate from the field to either FSB Currahee, Eagles Nest or Berchesgarden. When we would go to Currahee we always made it a point to "liberate" some lrrp's (MRE's at that time) and pretty much stocked up on them to carry into the field and only eat C-rats when we were at a FSB and save the lrrp's for the boonies.

I remember real well how they were distributed in the 101st, or at least the part I was in: Everybody got a case. You'd trade around after that. This would do untill the next resupply which would always be at least a day after they said it was going to be, sometimes more.
Some of the stuff was dated from the Korean War and was moldy.
At this time we also sometimes got the old lrrp rations which had to be mixed with hot water and tasted foul anyway. The new ones were much better. In the l;rrps we never took Cs at all and we had the newer lrrp rations: you could eat them hot or cold or dry with water--this was the best, they would expand inside and give you the full feeling. Nowadays youd pay a lot for this kind of dehydrated campfood.
I got used to all the C's, even the ham and slimers, I was hungry a good deal of the time in the 101st.
James

[splummer]

The way I think I remember how we got our c-rations was: Early in the morning after a powderd egg breakfast we'd head to the dispatcher shack to find out where we would be going that day. They would only open one or two cases of c=rats at a time and we usually were allowed to grab 2 boxes. When they were gone another case or two were opened. [I guess it depended on where you were in line as to which ones you got.] Some times we were short on rations and could only take one. This reminded me of a time I had a civilian ride with me from Hue to Dong Ha. [I got to take an extra box for him.] He wanted to find out what it was like to go in a convoy instead of by air. Real nervous guy, after we got going. He wondered where my 'gun' was, and kept asking what was going on, every time we stoped. It was 100+ degrees and took all day to go 60 miles. [He seemed kind of releived when we finally got there.]I think he probably traveled by air after that.

[Andy]

Like Lt, riding around on APC?s we always had lots of C?s. In the summer of ?67 we were eating very old rats. When you opened a can of ham and eggs, around the edges, the eggs turned green. I know Dr. Seuss was in WWII, bet that?s were he got the idea for ?Green eggs and ham?.

I?ve never been a fussy eater, (except for tripe, head cheese and kidneys) plus gun fire tended to make me loose my appetite, so usually tried to get a meal that had a four-pack of Marlboro?s in it. Also ate as much local food as I could. Sort of developed a taste for dog, course you have to cook it right and use just a tad of nuke mohn. (I spelled that wrong).

Did I ever mention I found a bag of potatoes (when no one was looking)? It was behind Division Hq, Hq mess. A five pound tin of lard from our mess hall, a steel pot, a makeshift tripod, a pound of C-4 and you get French fries. A delightful change to our normal cuisine. But I swear you could smell them cooking for a mile.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[revwardoc]

Andy,

I had dog meat in the PI. Good stuff. Tasted kinda like the teryaki beef I had a local Chinese place the other night. Hey!! Wait a minute.....Damn! Now I've got this uncontrollable urge to find a fire hydrant.