What Did WW2 Soldiers Eat | US Military Food Rations | Documentary | ca. 1943
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It is a (circa) 1943 documentary made by the United States Office of War Information about the US military food rations during World War 2. It explains the importance of good nutritious food for the US soldiers. Dehydrated and process food was developed during that time. A very informative production of its time.
Historical background / context:
The United States military ration refers to various preparations and packages of food provided to feed members of the armed forces. U.S. military rations are often made for quick distribution, preparation, and eating in the field and tend to have long storage times in adverse conditions due to being thickly packaged and/or shelf-stable. The current ration is the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE).
Field Rations during World War 2
After 1918, the US army ration system went through several revisions. By June 1945, the US Army had 157 nutrition officers. Between 1941 and 1946, more than 30 field ration surveys were conducted to assess health, performance and nutritional status of troops in different environments. The main rations were:
- A-ration: Garrison Ration. Fresh, refrigerated, or frozen food prepared in dining halls or field kitchens. The most valued of all rations.
- B-ration: Field Ration. Canned, packaged, or preserved foods normally prepared in field kitchens without refrigeration.
- C-ration: Individual Ration. A complete pre-cooked, ready-to-eat canned individual meal.
- K-ration: Individual Ration. Designed as a short duration individual "assault" ration for paratroopers and other specialized light infantry forces.
- D-ration: Emergency Ration. Bars of concentrated chocolate
combined with other ingredients to provide high calorie content.
A-rations were generally whatever meat and produce could be obtained locally, so there could be great variety from one theatre of operations to the next. B-rations were generally used when there was inadequate refrigeration for perishable A-rations. The composition of the D-ration did not change much throughout the war but the C-ration developed many variations.
A- and B-rations were only served at bases or established camps in rear areas as they require cooking. C-rations could be eaten hot or cold and required no special preparation or storage, so these could be served almost anywhere.
During the war a new ration for assault troops, the 2,830 calories K-ration, was developed. K-rations were originally intended to be used as short duration rations for only 2-3 days, but cost concerns and later standardization led to its overuse, contributing in some cases to vitamin deficiencies and malnourishment.
There were various other special rations developed for specific circumstances, like:
- Mountain ration: 4,800 calories.
- Jungle ration: 4,000 calories.
- The Assault Lunch: Chocolate bars, caramels, dried fruit, chewing gum, peanuts, salt tablets, cigarettes, matches, and water purification tablets; total of 1,500-2,000 calories.
- The Assault ration (Pacific Theater): 28 pieces of assorted hard candy, chewing gum, cigarettes and a chocolate peanut bar.
What Did WW2 Soldiers Eat | US Military Food Rations | Documentary | ca. 1943
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Documentaries like these are so important--for comic relief 🤣🤣. I'm one who served and tasted C-Rations, K-Rations and MREs.
The absolute worst had to be the green eggs in a can because even if you opened it in the dark you knew what it was just from the smell 👻👻
💊 the Nazis didn't have a Superman vitamin pill. More like heroin and Other Drugs
@@batmanismexican1873 I heard they took methamphetamine so a bunch of them were meth heads
@@batmanismexican1873 They used a lot of meth.
The earth needs bugs for her health and when we die she eats us Jesus last supper mistake was those chemists doping the food supply w bug killers the dumps emitting toxic air that changes the bugs Singapore trash burning systems you tube multiply the land fills the chemical killing us like a bus starts small then goes global any way I got more but the USA gone to dope all on you tube dead whales New York dumping trash in the ocean should have never signed China’s hitler program they f uped up India’s China’s bitch
"superman vitamin pill" yeah, I think thats called methamphetamine.
Yea, we found that the pills they were using were a cocktail of drugs among otherthings after the war if I'm not mistaken
Plenty of our troops still get them issued to them. Hell, they admit that during the 1st Gulf War they were issuing meth to pilots to keep them awake for additional combat missions beyond what was considered safe. I've always wondered what surprises are hidden in the combat pill packs inside the IFAK.
That's what I was thinking too.
.
It's not meth, it's like adderall, amphetamine salts, not methamphetamine like on the street. You can still find the pills in old bail out packs from ww2 and vietnam.
japanese and germans wwii soldiers are known to take those
Back when cigarettes were considered as important as food.
not a food appetite suppressant - during the axis siege of malta and due to the inability of british forces to supply the population with enough food - cigarettes is basically what kept the population form going mad - that is why all maltese of a certain generation smoke.
timwins31
Speaking of morons...You make a good point then throw in a totally uncalled for personal insult which instantly makes any thinking person completely ignore what you said.
timwins31
Hey, Boy Wonder? I'm over 50. No "Snowflake Generation" here. What I am is old enough to realize that if you have a point to make, making it without sounding like a 9 year old bully on the playground works better. I bet you are a pleasure to deal with in real life. No, actually, you don't act this way in real life because you realize that if you DO someone will punch your lights out. So what you are is a keyboard jockey who uses anonymity as a shield to cover up your personal shortcomings. NIce way to live.
Cigarettes ARE as important as food in combat. I had my girlfriend send me a carton a week in Iraq, and I don't know what I would have done without cigarettes. They kept me sane.
Guy Fawkes it's important for morale
The Army being the Army put an incredible amount of research into making a chocolate bar that was both hard to chew and tasted bad.
The infamous tropical chocolate bar. My Dad asked family to send him Baker's chocolate. It seemed to stand up okay even though it was a bit gritty. After the war he would steal bits of it from Mom's cupboard and she thought at first a mouse was after it!
Those "chocolate bars" were made from carob. Nasty.
It took them a while to figure out Tootsie Rolls filled the same purpose and were much preferred.
They were actually developed as a fudge substitute during WWI. They can handle wide temperature variations and store for long periods of time. Yes, they will crack your teeth when frozen. But if you carry them under your jacket they will soften up.
@@christopherconard2831 Hmmm, Tootsie Rolls. I love them, but they seem hard to find lately.
@@wendellwhite5797 carob are tasty ,near chocolate.
Somewhere in WW2
"Let's put this on to the tray"
"Nice hiss"
"Wholesome"
*let's get this out on a tray.....niiiccceeee*
”Has a metallic smell.... and taste.... niiiice.”
@@terrykrall 🤣🤣🤣
Steve.... he could eat bullshit and say "taste like chicken"
The look on his face when he says "Its good eating..." He knew the truth... LOL
As soon as that guy left the table he drove over to the local diner and had a hamburger with fries. You can bet he was never a good poker player with that face.
You never tasted them, did you?
I like how he barely took a bite which should give anyone a red flag but yet the funny part is that we had the better tasting rations which even made the Soviet Union army more friendly which for I researched wasn't easy to do even in WWII.
“You better say that it tastes delicious or we’ll send you to the front line”
@@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606 I would actually believe that one.🤣
I'm eating a can of Spam as I watch this to make it more realistic......
Spam sounds nice right about now
The sodium intake is melting my brains!
It's OK. I've lowered my sodium intake 50% by only eating 1/2 can at a time.. Who would think that one could lower their sodium intake with Spam ?!?!
The Erod1944 Channel hahaha
spam is homosexual made gelatinous glop...not food.
Here is the actual priority when it came to military rations (and largely still does).
1. Price
2. Calories per ounce.
3. Compactness.
4. Nuitritional value.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
157. Taste.
Joseph Attwell actually some of them are deliberately taste awful to prevent solider from snacking
Joseph Attwell What’s the priorities in between? That’s a surprisingly big amount of them.
@@AQuestioner can't process jokes I see
I heard somewhere that when commissioning the D Ration, it was specifically requested of Hershey that the taste be "slightly better than a boiled potato."
@@manicabawse2867 Sorry
The C rations we ate in the mid 60's were dated 1943 & 1944 mostly, they were still good. The cigarettes were a bit stale and the chocolate bars were hard and kinda chalky looking but we ate em. Anything in a sealed can was still fine, I've still got my P38 can opener.
@Glenn Wellington Where did you do your basic ?
Me too!
Fort Ord for Basic and AIT
I joined the army in 78. We were getting c rats dated in 50s n 60s. An old Vietnam veteran told me to avoid the ham n Limassol beans and ham n eggs chopped lol. And I still have my p38 also
Same for me. I was eating WWII rations in BCT/AIT at Polk in '64. I ate a lot of B rations through the years (until '78). I still carry my P38 and dog tags on my key chain.
why the fcuk old documentary always fascinating to watch than todays national geographic
People in the 1900s knew how to do stuff.
+John Schmitz hahaha thanks mannn
Because back then knowledge = survival. Now, idiots can make a living off reaction videos, sex tapes, and reality shows. Examples of these include.
-Honey Boo Boo
-Jersey Shore.
-The Kardashians.
etc.
Hence why documentaries nowadays are so shit.
+TROLLISTAIR OVEREEM absolutely right bro
Because this generation sucks I'd rather be in ww2 than here.
My cousin was morbidly obese when he was drafted in the Vietnam War. He wore a uniform with no name or rank. He was given various diets for a year and a half in a government experiment to study weight loss. He was nearly ideal body weight when he got out. He always believed that he got the better of that deal.
I hope he kept the weight off after he was discharged.
@@Arbeedubya No, in fact he gained about half of the weight back in two years.
@@loganpollock1689 Well, I suppose that's better than gaining all of it back.
@@Arbeedubya According to cousin Henry, it was better than eating mud and blood and sh-t and shrapnel. I was in the Navy but even in land warfare(Grenada, Lebanon and Bosnia) I never carried any food. A Navy guy or Marine always brought us food in the field.
extreme weight gain is almost NEVER about food... It's not about what you're eating.. It's about what your feeling emotionally or what trauma you've been through.
(Food isn't about what your eating.. It's about what's eating you! For various emotional issues.)
My dad was in the army during World War II, and he always told us he was knee-deep in blood for the entire war. He was stationed stateside, and assigned to the stockyards in Chicago, where he was a meat and dairy inspector, owing to the fact that he was blind in one eye.
well he didn't lie
he spent entire war in blood and guts
I work at a food processing facility. I swear the inspectors, or quality monitors, are all half blind. I'm happy to find out it is industry standard. 😂 JK
So that is where they got the saying "turned a blind eye".
My dad was also in the army during WWII. He did see a lot of action in the European Theatre. He had great respect for anyone that served regardless of job. Thanks to your dad👍
Well, with one eye vision, he could tell the two-armed blind soldier when to pump the well handle to get water. That's an infantry joke. I hope your Dad got his GI benefits.
The late great Steven Ambrose wrote about this in his books on WW2.He said draftee's from the city got a pleasant surprise because they got three meals a day with meat at each meal.The first time a lot of them had a steak was in the service,the farm kids didn't have that problem.
A number of draftees were underweight coming into the military in World War 2. They also had problems with TB, dental issues, and nutritional deficiencies that caused thyroid problems, rickets, scurvy and pellagra. As the young men were killed in battle, the casualties were also beginning to show signs of cholesterol buildup in their veins and arteries. The physical condition of Steve Rogers at the beginning of "Captain America" was not out of the ordinary.
The soldiers behind the frontlines got the best food in WW2. The soldiers on the frontlines got junk the other soldiers didn't want, and they were the ones doing all the fighting and dying.
And the result of all this research? The veggie omelette.
lmao
No. The result of this research and the fraud by Ancel Keyes is an epidemic of heart disease, diabetes and death from fat-phobia and massive over-consumption of carbs from cheap grains. The government kick-started junk food.
It's sort of edible if you heat it and drench it in Tobasco, kind of.
Then you've used up your week supply of tobasco.
Nunya Bidness Nooooooo! I need that!
I worked 20 years in the Army from 1970 to 1990 in vehicle maintenance. The Cooks were the hardest people that worked that hard ALL the time, not just in war time! For the last 14 of 20 years, I was the Platoon Sergeant of the Headquarters Platoon that included the cooks. I also kept their trucks and trailers in working order so I think I can speak to their service!
You have to love how positive these films are. The WWII generation, almost lost now, was one of the best America had. I worked with a lot of them at the VA and Medical Center. Tough, non complaining, stoic. Some of the best people I ever met and never selfish; they thought of others; something we have lost.
The positiveness was a little bit phony, and also sounds a little corny today.
Paul Fussell, who took part in WW2 noted that the "greatest generation" had its share of profiteers, opportunists and cowards.
This up and coming generation is completely opposite ...their weak, constantly complain , always with a whiny looking face . It's just disgusting how pathetic this mindless up and coming generation is....
@@stevekaczynski3793 since time immemorial profiteers ,opportunist & cowards were always present in any conflicts.
@@low-keyrighteous9575 Congratulations every single generation has stated this about every single generation, including about the Greatest Generation.
@@_vallee_5190 yeah ... But just compare this generation to the ones prior
Seeing this makes me think of the scene from Band of Brothers when Frank Perconte as a proud Italian, is offended by their field meal.
"- This isn't Spaghetti... It's army noodles with ketchup."
marinara = gravy ....
I was in the army and that “spaghetti” would have offended a lot of us non-Italians.
One of my uncles was a Tanker in WWII and he wanted a fresh egg every morning every day after until he passed away in 2002. He said the food in North Africa was terrible and things didn't get better until they got to Italy and the rest of Europe, then they could trade, barter or hunt for better food.
Your uncle was a hero and a trooper
my father was in N Africa.
From stories of WW2 frontline soldiers, the best food was taken by the troops behind the front line in supply, etc. The troops on the front line, who did all the fighting and dying, got the junk that was left over.
When I was a kid my father went to my Boy Scout Camp. When they served us powdered eggs for breakfast he wouldn't go near it. After eating so much in WW2 army.
@pig droppings That's the story of pretty much every theater of war. My great uncles told me about how in Vietnam supply would always get into the beer first and take what they wanted, leaving only crap like Carlings for everyone else. He said the dinks wouldn't even touch that stuff.
My dad served in the pacific and told one of his buddies if he got home he would never eat another leftover. And he never did. Mom was a great cook and every meal was fresh cooked.
7:27 “good eating” after he took the smallest bite
I love the music...sounds like a Tom & Jerry episode.
poepoe47 40’s music was the shit
Los Santos He didnt say it was bad tho
@@gta_s4531 Right. shit=bad. The shit=good
It was probably the same composer
1:22 That Superman Vitramin Pill is also called METH.
Eragon Baffel
I was so glad when I saw you and others making the same comment I made.
Fuckin hilarious... superman vitamin pill, lmao.
No it isn't. They were amphetamines not methamphetamine
@@JS-wp4gs nope they where on meth walking across Europe for days
I kind of liked the old c rations we had in the late 70s early 1980s especially the B3 units. I remember Australian and New Zealanders had better ones though. When we had joint field exercises with them we always traded with them. They quit trading after a while though hee hee.
My father served on a supply vessel during WWII in the pacific. He said they often traded packaged ration with the native islanders for fresh fruit and pork.
They traded, because they felt sorry for you, that's typically the Australian/NZ and European way of behaving.
ours were not much better than yours , traded with you guys just for the difference when we were sick of our ration pack C Type the most prevlant issued for some reason
Grass on the other side of the fence always seems to be greener. Every soldier is certain about his army beeing the worst supplied in the whole world.
God bless our American Soldiers. Rest in peace for the brave who put their lives before us and lost em on the field. Thank you for the veterans who came back. Thank you for the service of courage, bravery, and love for the land of liberty.
Amen.❤
And the people at home who actually won the war?
@@Boristheborat WHAT???
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WAR???
@@larry3034 I know the people at home were more than half the reason the allies won. America outsupplied everyone.
My dad was a WW2 vet( 🇨🇦) he didn't lay eyes on my brother till he was almost 6..I was born later(53)..when we commented on his not much talking at dinner table as he was always finished first..he said this "we had 20 minutes to eat in the army, if you talked too much you didn't get to eat anything else or when" ..1939 to 1945..he would get upset if we didn't finish our plate..coming from wartime they were very practical. One winter coat and one pair of boots..my parents didn't have a dining room table for ten yrs and the one we got was second hand from a neighbour. No TV just a wood enclosed radio. And coal heated our house..an ice box fridge , ice was delivered and so was our milk .. in those days the side door wasn't locked until bedtime..and we were told about leaving a light on if you weren't in the room. To this day I flick the light off when leaving the room. That's the way it was ♥️🇨🇦
Thanks to your dad for his service.
About that Thing, turning off the lights when no one is in it - I do the same thing, and I'm 34. It's just common sense. I like the way you describe your father. Tough man who cares for his family 👍
This is great... Thanks
Sounds familiar, except we had oil heat and my father built our TV from a kit.
When I think of growing up in a home that had a T.V. in every room that sounds very tranquil, social, and intimate.
Same for me Patricia.
Those Army K Ration Tasters surely had me convinced that it was "Good Eatin" Bahahahaa
man cringed into oblivion but still lied to our faces, true american right there.
"The Nazi's vitamin pills!" I think they were more than vitamin pills my friend.
methamphetamine
ain't that the same?
In the early 70's I was in the Marine Corps and we were being issued "C" rations that were manufactured during WWII. It wasn't until near the end of my enlistment 4 years later that some of the cases of "C" rations had reached their expiration dates. I had a buddy who worked in supply and he'd let me know when they would send a load of them to the base dump, usually a truck load. Lots of us guys that liked to camp out and go hunting would retrieve the cases to use during our outings. Just like MRE's, they may be expired, but they're still okay to eat. I actually preferred "C" rats over MRE's!
My grandpa worked for the San berandino county road department in the late 70 and early 80s. He would be patching roads out in the desert where the army used to train and find all kinds of gear they left behind. Small stuff mostly. But a lot of C and K rations. As long as the cans were not damaged or rusted the food was still good. Most were marked 1943 44. They can still be found out there in spots.
Wouldn’t the cans be pretty well preserved and non eroded because of the desert not having a lot of humidity?
There’s actually a dude on CZcams that acquires all sorts of unused rations and often eats them if they’re not damaged or spoiled
@Rowe Magnon SteveMRE1989 right?
Your “grandpa” didn’t do any of this. You made it ALL UP
For too many soldiers the military was the first time they had three square.
A lot of them look incredibly underweight, almost malnourished
Lean mean fighting machine.
Most of them just came off the famous soup lines of the depression. The GI bill was passed because the 1% were afraid of riots. They had the famous Bonus Riots from WW1. And they were afraid if those trained combat hardened Vets were put back on a soup line, they would really have some serious riots.
So they passed the GI Bill to get them into college and universities. I took advantage of the GI Bill in the 70s. And get my MBA.
That is how everyone looked before the 80s, it's au natural.
Different times. Not all the processed foods and chemicals. Not all the "heat and eat" stuff. People worked harder also. Pro's and cons to all of it I suppose.
i learned a lot thanks
You are welcome my friend!
My dad was stationed in Fiji and basically unloaded and loaded ships going here and there and played in the band. He said the food was great and plentiful coming from his childhood in the depression .
My father said he ate well in the Army Air Corp. His mother, my grandmother, was a widow with 4 boys and 2 girls. They often only had biscuits to eat for a meal. After a childhood in the Depression any regular meal schedule would be good. The boys all went into the military and the girls, my aunts, got jobs at Boeing. WWII was an opportunity to live better for them.
Dr. Percy Julian lived in my town in Illinois for a while and a school there is named after him; never expected to see his work being mentioned out in the wild like this (7:45). Really brilliant scientist and great man who endured a great deal of hardship.
The music really makes these old videos.
Such a hopeful concluding statement about what they learn here will make it possible after the war that no one on the planet will go hungry again.
It might have worked if any Government was willing to pay for it.
***** Agree.
There is no place on Earth that isn't materially capable of feeding itself. Places like Somalia and Haiti experience famine, in large part, due almost entirely to the genetic and cultural shortcomings of the indigenous peoples.
Halo4Lyf The only part genetics and culture play is because politicians and warlords use these differences to establish and maintain a power base for themselves. Mostly driven by greed, take a look at Papa Doc Duvalier in Haiti or his son.
Well given how well african countries handle foreign aid, I don't think hunger will ever go away
Pretty awesome to see after binge-watching Steve1989's MRE ration videos from the 1940s. Nice!
My father was a Us Army combat vet from WWII. He said he had been in combat for weeks and had nothing but C and K rations. They finally brought up hot chow but he was on guard duty and when he got back the cook said all he had was some wild asparagus he had picked. My father said he hated asparagus but 50 years later he said it was the best meal he ever had.
An MRE after a long day of work tastes delicious when you are hungry. Tuna is my favorite and has the most protein as well as cheezits
Holy Moly Rootbeer floats and cheezits are my favorites
cheezits have protein! lol, no im kidding i know!
Unless you have lugged a 60 LB rucksack 20 miles plus your weapon and gear, you will not know how good plain old hot canteen water and an MRE can taste when you are sitting down and your feet are resting. :)
My favorite MRE was always the beef stew one lol
Western forces: food for soldiers has improved so much over the last few decades
Soviets: you guys had food?!?
Umm...you most certainly CAN tell the difference between powdered eggs and fresh eggs LOL AT2, CVN-65 USS Enterprise (86-90')
powdered eggs are the worst thing to ever happen
Then don't eat them? If he just said normal eggs were better, why would he still be eating powdered? Also, the same can be said about you, calling him 'fatso' was not necessary.
Creepy? How so? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Ramson Cole - Powdered eggs have a distinctive flavor that I'm not keen on.
Not even sure it's the taste...it's the consistency
that I don't like.
1943: "We're developing this technology so that in the future no one will ever be hungry again!"
2017: "...Oops."
What happened in 2017...?
@@luispena7134 obesity epidemic
I am a USAF Era vet during Vietnam. Most our chow was like eating in a high end cafeteria. At Eglin AFB FL our chow hall was rated top in USAF. It was not unusual to be standing in line with colonels and generals. The chow hall was ran by civil service. Our night time one was ran by GIs and was the worse one I had in my 6 years
I love this kind of video; it goes over important parts of history that don't always get covered. It's usually only the fighting and weapons, but things like food are just as, if not more important.
it is infact the most important part. Without food and drink, a man can't fight or go anywhere. An army will all the weapons and no food is ineffective to a weak small one with their needs met.
Grandpa Took over 7Lbs of Deer and Moose jerky In the Canadian 3rd army D-day Ended up giving half of it out the french people for 2 bottles of wine ..something a k ration couldnt do lol
Ha! Thats badass! My father would trade Cigarettes and cheap liquor for ammo while he was in Iraq!
Your Grandpa must have been a Cook or in the stores they were all fiddling so and so's, I should know I was one of them, British Army that is.
Infantry regiment Who was French Canadian and spoke Cree Indian However was not apart of the Canadian " code talkers " He did interact with the Towns People to get Ideas of the enemy placements and minefields There wasnt many "cooks" on the battlefield
@grand negus zek Why would you say that, man? That's supply and demand if ever I heard it. Besides, why would it be a bad thing to take ammo out of the hands of possible enemy fighters in exchange for some luxury goods?
Deer jerky, that sounds delicious. There is no freaking jerky in this stupid cuntry !
As a kid in the 1970’s I lived alongside the original narrow and gravel version of the Alaska Highway. Lots of US servicemen of course drove back and forth to Alaska on that road and every now and then one would be in a traffic accident and roll their vehicle near where we lived and invariably rations and the like would be ejected out and left behind. I got to try some of those lost rations as a kid, a canned Cinnamon Roll stands out in my memory as being a bizarre item to be put in a can.
Read E.B. Sledge's book "With the old breed". Sledge lived through the Peleliu and Okinawa campaign basicly on C-Rations. He also lived on "enriched" bread in camp. Knowing first hand experiences puts this film in the right perspective.
That part where he digs the foxhole in Okinawa...brutal
Reminder that the US was still in the late stages of the depression at this time and many had little to no food to eat, so this film most likely swayed many many men to enlist. Im not saying this is a bad thing, Im just observing.
Lots of people enlisted for 3 hots and a cot, back then. Same with the CCC. It was a good prgram to get people employed, getting a paycheck and benefiting the country. Ever been to a CCC National Park? Amazing.
Uncle Sam did make the attempt to feed its boys.
Problem, Reaction, Solution
@@Supperdude9 people overlook this. People are going "oh they make bad tasting food" but forget how starving people were in the us at the time. If we didn't have mres our soldiers would be a lot hungrier and wouldn't be able to do what they can right now.
Sorry, that is incorrect. This was made in 1943, the depression was well over by then (10 years at least)
My dad served in WW2 in the 443rd AABTN.
To all that serve, ever have, ever will.
A profound thank you.
Last night my family and I slept in peace.
God bless Y'all.
My great grandfather served in ww2 he passed away in his 90s back in 2017
Wow. My dad served in the 442nd AA Bn in the south pacific. It was a Georgia National Guard unit that was reconstituted for the war, if I am not mistaken. Maybe it was the 443d......now I have got to look back.
My experience with C-rations during my US Army days is this: There has never been a nastier concoction than C-rat Ham and Eggs. That crap was so bad that our squad leaders would open the bottom of a case then shift them around before everyone got a blind draw.
I served in Vietnam and we were still eating WWII canned rations. Or at least the same recipes. Just loved that pork in a can.
I love pretty much how all the televised programs in the 40's had cartoon sound effects
RIP all those who r in the Vid!
WTF are you on!? A lot of WW2 vets are still alive!
they can't survive without their daily ky ration
I just love World War 2 Videos! I loved American Soldiers who killed those Ducking Nazis! If I was at time! I would had been in the US Army
americans did not really help so much. most of the war was won by the soviets and england/france
***** yeah the germans were really involved but alot of the sodiers at normandie were not germans.
My granddad was in the Army Air Corp, stationed on Tinian, as a cook. He said they’d get fresh meat about every six weeks from Australia. It was always horse meat. He said after not eating fresh meat for a while it was pretty tasty!
"Let's get this on to a tray, nice!"
Wonder if they heard that nice hiss
Thanks for posting this. Nice to see old little things like this can get a second life.
An abundant variety of C-rations. It's a wonder anybody lived through them, including me.
Starving civilians were very grateful to get US Army C-rations. Better than eating grass.
@@tessat338 I ate a whole pile of them myself including the petrified fruit cakes. I did have some C4 to heat them up with. Had 1 LRP or MRE, can't remember which but a bunch of C's.Old as rocks but still good.
The US Office Of War Information sure put out a LOT of great films. I wonder why the Army or Dept of Defense doesn't do that anymore. Great historical records and all.
2:32 is.Dr. Ancel Keys. He's the guy who developed the K ration before the army quartermaster felt the need for such a thing. He's a controversial figure to some and a legend to others. Keys, to my knowledge, was the first to draw an comparison to heart disease and diet, noting high dietary fat and cholesterol are the major contributing factors. He did his Seven Countries Study to prove this. It was controversial because the science wasn't done objectively with concrete results. But it was this study that led to all the hyper-paranoia surrounding saturated fats. Butter all-but disappeared from the dinner table by the 80's and lard was considered death in a tub. By the late 90's the data was really coming out. That high dietary saturated fats and cholesterol are harmful with those predisposed to heart disease. And some food natural food items like butter and lard are now seen as not nearly has harmful as the laboratory stuff meant to replace them - like margarine and Crisco. These are full of trans fats which are even more harmful. Crisco quit using trans fats in 2007. Anyway, Keys lived a long life. Passed away in 2004 at age 100.
What a fascinating film! Thanks for educating us on this history. (I ate my share of various rations but never knew much of what was behind them.)
Wow.. never thought dehydrated stuff went all the way back in the 40s.
things like salted pork and jerky are dehydrated food.
I hear dehydrated potatoes taste like shit
They taste like shit and when they run through your guts you'll feel like shit.
Just had a taste after waiting for months to find something close to an MRE.
Its fine. A bit rubbery and too diluted. But they taste wonderful if you cook them a second time after rehydrating them.
StringStorm they have been around since prehistoric eras lmao
When I went into the Marines in 1970 we at a lot of C Rations dated from WWII.
You carried a ration box in you pack and didn't know what was in it until you opened it up.
The worst was Ham and Lima Beans ... damn but I hated that - and so did everyone else - so I couldn't get anyone to trade. With other things - there would be some people who liked them and some who didn't - so you could trade but not Ham and Lima Beans ...
Most of it was OK. We had crackers and a cheese paste then this big round chocolate thing - meant to be desert - that was OK.
You got this Heat Tab you could light on fire and it would cook things fairly well. Then we had the water in our canteens.
We had a canteen cup that the canteen fit in, then all of it was in a canvas/cloth pouch that hooked onto your web gear. We also had a Mess Tin with two parts but we didn't use those in the Mess Hall - they had tray's, plates and plastic glasses.
We were all young and hungry so most things tasted good - just not liver. I never liked Liver.
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So kool. Thanks for uploading this. I love historic film,etc.
My Dad was a ww two vet and when I asked him about the legendary K rations I read and heard about as a kid he told me over time it all tasted the same the food tasted like the cardboard box it came in. His words.
Ur dad was not human he was a card board 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I would love to see Mystery Science Theater 3000 screen these vintage gems!!
Thank you for such a great video!
My Uncle was in WWII in Italy with a Canadian regiment. He told me that the Americans ate quite well. As a matter of fact when all of the other Nations were fighting, the American soldiers could usually be found sitting in mess halls somewhere eating steak and enjoying ice cream. Rations were for emergencies and the yanks avoided them.
Way it was
Sounds like a bit of jealousy in that story to me
@@Trashcansam123 More like disdain!
73 years later and chow is still crap...
Not really, I like a lot of it.
It was alright...unless you're eating MREs 24/7.
I ate it 5 yrs in the Corps back in the 50's on ship and ashore and I never found it bad or unpalatable or insufficient. Some mama's boys would skip dinner in barracks because you had to dress in uniform of the day. They would instead go to the PX in their dungarees and eat truly crap.
says the dickwad that was never in the military....stfu
Brandon Page ... why?
It's amazing the way they went about selling, packaging and fighting wars in the past.
Beutiful archive footage thank you
We were still eating food canned in the 30s when I mustered out in the early 70s.
Look at the research the technology the production line of the 1940s: and Hitler the Japanese the Italians wanted to wage war against USA! Not to mention Stalin and the COLD WAR-agriculture in 1940 Soviet Union wouldnt be out of place in 1900 US
I like to eat food while watching videos of food.
My grandfather, who commanded an artillery battery in the Pacific, saw his first action on the Aleutian island of Attu. That was a decidedly unpleasant campaign for the soliders, partly because of the difficult climate and geography, and partly because it occurred in early 1942, before the Army and Navy had gotten efficient at supplying men overseas. My grandfather, in the 30 years I knew him, never once touched any variety of fish because for over a month he ate nothing but fish on Attu, and got so very, very sick of it (he would occasionally in later years have a bit of crab or shrimp, but he never ate it with the relish most people eat those foods). This was espescially tough for someone like my grandfather, because the man loved to eat. I mean, he really loved to eat, and growing up during the Depression only exacerbated his natural love of an expansive meal. I wouldn't call him a glutton, exactly, just someone who held mealtime in very high regard, and he didn't allow anything to interrupt his enjoyment of it if he could possibly help it.
After the Aleutians, his next combat deployment was to the Phillipines, and although the supply situation was better than on Attu, there were a number of instances when his unit outran its supply lines, and they'd go for days without anything to eat. For my grandfather, this was a hardship far worse than combat, so he was very happy one day when, after having had nothing to eat for almost 72 hrs, some K rations were finally distributed to his men and him. As this video mentioned, one K rat contained three meals in concentrated form, including an enriched chocolate bar that came with very specific instructions to eat ir slowly, a little bit at a time, over the course of a few hours or a whole day, if possible. You can guess where this is going: my grandfather ate the enriched chocolate bar in three bites (he loved chocolate maybe more than any other food), and then, not feeling particularly full, decided he preferred to have a few hrs of a full stomach rather than trying to stretch the food in the K rat all day; and they'd probably get a proper supply soon anyway. So he ate the whole thing in about 15 minutes. Again, that's supposed to be full day's ration, three meals, with specific instructions to eat it slow. And the effect was about what you'd expect, especially on a very empty stomach, i.e., it all came right back up, and the only thing from the ration that my grandfather got were stomach cramps that lasted for days.
I don't know how things worked out from there; all my grandfather's "war" stories were brief little snippets about food, or being seasick, or cold, or hot, etc., told without much context or continuity, and almost never involving any combat. To hear him tell it, he spent four years doing nothing but hunting across half the world for decent food, a comfortable place to sleep, and cheap cigarettes he could resell to other officers for a profit. When I asked him once (when I was too young to know what an uncouth question this was) what during the war made him the most angry, his answer was that one day he bought a huge box of cigarettes intending to resell them, then the next day another shipment came in that were sold for two cents less per pack than he was selling them for. But I have to tip my cap to the old guy, may he rest in peace: the pirate money he made during the war he brought back home, invested, and its profits helped put me through college, buy me a car, and is now allowing me to stay home and take care of his great-grandkids instead of having to work and potentially exposed to the Great Beer Virus of 2020. I think my grandfather would consider that a good use of his shady profits.
Hey man, that's a really awesome story. God bless your grandfather, he seems like a really cool person to get to know! I'm glad you got to get to know your grandfather's experiences and stories. You know, it sparks my interest that you mentioned the Aleutian Islands! I had a great-great-uncle that was actually with the 7th Infantry Division on the Aleutian Island of Attu - he was Killed in Action from a major Japanese Banzai charge where he was killed in his fighting hole. You're one of the first people whose story I've read about who has some kind of ancestor relations with someone who fought in the Aleutians as well. I just thought that was pretty neat, thanks for sharing man.
The reason he threw up was not the K ration it was the fact his stomach had shrunk the 72 hours of not eating and he gorged himself to puking.
Thanks!!!! Great video!!!
love this old stuff...thanks
Often after parachuting into the field to stay for weeks There were times when B rations were supplied. What this boiled down to was just that. You would take the cold main meal can out of your ration box while in the B ration chow line, and drop it into a boiler pot of hot water. Then a preheated can from an identical boiler next to it, from which you would be given by tongs, a can to replace it. Fresh milk and fruit & coffee were usually on hand as well. Always figured the black quarter moon on the K, C, and even the MRE ration cases, were like some warning symbol that an outhouse needs to be readily available before eating them. -Former Recondo Sgt. 82nd Abn. 1/504 Inf. 3117
And now you know why MREs are sometimes called Meal Ready to Exit! 😅
@@mikegallant811 Except the cheese and peanut butter of course which did the exact opposite.
@@brianwalsh1401 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 although Jesus himself knows that's the truth hence why sometimes MREs are called meals refusing to exit!
@@mikegallant811 Good one. Thanks for sharing.
I love the old fashioned music in the background
Very cool , l love these newsreel posts.
I love these videos ... Just love em :)
And now we have MREs. I miss some of the C-Rats (Rations).
My dad claimed k-ration didn't prove "ideal" for anything but keeping you from starving to death. Better than eating your boots is a pretty low bar.
I lived on flight rations for a month twice while I was in. The eggs and ham was actually green.
When I joined the air force in the mid 70's, that's when noticed that the air force had some serious overweight problem. There were a lot of fat sergeants around. Especially senior NCO's, meaning more desk work and less physical exercise.
Great video
My grandfather was a Army meat inspector as he was a trained butcher. He blew the whistle on kick backs for the sale of rancid beef and found himself in the Infantry.
@Tyron Megawatts what war was he in 🤷🏻♂️❓
@@ObamaFromKenya World War II
Stop lying to us about what your “grandfather was” it’s all a lie I bet you’re the queen of England too come back from the dead.
@@tyronmegawatts6580no. He wasn’t, “queen”
Every honest person and thief wind up in the Bush-Beaters.
The soundtrack sounds like Tom & Jerry.
The whole war was basically a Tom & Jerry episode.
In '80 the ship I was on had a fire in the galley. We had to eat the x-rays from the lifeboats. I had a can of water dated 1948. The Captain ordered some barrels cut in half and we had bbq until we got back to port. All the emergency food was updated after that lol.
Have studied rations for over forty years. Personally may have eaten packaged operational rations once in over 21 years' service - Air Force.
Everyone back in that era spoke in such a monotone manner when speaking on camera.
We got trout, catfish, rabbit and frog legs at our chow hall, some offbeat interesting stuff put out when I was in.
Otherwise normally we had ham steaks, carved turkey, beef meat chunk stew, fried or baked chicken and pork chops with potatoes, peas, carrots, broccoli, boiled cabbage, and cheese sticks and pickles. Ice cream, cookies and cake there too.
Three meals a day.
Yea, they fed us, man.
THis is actually interesting. And, surprisingly enough, the narrator's voice actually keeps me very interested. I love his accent too
I read that many thousands of men were initially rejected for service as they were undernourished.
Many poorer men got their three meals a day for the first time in the Army.
I loved the bit with the K rations.. all the guys wearing aprons and the main guy delivering his lines like he had a gun to his head
My Grandfather was Quarter Master Farrier Royal Artillery to the King in the days when horses pulled the cannons behind them, you see them in British Army tattoos, he went through many campaigns awarded 5 medal and 3 bars and was quoted in despatches many times, would you believe it when he retired he got the gamekeepers job on the Wentworth Estate and how he died after going through all those wars! a lorry reversed into him and killed him, I would have love to have met him.
Let's get this onto a tray! Nice!
God bless all involved in the original creation of this type of content and also all of those who helped make it all available for us here
1:36
From what I understand, this "Nazi Superman pill" that was given to bomb crews and certain soldiers was just a combination of methamphetamine and cocaine. This didn't exactly make the Nazi's soldiers stronger or faster, but did create plenty of addicts.
You ever try and KILL a guy hooped up on meth or coke? It's damn hard as both shut down the body's pain receptors.
Why doesn't anyone know the difference between methamphetamine, and amphetamine.
I was in 86-90 at Ft. Lewis and being bored and being PVT's 4 of us decided to try as many dining facilities as we could until we got tired of the experiment or got into trouble, At the time our meal cards were good anywhere on Ft. Lewis.We found the quality of food was the same but the prep was the key - BEST was 9th ID HQ 2nd best but with a huge asterisk(all the jail cooks were AIR FORCE as Army policy was if your sentence was over 6 months LEVENWORTH but USAF would let 1 year and less stay in the RCF on post ,way easier time) was RCF (REGIONAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY -THE BRIG/JAIL) We weren't in jail but this is when the experiment got side ways. Our PLT. LEADER found out and liked the idea and our mess,29th SIG, was ok at best.So rather than improve our butt hurt cooks complained we were breaking rules by eating at the jail , food was awesome and portions were huge but you were not allowed to talk and only one person was allowed to stand at any one time. We went to 10 or so before we were stopped. cute side bar,while unknowingly sitting next to 9th ID Deputy Commander (2 star GEN.) U.S. ARMY does not separate ranks at meals .A voice asked "what do you think of this chow pvt? " , with out looking or missing a beat I said pretty loud,It's FUCKING GREAT!" he agreed and patted me on the back and we got a good story...
To Mr. Huff, I apologize if my previous comment sounded negative about that toast. The quotation marks was of my Dad's words and am sorry if I offended you. My Dad had a big smile and twinkle in his eyes when he talked about the toast. Its one of the fondest memories I have of him since he passed away in 2005. I was born in 1954, during the time you served as a Marine. Sir, thank you for your service.
This was mighty interesting
I once ate a C-Ration or K-Ration in the field 🤔 training with the USAF. This happened almost 45 years 😳 ago. I was lucky, I got the beans and hotdogs ( The hotdogs were cereal and dissolved on contact on my tongue ) ; my dessert was a fruitcake - freshly baked around 1930 I think 🤔. Couldn't eat , chew it or chip it ! Gimme some skivvies to make a slingshot with and that cake could kill small game or a human being, though ! Oh that cake would've also served as a great hockey puck or doorstop !The candy, gum, was okay 👍. Our unit was swapping cigarettes for other food items, urgently ! On our way back to the barracks, we ran for the bathrooms fast, as we could and at -double time ! Because that food made us very sick !! Nobody complained about the chow hall grub after that incident ! Its funny now, but back then awful 😖 😱 pain !
Does anybody else watch this and wish they could try what they were showing?
yup
Old WW2 marine vet said he actually gained weight eating the food, said he grew up not having alot of food to eat so the time he joined the service he got “fat” pretty amazing how food science has progressed