I was in the navy from 1963 to 1986. As an Italian from Massachusetts, chipped beef on toast was nothing I would ever eat. One day I had late sleepers and when I got up I was starving. I ran to the mess decks and all that was left was chipped beef on toast. My hunger over ran my starvation. My friend who was one of the Commissary Men gave my wife his recipe and two or three times a year my wife would make it for me. I still have the recipe and though my wife has passed away, I still treat myself two or three times a year.
Of course the from the book names are correct, the slang needs this Correction: the Marine Corps version is SOS, the version using chipped dried beef is “foreskins on toast” this information was passed to me by a USN Chief Machinists Mate who retired in 1958, and by several WWII era sailors. Both versions are excellent, if you use pork sausage it’s “sausage gravy” and available everywhere, especially the south.
Hi, John. Like you I enlisted in 1963, right out of high school. Spent 13 years in. SOS was staple back then. In some messes it was a daily option, as you no doubt know. Take care ol' timer. :>) Karl
My father served from 1950 to 56, on the USS Orion (AS55), as a fire control technician, and SOS was the one dish he said he actually liked a lot. So much so, that in the early 1980s when money was really tight for us, mama would make it for us. I remember it is being quite good, and there's been a few times I've actually craved it although I haven't had it in years. Yes, it may not look pretty, but I remember it fondly. This is inspired me to try making it sometime myself.
This is wonderful! I’m a civilian volunteer chef for the Coast Guard and my favorite ships to cook on are the buoy tenders and coastal icebreakers where the crew tops out at 25. We use the Navy recipe books but with that small a crew you can be a little creative. On one ship when we make SOS the Chief has me modify the dish to be made with country sausage instead of beef. Makes the man very happy.
I am a retired MMC USN and I have eaten sos both way with ground hamburger and dried beef. Sos with hamburger over hashbrowns with an egg on top. Heaven.
My grandfather was in the navy during WWII on the USS ST LO which was sunk during the battle of Leyte gulf.. he always called it SOS and I ate it as a kid and still make it. Dried beef version. Love it
Brings back memories! I was aboard a carrier during the Vietnam Era and I still have a phobia about standing in line. To this day, if I find a line waiting outside a restaurant, I'll get back in the car and go find another place to eat. I also remember the "Soul Brothers Table." God help the white guy who, unable to find another seat in the crowded mess hall, tried to join the "Brothas'" at THAT particular table! So much for integration! When I was TAD'ed in the ship's laundry, the mess cooks would show up with their dirty laundry and a note pad. They would take our order, and a few minutes later, a heaping, steaming tray of chow would be delivered, saving us from wasting hours in line. In return, the cook's laundry would be carefully done immediately, saving him from waiting at least a week for his clothes, which may or may not be returned to him. Hey, us enlisted rabble had to stick together, right?
I served 6 years in the Navy and I Never had a bad meal... at sea or ashore. These Mess Specialists were true professionals and delivered their very best 👍
Thanks. That’s coming from an MS4. The places I was stationed (Naval Amphibious Base, USS Dixon, USS Ajax and Point Loma Sub Base) took their food seriously. We worked hard at it, and kept our kitchens clean! Nice to know we were appreciated. ❤️
@@purity4allyour father is a legend for being a 20 year culinary specialist. It definitely takes a special breed of men to do that job for the long run
I was a 3rd class Commissary man during Vietnam on Destroyer. We served SOS a lot. The chipped beef came in a white box and you had to rinse out the salt before you used it. The crew liked it over biscuits.
@@andreinarangel6227 I was a cook in an A-6 squadron and what I wouldn't go near, at least aboard ship, was the coffee. First morning of first deployment, up, dressed, and down to the aft galley for breakfast before I started work. Grab a try of grub from the line, put it at a table, go get a glass of orange bug juice and a cuppa from the nice shiny stainless coffee urn, go back, sit down, take a sip of the coffee and nearly puke. It had a visible layer of oil on the top and tasted like the MMs had drained it out of the sump of an emergency diesel generator and then taken a whiz in it. Okay, no coffee until we get back to The Rock.
@@fredlougee2807 Oh man, not good. Connie had good coffee in the aft galley. One of the mess Chiefs was a fanatic about it, clean the pots daily, cleaned egg shells and a pinch of salt in the grounds. VA-147 out of NAS Lemoore.
@@fredlougee2807 If they had somebody actually clean the coffee maker it wasn't that bad. But since nobody ever did most of the coffee could etch steel.
I was in the Navy from 1973 to 1979 and can’t complain about the chow I was served. About the vinegar in the one dish described in the video: It’s very common in Filipino cooking to add vinegar to a dish. The famous Filipino dish, Adobo, uses this ingredient. I’m sure you had it at some point in your 30 year Navy career. BTW, I’m proud to say I was a civilian employee of the Department of the Navy for 34 years after my 6 years of military service.
@@exidy-yt That's actually what makes it funny. Just a random quote you have to know the context to, it's an obscure reference, although I'd suspect a good amount of people watching this channel would also like that one.
@@micahphilson You know what? right in the middle of typing a reply to you about lack of context....I finally got it. DAMN I was thick last night. He put his food on a mess tray identical to Steve's.....nice! (sigh I can be a dumbass sometimes.)
I am an old Navy vet. When I was stationed at Dam Neck, I became friends with the warrant officer who was in charge of our mess hall. Although I was an ET, I have always enjoyed cooking, so we would talk about our mutual interest. He really cared about making sure the guys enjoyed their food. One of the recipes he fed us was an improved version of SOS, which he called "Chipped Beef a la King. It was very similar to the recipe you showed, with the addition of chopped canned mushroom pieces, chopped canned pimento pieces, and canned peas and carrots, all drained, of course. The cream sauce was a little thinner than how yours appeared. It was VERY good, and I make it to this day. Also, I well remember those steel mess trays, but I think by that time they were made from stainless steel, and not chrome plated.
My dad retired as a CPO on Dec 7, 1949. He was an 18-year sea sailor machinist mate. His retirement pay was $90.00 a month. We would have SOS every couple weeks for dinner. Lover it then and still love it now at 75. The E system for pay had only been around for a couple years when dad retired (1947) and there was no E-8 or E-9 back then. Before the E system came into being a Chief in the Navy made $5.00 a month more than a Master Sergeant in the Army because a Navy man had a technical rating where a Master Sergeant "just pushed mules around". Fantastic video. Thanks
Hi, Master Chief. My dad was a World War 2 Navy vet, Gunner's Mate. Attached to the Naval Armed Guard. He talked about his service, at times. I remember he used to make S.O.S. both with creamed chipped beef and hamburg, over toast with fried potatoes. Pop was also a railroader, so you know he knew how to cook. I'm sure mom didn't mind, him taking over, at times. Very interesting and informative channel. Thank you.
I served aboard the USS vancouver LPD2 for 4 years 65 thru 69 the food was great most of the time, and what I learned in those 4 years has helped me through my whole adault life.
To this day, I will still say the best meal I had in the Chow Hall was breakfast. Scrambled eggs, shredded hash browns and creamed beef gravy. Mix it all into one big glop and yum yum.
Cliff: me and my buds would be out on the town -Koza City- till 5 Am and we would eat the same thingat johnston Dining facility, eggs, bacon, spuds and sos, mix all together and man was that ever good GD Setzer Sgt USAF
There were a lot of "colorful" names given to various dishes. I was an engineering officer on a carrier during Vietnam. Officers were supposed to eat on the mess deck at least once a month as a means of making sure it was in good order. Food was generally better there than in the ward room. Senior officers were particularly cheap and controlled how much was spent for our food. Each officer paid a monthly wardroom bill. The food could be purchased ashore or from standard Navy supplies. My share was about $35/ month in 1965. The ship originally had 2 mess decks but the forward one had been converted into a bomb assembly area. The result was that about 5,000 sailors had only two chow lines. Meals were served 23 hours a day. One hour for clean up. There was a machine for making "ice cream." Some sort of powder and water went in, soft serve came out. But the machine was unreliable and often didn't work.
I was asst safety officer on the USS Nassau (LHA-4) in the early 90s - our Chief's Mess was nothing short of spectacular - we pitched in to prepare most of our own meals with one of the two assigned MSs and mess cooks who rotated shifts. Breakfast and lunch always to order, and the galley was was open 24/7 underway for sandwiches, pizza slices, etc and we had soft serve or fresh-made ice cream with every meal, fresh popcorn and non-alcoholic beer one night a week with a movie. Supper was catered by a cruise line food service provider when in port, and we had some chiefs who occasionally brought venison or fresh caught fish. I think we kicked in an additional $40 a month to the mess caterer (whose family owned a restaurant in Norfolk) and I know most of us slipped the cook and mess cook a little something from time to time. Chiefs were all required to eat one meal a week in the general galley with the troops, both in port and underway - I never had any complaints- the crew ate well. The wardroom was adjacent to us- their food was horrible by comparison... I remember my boss (the SO and a SAR Huey pilot) asking me if I would bring him a sandwich because the XO had cracked down on expenses with a no snack policy and they were getting served crap like chopped up hotdogs over pasta with beets for supper, a cold cut sandwich for lunch and a bowl of oatmeal and a half a banana for breakfast. After I left Nassau, I had to ride the JFK for a week when it came out of the shipyard. The Chief's mess was a pigsty - I remember they had rigged a funnel and hose catching a grey water leak over one of the tables. Smelled like the head.... had strict operating hours, no loitering during working hours (??) and the CMC ruled it with an iron fist. Couldn't imagine what morale must have been like.
@@markc4768 I've never understood why officers had to pay for their wardroom meals. During Vietnam we spent months at sea. Never got fresh anything. Sometimes the supply ships would highline a pallet of oranges over. They disappeared before they made it off the hanger deck. We spent 3 months of air-ops off Vietnam, one week @ Hong Kong and then 2 more months of air-ops. So in a little over 5 months we got good food, ashore in Hong Kong, for one week. BTW, Hong Kong was a great place for food and about anything else.
Master Chief: I waited tables at a hotel while in college and one day we had a teachers' group some of whom were nuns, the last day breakfast was a fixed menu of "creamed chipped beef on toast" I was serving a 4 top of nuns and announced the menu and was surprised to hear one nun reply "You mean shi* on a shingle." Our dining room manager nearly fainted.
Master Chief, what a great idea for a video! I thoroughly enjoyed this, since my Dad served in the U.S. Navy from 1939 until his mandatory retirement as a Master Chief (HTCM) in 1980. I guess he was what one would call a "Lifer". I grew up rolling my underwear to place in my drawers, with my name marked on everything, and reading the Bluejacket's Manual for fun. My father would often prepare food at home because my mother had few domestic skills, having been a professional singer my father met after just having joined the Navy. I now see where some of his food choices came from, particularly the "SOS" which we had all the time at home. Whenever I have it now, it still brings back memories of my father. It was fascinating to get a glimpse of how my Dad must have eaten his meals aboard ship. I used to get to go onto the base with him at Norfolk later in his career when I was a little kid, and we sometimes ate with his fellow Chiefs. I remember the food from the 1970's on base that we had looking much more like it had been prepared in a good diner. I particularly remember as a kid seeing these huge metal containers filled with ice cream. Thanks for doing this.
Grandpa was airforce. I grew up with my grandma tying socks in knots and rolling underwear. I now do the same and fold/roll anything cloth to get it into a smaller package to pack. I was able to pack almost two weeks worth of clothes, a couple of blankets, a pillow, and my dog's three day emergency supplies, into a duffle bag.
My Mom and Dad both served in WWII (Dad was in Europe with the Army, Mom at Hickam Field, Hawaii with the Civil Service). As a kid, I was raised on lots of recipes that came from that time in their lives: Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, Spam and eggs, etc... The only "old fashioned" thing that wasn't common at our table was rutabagas, as Dad got his fill & more of those as a German POW.
Thanks, watching this and your other ones helps me understand and picture better some of my grandpa's stories of life with the Seabees in WW2. He died a long time ago, so watching these helps bring back some of the memories of his stories, pictures, and different cool things he had collected. He went on to build a lot of bridges which he was very proud of. I miss driving around with him and passing or driving over things he built. It made me always notice things like that.
Navy during the 60's. Every place I was stationed served SOS at least once a week, often in tandem with other choices. My favorite chow hall was Brunswick Maine, the chef in charge always published a menu with phrasing that occasionally required translation; savory chipped beef in a creamy bechamel sauce over golden toast points was one of my favorites. My kids grew up reciting that when I served SOS. Always reserved for a weekend breakfast unless requested.
Coastie here, 1960s era, food on large cutters was generally quite good but it depended on your cook and the supply officer. most of our meat was sourced from the Navy but other items were bought locally. I was an officer but the wardroom food was paid for by us, not the government and some mess presidents (usually the XO) would cheap out. Generally our food was better served (plates and linen) but not a lot different than in the crew mess. I never heard many complaints from the enlisted crew about food, either quality or quantity. We had a lot of storage capacity and the newer vessels had very good refrigeration meaning you could keep food very cold without freezing, we'd have fresh milk three weeks out on patrol. My son is Army and those meals will never be ready to eat. Army food is bad. go Navy. I am somewhat of a history buff and while some might find the food aboard ships in times past to be more than a little rough, food ashore at those times for common people wasn't all that good or that plentiful. A lot of beer was served but remember that beer was clean unlike the water in the ship's tanks, ugh! A lot of shore water sources weren't all that good either. Making beer requires a source of good water and the mash is boiled (killing the little buggers). The Brits also served 'grog' a rum mixture. There was a daily ceremony with the authorized quantity of rum being poured, followed by the lime juice, and this was followed with ship's water (I hope they boiled it first). The juice was to prevent scurvy, the rum was to encourage the sailors to drink it, and the water made it less potent. It wasn't a fancy cocktail but what else did they have?
John on wives computer. Former Coastie also '63 to '67. Good food on a lifeboat station and aboard a CG Cutter. The best food I had in the service was the hospital side mess hall at Great Lakes Naval Tracen when training as a corpsman. It was an award winning mess with astounding variety morning, noon and night. Even had a salad bar. If you leave a Navy mess and claim you are still hungary then it is your own damm fault!
Hi Chief! Thanks for the great post. My father was USNA class of '54. He was a submariner for 26 years. We moved a lot! Fourteen moves by the time I graduated from high school in 1977. BTW Long ago, I had one of those 'no handle' coffee cups, and it was my absolute favorite! I think it had a colored rim though, green or blue.? After high school, my Dad gave me a 'lead' for a dish washing job at the enlisted mess hall at the Groton Sub Base. We fed around 2,000 sailors in less than an hour, morning, noon and night. I was a busy dish washer!
My dad was a Navy cook during WW2 and ate quite a few of the Navy recipes growing up. He served us SOS quite often I think it was one of his favorites. He liked the mincemeat sandwiches with coffee. He used to make meatloaf with boiled eggs in the center. Anyone ever had that one before?
My grandpa liked SOS and talked about eating it during WWII. My grandma finally made it one night after me asking over and over again how it tasted. I loved it.
One more thing, my father-in-law was an engineering officer in oil and gasoline tankers for Atlantic-Richfield during the war. After the war he joined the Navy. He also loved SOS and would order it at every diner we went to. He was a great guy!!! Had a record of sea chanty's that he'd listen to.
Master chief, my father was a Vietnam ( USAF) vet. I grew up with sos from him on a Saturday regular basis & still love it today Thank you for your service sir
Retired CWO4 (1962-1984). SOS was a good breakfast filler. I was raised on Oleo and never ate butter until I joined the Navy. The only food I couldn't eat in the Navy was the greasy pork chops or chop suey. On the last ship, I was on, the cooks did a great job on liver and onions which several officers in the wardroom hated, so I ended up with several on my plate. As a PO3, I remember the cooks fixing some fried oysters for a couple officers who were sampling the crew's mess. We were on the edge of a typhoon, and the junior officers being a little green ran out of the mess hall. So, I said, "don't throw them out, I'll eat them." And, I did, but nobody would sit near me. I never got seasick.
Congratulations on your career Master Chief . I served 68/72 tad on dry dock Rosie cva 42 on her return from nam.did a year in Guantanamo,then HS-5 out of Quonset Point RI ,deploying. On carrier’s.We always ate good esp. at home port.enjoy your videos,thanks for your service !
Interesting, spent just about 30 years myself. One of the things that sticks in my head relative to metal trays, coffee cups and milk glasses was the necessity to place a dampened napkin under such items to keep them from sliding around due to ship movement. This was when I was on an old DD. I won't go into detail but I only have the use of one arm and I still use that technique today under my plate at restaurants when I'm cutting food and the plate won't stand still for me.
My dad was an AF flyer and one time found himself stuck in Goose Bay, Labrador due to a winter storm. He was killing time in the chow hall when the cook recognized him as “the guy who had 3 helpings of SOS”. He asked dad if he wanted to learn how to make it . . . 60+ years on, that wonderful recipe survives and thrives in our family!
Hello Master Chief...great video. Brought back a lot of memories. I am Master Chief John Sparks, U. S. Navy Retired. I was a cook, enlisting in June 1963 just days after graduating from a two-year Commercial Cooking course. I went to a ship and stayed under cover for a year and a half, working on the deck force (and liking it.) Eventually I was sent to mess cooking, and I hated it so much I became a cook striker just to get off that job. Anyway, I served aboard six ships, made master chief in nineteen years and had to extend three years to actually sew it on. My most proud moment...being awarded First Place in Large Ashore category in the NEY Awards in 1983 (I think.) I was the Officer-in-Charge of the EDF on RTC Great Lakes for two and a half years, feeding 10,600 sailors PER MEAL The key to that was...I had a great FSO, a mustang LT named Jim Kuensinger, who turned me loose and left me alone to do the job. I have a lot of knowledge about cooks and Navy Food Service. I also know a lot about the old Navy recipes. Keep it up, buddy!
My uncle was a cook on a sub in WWII He was character who liked to carouse. When he found out the cook was the only one guaranteed to go ashore (to order food and supplies) at any given port of call he said "that's the job for me". When I was a kid he cooked many a Thanksgiving dinner at his house. Sure miss him. BTW: Got to have a Navy Bean Soup demo! We still make it regularly just the way he made it.
In the early 70’s while at NAS Chase Field and fresh out of PN “A” School and after getting out of “X” division, in the Admin Bldg, E-3’s and below were responsible for the CO’s coffee mess. There was a duty rotation with a PO3 responsible for the mess. The junior PO3 in the division was the Petty Officer of the CO’s coffee mess and got the calls from the admin officer when the coffee did not meet the standard. I was the last coffee mess P.O. when the drip coffee maker was purchased for the CO’s office. We had SOS at boot camp. At Chase in the mid 70’s, we had the only 24 hour galley on a shore station. Since we were an advanced jet training center, the command tried to emulate a carrier. The food was always good. SOS was served occasionally and it was the ground beef version. The “E” club was about 50 yards from the galley. The perfect end to Friday or Saturday night at the club. Our mess was named for “Doris Miller.”
My dad was Navy in the late 50's and early 60's. He loved SOS and had my mother fix it at least once per month. I grew up eating and loving it. I have been making it for my family using the same recipe my dad gave my mother over 60 years ago. Good stuff.
My dad was a Master Chief in the US Coast Guard. One day he took me and my older brother to the base and came out of the Officers Club with two small cartons of milk and 2 egg salad sandwiches... the egg salad was not on bread, it was in hot dog buns. I still make it the same way today. Thanks for the videos really enjoy them
I love how Master Chief tries to sound French when describing the recipes.I served on Enterprise in the late 80’s and ate SOS once a week. Great stuff. My other breakfast favorite,especially out to sea, was spam over rehydrated hash browns with a couple of scoops of scrambled eggs mixed in.
Mr. Lyons sir I can tell you even cooks try to sound French when we are cooking.....or we did when I was in today I couldn't tell you because pc and what not
YES!! I was never in the military, but at some time in my childhood I was fed spam and eggs over hash, and it ended up as one of my fave hearty meals to make in cold weather. Also split pea and ham soup, lobscouse, (basically beef or lamb stew with lots of potatoes and veggies) and ghetto as it may sound, Spaghetti mixed with butter and 1 to 2 cans of Campbell's tomato soup. 1 can for 500g, 2 for 1kg of spaghetti. It has to be Campbell's, it tastes like dogshit with a generic soup. The butter transforms it into something special. Top with parm and enjoy!
I was aboard the Ranger, cook in an A-6 squadron. Heading back to San Diego following RimPac 86 he had a Tomcat in the hangar in the livery of one of Enterprise's squadrons and a tarp over the canopy. The AD1 who was in charge of the cleaning crew told us that it had lit both seats upon trapping. He was wrong but it took me years to learn the truth. The real story was that the RIO had his uniforms in a garment bag in the area behind the seat. Because they were going straight-and-level from the base to the the ship they had permission to do this. After they landed and both aviators had undone their harnesses the RIO reached back for the bag, but the clotheshanger hook caught on the loop of the Eject handle. To save you the trouble of trying to sort out what came next, let me say that if you are sitting in a Zero Zero ejection seat, are not strapped in, and it fires you are not surviving.
Great video Master Chief! I often wondered why the Navy coffee mugs didn't have handles..I thought it had to do with maximizing the storage space aboard ship. I have one myself, and use it quite frequently. Thank you for you 30 years of service to the the U.S. Navy! S.O.S. on midnight chow was the best, especially if you were out on a cold flightline all night.
In the Coast Guard the one day that the chow hall was always packed was when we had SOS. Coast Guard SOS was more like the Marine version, but I also had a lot of the navy version, which was also excellent. Thanks master chief! Semper Paratus!
I was assigned 1 week mess cook duty NOB Norfolk while awaiting completion of construction USS Pharris DE1094. I was fortunate to be assigned to the butcher shop which was run by a little Pilipino 2nd class named Oscar. My duties for the day consisted of reporting in the morning to find a list detailing the days requirements, I was responsible to pull all of the items from stores and deliver to the butcher shop and I was done for the day. Gravy, right. One day while rummaging through the freezers pulling stock I came across a dogs frozen body wrapped in plastic and my mind immediately assumed that little SOB was feeding us dog meat. Next day I inquired of Oscar what a dog was doing in the meat locker and he explained the dog had bitten someone and was rabid so it was being held in storage until such time as an autopsy could be performed. The Navy, it's not just a job, it's an adventure.
Hi Master Chief! I am a believer that these old traditional Navy dishes, when made from raw ingredients, are the better tasting than their pre-processed modern "healthier" versions. Maryland fried Chicken. I seen this dish in the UK in a restaurant. Who knows where it was invented and what inspired it. Perhaps the cooks about the USS Maryland BB-46. Lastly, the SOS...I avoid that dish do the appearance until I invite someone on a tiger cruise, who served in the Navy in the early 1960's. This was the dish he had been craving for 20 years. His enthusiasm for it made me try it. Never avoid again; it was placed into regular rotation. Thanks for your postings.
@Stormy Fourwolves44 Small world Stormy. Made my first Westpac in '63. During those eight months my young wife was (secretly) servicing the entire Seventh Fleet (something about the uniform). Three days before my ship returned (Alameda pier 3) she thought it wise to weigh anchor and so set off for parts unknown. Haven't seen her since.
@@BOOMER-rs5qn She was my high school sweetheart Stormy. Father was a deacon of the church. When we sang hymns sharing a book together she would harmonize and the beauty would my melt my heart. I never saw it coming. I was removed from all duties and wandered the ship day and night. Didn't think I'd ever get over it, but somehow through the years it's managed to fade. Till your post that is, where you brought it all back. Now it feels like it just happened yesterday, only there are no decks to wander, no scuttlebutts to pause and drink from. Only kidding Stormy. What I wrote is all true - except the part about you bringing the pain back. She's passed on a few years ago and the pain is gone. If you remember what it was like on the ship, this kind of stuff went on all the time. "Go down the sail locker son, and tell 'em we need 6 feet of water line, and hurry!" You got a 44 in your name. If I get your meaning right, I'm a 1/31/43. 78 coming up. 😎
My dad was a Marine in Korea (out long before I was born.). I loved SOS as a child (and giggled when my parents told me what it stood for) but ours was always Hormel dried beef. Yummy! As an adult my wife can't stand it but I make it for myself several times a year. A little splash for Worcestershire and a couple of drops of A1 and onion powder and just a dash of cayenne while dissolving the roux... Heaven!
As an Army career guy, I took an interest in Naval history while visiting the USS Cairo restoration at Vicksburg National Battlefield run by the National Park Service. I found it interesting that even back in the Civil War that each sailor was issued a glass bottle with a cork, and inside the bottle was some sort of pepper sauce, probably similar in purpose to the little Tobasco bottles that used to be in the MRE's. That would make any bland meal like Navy Beans better. Bought one as a souvenir. Enjoy your show.
Hey Chief, SSG Army Engineer Hvy Cbt Retired here; had sos every morning in regulars in the mid 70’s with a couple eggs over and home fries washed down with a big hot mug of coffee. Man I’ll tell you you could run a D-7 dozer all morning with that in your belly You brought back lots of memories of better happier times Thanks for your service and memories
I served in the Navy from June 67 to June 73, and I thought the chow was pretty good. SOS was a favorite of most of the guys. This video brings back many memories from long ago.
I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of food served at the Lemoore (California USA) Naval Air Station Enlisted Dining Facility in 1976. I was a civilian attending college at Fresno State, when a dorm roommate had a friend stationed at Lemoore; where I accommodated the roommate's request to pick up his friend at Lemoore for a weekend visit to Fresno State. That Naval enlisted guy was a cook for the Enlisted Dining Facility, and when I showed up, the Naval guy got permission from the watch commander for me to go through the chow line, as I had short hair at the time, making me look like an enlisted guy in civilian clothes. What the food lacked with visual aesthetics, it made up for being _absolutely delicious;_ with unlimited servings. Best of all, no indigestion afterwards. I previously heard that Naval chow was one of the best among the armed services, and my experience at that Naval Air Station made a believer out me.
While on the USS Forrestal CVA-59 (68-72) we were provided with normal dinnerware (ceramic plates, cups etc.) for a moral boost ( nice touch). Unfortunately, a mess cook went nuts and from the scullery began tossing decks of plates out the door into the hallway adjoining the mess deck. Attempts to arrest the poor soul were met with a stack of dishes. He broke every dish he could get his hands on. Next day we were back to trays and we never saw that mess cook again (I never saw him again).
Ahoy Master Chief. I served aboard the USS Nimitz CVN 68 during Desert Storm. I was an HT in the Hab shop and we took extra special care of the cooks. In order to have your whatsit fixed you had to fill out a chit and wait for the apples to grow onto the trees. But we told the cooks just call us directly and we would ALWAYS be right there. Kissing the hand that feeds you does pay its dividends. There were many times we received a cookie sheet the size of Montana with a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MOUNTAIN on it. Plus being the Hab shop we had our own washer and dryer which always pays off! There was always really good food served up on the Nimitz (oh the pork adobo). The cooks are the heart blood of the Military God Bless You All!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
As a Marine, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The S.O.S. brought back fond memories at a field kitchen in the Winter during Infantry training. Man it was fricken cold! That S.O.S. was a godsend! The Tabasco I saved, sealed the deal. Great chow! Good video Master Chief. My compliments.
I served in the USN from 7/11/1958 To 3/13/1968 as Stewardman cook For only Officers on board ships. The Menu on board ships in the enlisted Rank had so many changes in 1950’s, I never had this kind preparation on board ships.1960’s Had so much changes in Navy meals because the Navy has got more budgets and all provision are Cheap also meat and seafood Provision.. The Navy has a great Food espcially on board ships.
After 10 yrs in the Army i cant count how many times i ate SOS for morning meal =) and still do one of the best breakfast items. Thanks for the great video and Thank you for your service Master Chief from an old Staff Sgt
Just found ur channel. The topic of meals is such an overlooked aspect of military life that's hardly ever mentioned. Great job of documenting the history of food in the military! 👏
This is Kirk disabled vet US Navy. I cooked on a USS canopus as34 I should have stayed in but I got married and got out. Salute to the chief. God bless
My dad was in the Marines ( 2nd division ) in WW2. When I was a kid , we ate budget things for dinner. One thing I can remember was chipped beef on toast. My dad was quite a cook making that.😄
Creamed chipped beef on toast is one of my favorite dishes...just give me plenty! Also, chicken-a-la-king over white rice. Now it's hard to find these things in a store, and when you do, it's canned or frozen.
A little thing never talked about; I was on the USS Ricketts from 77 to 81. We were the first Atlantic based ship in the Persian Gulf as we were visiting Karachi Pakistan. We joined the La Salle a day later. No one was expecting this stuff to happen. I was assigned to my three months of mess cooking at this time. We started running out of food. We went to half rations and then third rations. They broke out the Alpo. A canned meat that looked exactly like (and may have been) Alpo. So some of our meals were Alpo and crackers washed down with bug juice. Since I was mess cooking I had access to the reefer decks. They were empty except for a few boxes of yeast. Some people would eat a cube of yeast to feel full. We arrived in early November and the carrier task group showed up in March. The first pallet of food, delivered by helo, was lettuce and oranges. Neither made it below decks. They were both eaten by the crew. Months later after our return in April, the Nimitz showed up and Norfolk (and Jimmy Carter) turned out to honor their sacrifice. I remember being disgusted when stories were printed about the crew of the Nimitz running out of ice cream and losing their Frisbees over the side. I made sure that I was not on the base that day since I didn't want to wear dress blues for either the Nimitz or Carter.
I was in the Navy 50 years ago. For some reason I loved midrats. We also called it slum gullium. They take everything that was left over from the day's meals, throw it in a kettle, heat it up and you get to eat all you want and then hit the rack.
SOS was so well-liked in the Air force that I remember getting up at 6 AM on a Sunday and trudging through 3ft. of snow at Lowry AFB in Denver (1960), because one of the chow halls was serving it that day. In fact, I have some in the freezer right now;. Yum-m-m!
I was an infantryman in the Army for 9 years. In the field we usually had MREs but sometimes hot “A” meals from the mess trailer. These guys cooked in the rain, snow, dark, you name it but the food was always very good, amazing if you’d consider the conditions it was prepared in and huge quantities needed. The mess hall food, which later we had to call “dining facility” was consistently excellent sometimes amazing. At work these days, people frequently ask me about the Army and what it was like being a grunt but usually they ask about the food. They always are surprised when I say the food was very good as they assume it was slop. It kind of pisses me off people think that the Army would purposely feed the troops bad food. As an officer, had that ever occurred I would make an issue of it and would speak to the battalion commander in a second in any of the units I was in. I never had to do that because I know that any commander would rip the throat out of a mess sergeant that didn’t put out good chow. It never happened because the food is a point of constant command emphasis and you just don’t do that to troops. Besides, the officers eat the same food, we just eat it last and usually cold - especially in the field. I don’t know about other eras but from 81 to 90 Army chow was very good. One funny thing about field chow as I always ate last was I would get whatever was left after troops went through. Sometimes dinner was 10 pieces of chicken, another day it would be a pound of bacon and half a loaf a bread and another an entire cobbler. I got used to weird meals like that but it was always better than a MRE. Good times... 😀
I'm pretty sure the breakfast we got in the field was where Dr Seuss got the idea for green eggs and ham from. 2/58 Infantry 75-79 Oh and BTW, our brigade commander decided to have hit chow with us in the field on one exorsize. He was so appalled at the food he had them bring C-rats out and apologized to us for the miserable job our cooks did and further promised to make it right the next day. He kept his word and the next day the cooks were barbequing burgers, dogs and steaks with fresh salads. Normally our cooks were great. Breakfasts in the mess hall were always my favorite. Some of our cooks did exchange training with militaries from other countries. France and germany were just a couple. But I'm telling you, we had a couple military cooks who were stereotypes. Overweight, dirty and clearly just didn't give a crap. Others were as professionally geared as any other MOS in the Army.
Thank you, Master Chief. Served in the Greek Marines. I found your presentation interesting and was surprised thinking the "chow" served on American ships in the early 1900s would be unappetizing. God keep you well, Sir.
I worked in the dirty shirt wardroom on the Carl Vinson in '83 and the EDF on the California from 84-86. I think we put out decent chow on the California despite coppers that didn't shut off and convection ovens that were out of calibration. We just put our heads down, and put out the meal. Breakfast was my favorite meal to serve. I worked the griddle for eggs and home fries and the fryers for fritters. I can't believe you never ate SOS even on the messdecks, Master Chief. Anyway, great content.
I've seen several videos on Navy meals and they all look like slop compared to what we were served when I was in. I guess I was lucky because every meal was spectacular compared to what they are showing online. We did eat allot of roast beef but we also had steak and lobster every Friday. Breakfast was the best, with eggs or omelets made any way you wanted, bacon, sausages, pancakes, waffles, hot syrup, melted butter, fresh fruit, 3 different kinds of bread, orange juice, milk, tea, coffee and you could go back as many times as you wanted for more. They had two lines for lunch; one where you got a turkey dinner with gravy and vegetables for example and a fast food line where you could get a hamburger or shrimp , fries etc. and of course both had soft drinks if you wanted. They didn't have these pre-made hash-brown patties etc they have now or dinky little fruit cups.. Everything was fresh and made that day and coffee was available 24 hours. Also we used plates not trays.
I think Navy chow has gotten better over the years but you'll notice that I took some of these recipes from some pretty old Navy cookbooks - of times when fresh wasn't as easily available.
These days, the Navy tries to accommodate the more sophisticated pallettes that sailors have today. More of an emphasis on presentation and healthy eating. Today's galleys don't have deep fat fryers in them. Which as an MS, I don't miss. Fryers were a PITA to clean.
I am ex ARA (Australian Regular Army). It is interesting how the recipes, quality of the rations and the messes have changed over the years. Still, fresh rations beats a ration pack anyday. Thankyou for posting the vid. I have a nephew in the RAN and he swears by the rations the sailors eat in the messes on board.
One of my favorite childhood memories is eating Great Uncle John's SOS, which after retirement from the Navy and then another round of government service he modified to his taste. After spending about 40 years cooking for Uncle Sam (retiring as CPO) he still enjoyed cooking. Seems remarkable to me. But I guess he figured he had the skill to make things the way he wanted. Thanks for sharing this.
I went into the Air Force in 1968 and they served us S.O.S. each morning for breakfast along with eggs and bacon/sausage on the side. I never tried S.O.S. until I entered tech school after boot camp and the meals at that base was so bad until I began eating breakfast each day and not missing a meal due to the better quality, especially after going to Thailand the first time. During the main holidays we received great food there, but upon returning to the U.S. the food was bad again. It didn't improve until after the Air Force began hiring civilian chefs to train their food personnel how to cook good meals. McChord AFB, Washington had the best food I ever ate in the military and the next best was the Navy meals they served at Andrews AFB, MD.
I was a cook in the Coast Guard, I've definitely made Maryland Fried Chicken and S.O.S. MANY times ( our SOS was always made with ground beef though ). We use the Armed Forces Recipe Service on recipe cards as our "cookbook" and a major part of SS ( Subsistence Specialist ) school was doing recipe conversions ( the math to exponentiate your ingredients to the amount of portions variable to the crew being served off of the base recipe for 100 portions ).
Denny's used to had "Maryland fried chicken" on their menu for awhile back in the 1980's I think. But it was somewhat different. The coating was darker, fairly firm, and had a hearty flavor I could never identify. Perhaps a bit "nutty" or something. And it had a light gravy on top. It was a large chicken breast with the bone and was quite good. Seemed better than the usual choice of dinner entrees there.
@@trainliker100 hey, my grandson is crazy for 'chicken fingers', I've been around for a good bite and never met a chicken with 'fingers', must be some kind of mystery meat. Sounds like Denny's was giving you the whole breast, the bones add flavor to the meat, I'm freaking sick of boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken.
I was in the Army during the Vietnam era and in country May 1968-May 1969. Not in a line combat unit, though. At breakfast I usually ate fried eggs because I knew they weren't powdered. I ate SOS when it was served. In the mid 1970's -1980's I used to go to dinner meetings and we usually had "Chicken Maryland" (it was the least cost banquet entrée). It was a boneless chicken breast with a bread crumb coating. We usually had mashed potatoes and green beans with it. Quite a few years later I was in Baltimore with my girlfriend, saw on the menu at a restaurant, and ordered it. Completely different.
Thanks Master Chief, reliving some memories now from my time in the Navy in the late 80's. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light Three Six Mayport Florida. Two deployments, one each onboard USS John Rodgers DD983 and USS Gallery FFG26.
I served in the Army for three years and we always had the creamed hamburger on biscuits or toast. The ONLY time I had chipped beef on toast was at Treasure Island, compliments of the Navy while I was separating from the service after my tour in Korea. It was darn good!
AS a Commissaryman, we prepared Creamed Ground Beef the majority of the time. Creamed Chipped Beef would show on the menu on occasion as would Minced Beef. Of the three, Minced Beef was my least favorite. It was made with tomatoes and mace. MSCS, USN, Ret.
I’m a boomer and in the sixties all the men mostly where in WW2 and since everybody worked 9 to 5 all families pretty much ate at the same time about 6.00pm well we’d be playing about three blocks away and our neighbor would stand on the porch and whistle we’d all look at each then hightail it home for super time and you better not be late because we always or I should say that dad would say grace then we would eat. If you came in late and everyone started and you missed the prayer before, lookout🤪🤪🤪🤪
My SOS: Rinse dried beef in cold running water (cuts down on the salt). No need to dry. Cut up in small 1/4" squares. I put about two tablespoons salted or not salted butter in a skillet and melt. Add beef stir, and then 3 big tablespoons flour, I add white pepper, stir till all flour is mixed with beef. Add milk. Maybe 1 1/2- 2 cups. Thicken. Serve over toast, biscuits, hash browns, or corn bread. Easy and fast.
Great videos Master, on the JFK enroute to Lebanon in 81, I think, we had a catapult fire with fatalities. The bodies stored in the freezer until they could be removed. I know that menus are made far in advance, but we had barbecue ribs for evening chow, hardly any was eaten, but the fish were happy that night.
Chief, if you had never eaten shit on a shingle when you were in for 30 years it had to be a choice because as I remember it was served on board that Adams class destroyer I was on at least 4-5 times a week. Of course you probably ate in more chow halls with better facilities than we had s you probably had more choices. Just wanted to tell you I really enjoy your channel, it brings back a lot of memories.
Best mess hall ever ate in was at Mare Island, Calif. in the early 1980s. Five different entree choices each meal! I put on weight during my three months of tech school there. Norfolk's mess hall was pretty good too.
I served aboard the USS Toledo { CA 133 } in the 1950s. we still had those C rats hard tac crackers served on mid rats with veg. soup I liked them a lot. wish I could buy them today. The food was PDG on the Toledo. We had those steel trays too. Love your Blog. Thanks for your service Master Chief.
I've tried to explain the iconic handle-less mug and it's place in shipboard history. I only served eight years and change but also never saw S.O.S, a dish I happen to love. Thanks for the memories, Master Chief. Craig Slusher USS Josephus Daniels, CG-27 "World's Finest Guided Missile Cruiser"
SOS was the first meal I ever had when I enlisted into the Air Force. Back in the 60's, You would arrive at Lackland Air Force Base at about 2200 hrs. The bus would enter the base and drive for what seemed like an hour turning constantly. You would be politely de bussed by an attendant Training Instructor with a very high volume voice which you couldn't help but follow. (That's the voice of Leadership LOL) After standing and being berated for a couple of hours, and reacquainted with your personal family history that you were unaware of, that was called in processing. you were then marched to the chow hall which was a very long distance and fed Midnight chow. A generous amount of SOS with a glass of milk. Very good I might say. Then you were marched to your barracks and gently put to bed at about 0145 hrs. Did I mention that 0530 hrs was wake up call LOL I still miss the service to this day and the great people I met and come to know and respect. The draft days brought a great cross section of people of all races, economic realities, and political, backgrounds together, and required them to work it all out as a team. We did.
Went in the early 70s. Same experience at Lackland. Would not trade those days for anything. By the way, AF chow halls were (and I hope still are) the best.
@@utubecustomer0099805 They were great, but it was like eating at a restaurant every day. Made you miss home cooking, LOL I also really liked Army Mess. Great chow in those as I remember.
I loved SOS in ground beef as a n Infantryman. Cold weather, hot, or anywhere. Honestly the Army or possibly the Marines. Marine guys correct me if I am wrong. Breakfast in the field starting 0530. Hot green eggs, 2 slices of bacon, round pork sausage, hot to be cold hash browns, one apple or orange for fruit, Beverage is military coffee, orange, or apple juice. Lunch is either C-Rats or MREs depending what era. Dinner or supper is either C-Rats or MREs, but from my experience is. Pork chops with rice or mashed potatoes with green beans. Hamburger patties with the same, chicken breasts with the same. This was in Mermite contained foods. Later in the 80s they came in complete trays known as T-Rats. They came in gigantic tray cans each to feed a squad of 8-10 guys for each meal tray. They came in as breakfast units, lunch, and dinner units. It was easier to feed Grunts in he field. I ate them with a sense of humor. Really i did find my favorites along the way. The T-Rats in the late 80s and early 90s I really liked. For breakfast was Eggs and Ham, Sausage Links,, lunch and dinner was Chicken Breast, Turkey, Beef Stew, Beef BBQ, Chicken Stew, and what was like Meat Loaf? I ate some of these during the Panama Invasion with no problems. During Iraq I had always good food and never ate many MREs during combat or convoys. But I always pick out my favorites when times got shitty. The Navy will always eat better than their Marines or Army Soldiers in the field. The Navy has the best cooks or CSs in the US Armed Forces.!! Their Filipino Chefs are the best US Armed Forces wide!! They are the best Culinary Specialists in the world! They are the best in the US Navy!!!
The best advice I ever had was to join the Navy and get into aviation! Aircraft carriers ride out storms much smoother than small ships. Navy chow was always the best!
I was a MS2. Never worked in the galley except for 2 weeks supporting a sea cadet boot camp. I did learn to work and repair a switchboard with cables in the BOQ.
SOS was probably retired due to bad press, but my mom served it to us as kids at least once per week. Dad had been in Korea in the army and he liked the stuff. I cannot say I miss it at all. Thanks for the nostalgia!
@@TheBigMclargehuge, on my ship it was a pot of white beans (navy beans?) with half inch to one inch chunks of kielbasa or smoked sausage. There may have been other ingredients like onions, but I do not recall.
Wish my father was still here to talk to him about this subject. Served both on the four stack destroyers and re enlisted for WW II. Would probably have quite an opinion on this. Tks Chief for this video.
Thoughly enjoyed your presentation on the history of U.S.N cooking. I was a Culinery specialist Master Chief, thanks you! I was a Watch Captain. When your hungery this food is okay. Steel-beach picnic with "surf, and turf" Great experience, I remember some of the Master Chief's, they knew how to get things done!
During the Vietnam conflict the Navy and Marine Corps used a master meal list prepared by the Navy Department. Every vessel, station or base in the Naval Service ate the same menu at the same time. Logistical good sense to be sure. The SOS then used hamburger in place of chipped beef. Every Sunday you had all the steak you could ever want. Who could forget "Potatoes O'Brian" or fried Okra. Never got Chinese, Italian or even Mexican style cuisine. The handless mugs made by Corning Glass go way back to the 1880's and were issued to all the branches of the service and not just the naval service. Great presentation and enjoyed it very much.
My maternal grandfather, who came off of a farm in North Dakota and served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific during the War, always called it "One-horse cavalry."
Back in 81 to 89 when I was floating around on Uncle Sam's dime what I remember most is the garbage meat meals we had to save mess money for a monthly steak and lobster dinner.Rabbit,mutton,greaseiest sausage known to man,boiled corn beef.
My dad served in the USN in the Pacific during WWII. He made a dish very similar to SOS but instead of beef he tossed in tuna. He also added canned peas as well. He served it over toast. There were five kids to feed and I don’t remember anyone complaining.
I started my career in 1972 and retired a Chief Electronics Tech (SW) after doing my twenty. Every ship I served on the Wardroom had its Silver Service set provided by the sponsor city of the ship. The Wardroom also had their own personalized china service usually identified by the ship's seal. The use of trays went out when the word got around that only institutions like prisons used trays. When they did switch to plastic trays for a short time they found that they couldn't get them hygienically clean because they were porous in nature. I remember when we switched to glassware from trays. It was a whole different experience. I recall eating "steamship round" beef better than twice a week while aboard a tender. Much of these changes came about because the Navy was dealing with a higher caliber better educated person who actually volunteered their service to country. You just had to treat enlisted people better or all that investment in specialized training would walk at the end of enlistment. That's why we have family service centers and expanded MWR services now.
I wasn't in the Navy a long time (a bit under 4 years 1966-70) but at enough locations to know that food quality varied widely. It was pretty good at Great Lakes boot camp and I think that, in spite of all the marching in hot humid summer weather, most gained a few pounds there. Midway Island (technically, the "Midway Islands" comprised of Sand and Eastern islands) had excellent food. But almost never fresh milk. It was a powdered milk with an odd taste that you quickly got used to. This was also used for baking so those items had some of that odd taste. But the baking was superb. You could also eat any time of the day and somebody was always there to make eggs to order for you. On Ford Island at Pearl Harbor for a couple of weeks, again, very good food. Then to the USS Norton Sound where the food was not so good. All the more puzzling since the ship spent almost all its time at Port Hueneme, California and a typical cruise was from 9 to 5 in one day (the ship tested weapons systems and other systems). One day a minesweeper tied up to us in port and invited some of us to eat dinner with them. The food was amazingly good. I remember breaded pork chops and scratch made au gratin potatoes and fresh vegetables. We all wanted to transfer. I always did appreciate the hard work of those in the mess. While much of our work as electronics technicians was intermittent, their work was relentless, and often thankless.
Retired Marine here: Been on two Navy ships for a few months. The chow was top-notch. The cooks really care about what they doing.
I was in the navy from 1963 to 1986. As an Italian from Massachusetts, chipped beef on toast was nothing I would ever eat. One day I had late sleepers and when I got up I was starving. I ran to the mess decks and all that was left was chipped beef on toast. My hunger over ran my starvation. My friend who was one of the Commissary Men gave my wife his recipe and two or three times a year my wife would make it for me. I still have the recipe and though my wife has passed away, I still treat myself two or three times a year.
Bless you John and thank you for your service over those many years.
Shit on a shingle! 😋
Of course the from the book names are correct, the slang needs this Correction: the Marine Corps version is SOS, the version using chipped dried beef is “foreskins on toast” this information was passed to me by a USN Chief Machinists Mate who retired in 1958, and by several WWII era sailors. Both versions are excellent, if you use pork sausage it’s “sausage gravy” and available everywhere, especially the south.
SOS. Shit on a shingle.
Hi, John. Like you I enlisted in 1963, right out of high school. Spent 13 years in. SOS was staple back then. In some messes it was a daily option, as you no doubt know. Take care ol' timer. :>) Karl
My father served from 1950 to 56, on the USS Orion (AS55), as a fire control technician, and SOS was the one dish he said he actually liked a lot. So much so, that in the early 1980s when money was really tight for us, mama would make it for us. I remember it is being quite good, and there's been a few times I've actually craved it although I haven't had it in years. Yes, it may not look pretty, but I remember it fondly. This is inspired me to try making it sometime myself.
This is wonderful! I’m a civilian volunteer chef for the Coast Guard and my favorite ships to cook on are the buoy tenders and coastal icebreakers where the crew tops out at 25. We use the Navy recipe books but with that small a crew you can be a little creative. On one ship when we make SOS the Chief has me modify the dish to be made with country sausage instead of beef. Makes the man very happy.
I am a retired MMC USN and I have eaten sos both way with ground hamburger and dried beef. Sos with hamburger over hashbrowns with an egg on top. Heaven.
I like the red SOS....tomato
And if I remember... Mace was a spice added for favor
Oh yeah, now you are talking! Only a philistine would turn down a mess tray of good old SOS.
Yep, I still love and make SOS! I do it my Dad's way, with patty sausage and onion added! And a bit of white cheese. Scrumptious! 😎
as a jarhead i loved the ground beef style.
My grandfather was in the navy during WWII on the USS ST LO which was sunk during the battle of Leyte gulf.. he always called it SOS and I ate it as a kid and still make it. Dried beef version. Love it
Check out a CZcamsr named Jan Charles, a sweet ol' single mom with 7 kids.
She makes it from dried beef and it is GOOD!.
Brings back memories! I was aboard a carrier during the Vietnam Era and I still have a phobia about standing in line. To this day, if I find a line waiting outside a restaurant, I'll get back in the car and go find another place to eat. I also remember the "Soul Brothers Table." God help the white guy who, unable to find another seat in the crowded mess hall, tried to join the "Brothas'" at THAT particular table! So much for integration! When I was TAD'ed in the ship's laundry, the mess cooks would show up with their dirty laundry and a note pad. They would take our order, and a few minutes later, a heaping, steaming tray of chow would be delivered, saving us from wasting hours in line. In return, the cook's laundry would be carefully done immediately, saving him from waiting at least a week for his clothes, which may or may not be returned to him. Hey, us enlisted rabble had to stick together, right?
Being a cook aboard a frigate sized vessel is an adventure unto itself. Many days of appreciation of those who came before us. Much respect. 👍✌️🇺🇲
I served 6 years in the Navy and I Never had a bad meal... at sea or ashore. These Mess Specialists were true professionals and delivered their very best 👍
@@eddiehazard3340 What? He said the food was great.
@@michaelweir995he was clearly served food that wasn't in regulation
Thank you, my father did his best to keep the moral of his crews up through the creation of the best meals he could muster throughout his 20 career.
Thanks. That’s coming from an MS4. The places I was stationed (Naval Amphibious Base, USS Dixon, USS Ajax and Point Loma Sub Base) took their food seriously. We worked hard at it, and kept our kitchens clean!
Nice to know we were appreciated. ❤️
@@purity4allyour father is a legend for being a 20 year culinary specialist. It definitely takes a special breed of men to do that job for the long run
I was a 3rd class Commissary man during Vietnam on Destroyer. We served SOS a lot. The chipped beef came in a white box and you had to rinse out the salt before you used it. The crew liked it over biscuits.
I forgot the white box, peeling the stuff apart wrapped in thin wax paper. Thanks for the memory!!!! MS2 (SS).
8 years in uniform (4-E and 4-O) - I NEVER EVER EVER ate the SOS. EVER.
@@andreinarangel6227 I was a cook in an A-6 squadron and what I wouldn't go near, at least aboard ship, was the coffee.
First morning of first deployment, up, dressed, and down to the aft galley for breakfast before I started work. Grab a try of grub from the line, put it at a table, go get a glass of orange bug juice and a cuppa from the nice shiny stainless coffee urn, go back, sit down, take a sip of the coffee and nearly puke. It had a visible layer of oil on the top and tasted like the MMs had drained it out of the sump of an emergency diesel generator and then taken a whiz in it. Okay, no coffee until we get back to The Rock.
@@fredlougee2807 Oh man, not good. Connie had good coffee in the aft galley. One of the mess Chiefs was a fanatic about it, clean the pots daily, cleaned egg shells and a pinch of salt in the grounds. VA-147 out of NAS Lemoore.
@@fredlougee2807 If they had somebody actually clean the coffee maker it wasn't that bad. But since nobody ever did most of the coffee could etch steel.
I was in the Navy from 1973 to 1979 and can’t complain about the chow I was served. About the vinegar in the one dish described in the video: It’s very common in Filipino cooking to add vinegar to a dish. The famous Filipino dish, Adobo, uses this ingredient. I’m sure you had it at some point in your 30 year Navy career. BTW, I’m proud to say I was a civilian employee of the Department of the Navy for 34 years after my 6 years of military service.
I can picture it now, 1942: the Quartermaster thinks to himself, "Let's get this out onto a tray.....Nice!"
-Wrong channel, son. And not funny without context.- *edit* hurp durp. I am blind.
Steve P I love that channel! Nice!
@@exidy-yt That's actually what makes it funny. Just a random quote you have to know the context to, it's an obscure reference, although I'd suspect a good amount of people watching this channel would also like that one.
"Let's try the Chipped Beef on Toast. Nice hiss."
@@micahphilson You know what? right in the middle of typing a reply to you about lack of context....I finally got it. DAMN I was thick last night. He put his food on a mess tray identical to Steve's.....nice!
(sigh I can be a dumbass sometimes.)
I am an old Navy vet. When I was stationed at Dam Neck, I became friends with the warrant officer who was in charge of our mess hall. Although I was an ET, I have always enjoyed cooking, so we would talk about our mutual interest. He really cared about making sure the guys enjoyed their food. One of the recipes he fed us was an improved version of SOS, which he called "Chipped Beef a la King. It was very similar to the recipe you showed, with the addition of chopped canned mushroom pieces, chopped canned pimento pieces, and canned peas and carrots, all drained, of course. The cream sauce was a little thinner than how yours appeared. It was VERY good, and I make it to this day. Also, I well remember those steel mess trays, but I think by that time they were made from stainless steel, and not chrome plated.
I was stationed at Dam Neck Operations Specialist A School twice; 1989-92 & 1996-99.
I was on that base from 92 to 95 with VC6
We were stationed at Oceana. We lived on Dam Neck Road, 1972 to 1975.
I was at the Guided Missile School May 69 to October 70 night shift, left school as a MT3. The cooks took good care of us, really enjoyed mid-rats.
Ditch the peas and pimentos and I'd snarf that down with a couple bottles of wine.
My dad retired as a CPO on Dec 7, 1949. He was an 18-year sea sailor machinist mate. His retirement pay was $90.00 a month. We would have SOS every couple weeks for dinner. Lover it then and still love it now at 75. The E system for pay had only been around for a couple years when dad retired (1947) and there was no E-8 or E-9 back then. Before the E system came into being a Chief in the Navy made $5.00 a month more than a Master Sergeant in the Army because a Navy man had a technical rating where a Master Sergeant "just pushed mules around".
Fantastic video. Thanks
Hi, Master Chief. My dad was a World War 2 Navy vet, Gunner's Mate. Attached to the Naval Armed Guard. He talked about his service, at times. I remember he used to make S.O.S. both with creamed chipped beef and hamburg, over toast with fried potatoes. Pop was also a railroader, so you know he knew how to cook. I'm sure mom didn't mind, him taking over, at times. Very interesting and informative channel. Thank you.
I served aboard the USS vancouver LPD2 for 4 years 65 thru 69 the food was great most of the time, and what I learned in those 4 years has helped me through my whole adault life.
To this day, I will still say the best meal I had in the Chow Hall was breakfast. Scrambled eggs, shredded hash browns and creamed beef gravy. Mix it all into one big glop and yum yum.
Cliff: me and my buds would be out on the town -Koza City- till 5 Am and we would eat the same thingat johnston Dining facility, eggs, bacon, spuds and sos, mix all together and man was that ever good GD Setzer Sgt USAF
There were a lot of "colorful" names given to various dishes. I was an engineering officer on a carrier during Vietnam. Officers were supposed to eat on the mess deck at least once a month as a means of making sure it was in good order. Food was generally better there than in the ward room. Senior officers were particularly cheap and controlled how much was spent for our food. Each officer paid a monthly wardroom bill. The food could be purchased ashore or from standard Navy supplies. My share was about $35/ month in 1965. The ship originally had 2 mess decks but the forward one had been converted into a bomb assembly area. The result was that about 5,000 sailors had only two chow lines. Meals were served 23 hours a day. One hour for clean up. There was a machine for making "ice cream." Some sort of powder and water went in, soft serve came out. But the machine was unreliable and often didn't work.
Thank You Fellow Veteran for your Service .
I was asst safety officer on the USS Nassau (LHA-4) in the early 90s - our Chief's Mess was nothing short of spectacular - we pitched in to prepare most of our own meals with one of the two assigned MSs and mess cooks who rotated shifts. Breakfast and lunch always to order, and the galley was was open 24/7 underway for sandwiches, pizza slices, etc and we had soft serve or fresh-made ice cream with every meal, fresh popcorn and non-alcoholic beer one night a week with a movie. Supper was catered by a cruise line food service provider when in port, and we had some chiefs who occasionally brought venison or fresh caught fish. I think we kicked in an additional $40 a month to the mess caterer (whose family owned a restaurant in Norfolk) and I know most of us slipped the cook and mess cook a little something from time to time. Chiefs were all required to eat one meal a week in the general galley with the troops, both in port and underway - I never had any complaints- the crew ate well. The wardroom was adjacent to us- their food was horrible by comparison... I remember my boss (the SO and a SAR Huey pilot) asking me if I would bring him a sandwich because the XO had cracked down on expenses with a no snack policy and they were getting served crap like chopped up hotdogs over pasta with beets for supper, a cold cut sandwich for lunch and a bowl of oatmeal and a half a banana for breakfast. After I left Nassau, I had to ride the JFK for a week when it came out of the shipyard. The Chief's mess was a pigsty - I remember they had rigged a funnel and hose catching a grey water leak over one of the tables. Smelled like the head.... had strict operating hours, no loitering during working hours (??) and the CMC ruled it with an iron fist. Couldn't imagine what morale must have been like.
@@markc4768 I've never understood why officers had to pay for their wardroom meals. During Vietnam we spent months at sea. Never got fresh anything. Sometimes the supply ships would highline a pallet of oranges over. They disappeared before they made it off the hanger deck. We spent 3 months of air-ops off Vietnam, one week @ Hong Kong and then 2 more months of air-ops. So in a little over 5 months we got good food, ashore in Hong Kong, for one week. BTW, Hong Kong was a great place for food and about anything else.
Everyone knows the chiefs mess has the best food on the ship.
@@markc4768 I was the DCA on the LaSalle AGF 3
My uncle was a cook in the Navy from the 1930s to the 1950s. It's nice to know what he used to do.
Master Chief: I waited tables at a hotel while in college and one day we had a teachers' group some of whom were nuns, the last day breakfast was a fixed menu of "creamed chipped beef on toast" I was serving a 4 top of nuns and announced the menu and was surprised to hear one nun reply "You mean shi* on a shingle."
Our dining room manager nearly fainted.
I think I know that sister , she has two tattoos .
Should have asked what kind of meat priests eat. Answer..........nun lol.
Did you fry the nuns or broil tbem ???
@@bigbob1699 was also a pole dancer in her spare time
And from a nun, no less. That was quite a giggle, TU.. JL
Master Chief, what a great idea for a video! I thoroughly enjoyed this, since my Dad served in the U.S. Navy from 1939 until his mandatory retirement as a Master Chief (HTCM) in 1980. I guess he was what one would call a "Lifer". I grew up rolling my underwear to place in my drawers, with my name marked on everything, and reading the Bluejacket's Manual for fun. My father would often prepare food at home because my mother had few domestic skills, having been a professional singer my father met after just having joined the Navy. I now see where some of his food choices came from, particularly the "SOS" which we had all the time at home. Whenever I have it now, it still brings back memories of my father.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse of how my Dad must have eaten his meals aboard ship. I used to get to go onto the base with him at Norfolk later in his career when I was a little kid, and we sometimes ate with his fellow Chiefs. I remember the food from the 1970's on base that we had looking much more like it had been prepared in a good diner. I particularly remember as a kid seeing these huge metal containers filled with ice cream. Thanks for doing this.
Great video Master Chief. From a retired 23yr AF ex cook,,,,,,I thank you Sir.
Grandpa was airforce. I grew up with my grandma tying socks in knots and rolling underwear. I now do the same and fold/roll anything cloth to get it into a smaller package to pack. I was able to pack almost two weeks worth of clothes, a couple of blankets, a pillow, and my dog's three day emergency supplies, into a duffle bag.
My Mom and Dad both served in WWII (Dad was in Europe with the Army, Mom at Hickam Field, Hawaii with the Civil Service). As a kid, I was raised on lots of recipes that came from that time in their lives: Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, Spam and eggs, etc... The only "old fashioned" thing that wasn't common at our table was rutabagas, as Dad got his fill & more of those as a German POW.
I wondered who would eat those things.
Thanks, watching this and your other ones helps me understand and picture better some of my grandpa's stories of life with the Seabees in WW2. He died a long time ago, so watching these helps bring back some of the memories of his stories, pictures, and different cool things he had collected. He went on to build a lot of bridges which he was very proud of. I miss driving around with him and passing or driving over things he built. It made me always notice things like that.
Navy during the 60's. Every place I was stationed served SOS at least once a week, often in tandem with other choices. My favorite chow hall was Brunswick Maine, the chef in charge always published a menu with phrasing that occasionally required translation; savory chipped beef in a creamy bechamel sauce over golden toast points was one of my favorites. My kids grew up reciting that when I served SOS. Always reserved for a weekend breakfast unless requested.
"golden toast points" Perfect!
My dad (WWII USN) had many "awesome" stories of navy chow... but he also brought several recipes home to my mother! Awesome series!
Coastie here, 1960s era, food on large cutters was generally quite good but it depended on your cook and the supply officer. most of our meat was sourced from the Navy but other items were bought locally. I was an officer but the wardroom food was paid for by us, not the government and some mess presidents (usually the XO) would cheap out. Generally our food was better served (plates and linen) but not a lot different than in the crew mess. I never heard many complaints from the enlisted crew about food, either quality or quantity. We had a lot of storage capacity and the newer vessels had very good refrigeration meaning you could keep food very cold without freezing, we'd have fresh milk three weeks out on patrol. My son is Army and those meals will never be ready to eat. Army food is bad. go Navy.
I am somewhat of a history buff and while some might find the food aboard ships in times past to be more than a little rough, food ashore at those times for common people wasn't all that good or that plentiful. A lot of beer was served but remember that beer was clean unlike the water in the ship's tanks, ugh! A lot of shore water sources weren't all that good either. Making beer requires a source of good water and the mash is boiled (killing the little buggers). The Brits also served 'grog' a rum mixture. There was a daily ceremony with the authorized quantity of rum being poured, followed by the lime juice, and this was followed with ship's water (I hope they boiled it first). The juice was to prevent scurvy, the rum was to encourage the sailors to drink it, and the water made it less potent. It wasn't a fancy cocktail but what else did they have?
Thank You Fellow Veteran for your Service .
John on wives computer. Former Coastie also '63 to '67. Good food on a lifeboat station and aboard a CG Cutter. The best food I had in the service was the hospital side mess hall at Great Lakes Naval Tracen when training as a corpsman. It was an award winning mess with astounding variety morning, noon and night. Even had a salad bar. If you leave a Navy mess and claim you are still hungary then it is your own damm fault!
My cousin was telling me about being able to get fresh-made clam chowder on board an aircraft carrier. Any truth to that?@@bethcooper4200
Hi Chief! Thanks for the great post. My father was USNA class of '54. He was a submariner for 26 years. We moved a lot! Fourteen moves by the time I graduated from high school in 1977. BTW Long ago, I had one of those 'no handle' coffee cups, and it was my absolute favorite! I think it had a colored rim though, green or blue.? After high school, my Dad gave me a 'lead' for a dish washing job at the enlisted mess hall at the Groton Sub Base. We fed around 2,000 sailors in less than an hour, morning, noon and night. I was a busy dish washer!
My dad was a Navy cook during WW2 and ate quite a few of the Navy recipes growing up. He served us SOS quite often I think it was one of his favorites. He liked the mincemeat sandwiches with coffee.
He used to make meatloaf with boiled eggs in the center. Anyone ever had that one before?
My grandpa liked SOS and talked about eating it during WWII. My grandma finally made it one night after me asking over and over again how it tasted. I loved it.
My mother made it just like the Navy. I LOVED creamed chip beef on toast. Still eat it from Stauffer's not as good as mom and the Navy but close.
Saw further down that a Commissary during Vietnam served SOS with biscuits. Biscuits are good for EVERYTHING!!!!! Now I'm real hungry.
One more thing, my father-in-law was an engineering officer in oil and gasoline tankers for Atlantic-Richfield during the war. After the war he joined the Navy. He also loved SOS and would order it at every diner we went to. He was a great guy!!! Had a record of sea chanty's that he'd listen to.
Master chief, my father was a Vietnam ( USAF) vet. I grew up with sos from him on a Saturday regular basis & still love it today
Thank you for your service sir
Retired CWO4 (1962-1984). SOS was a good breakfast filler. I was raised on Oleo and never ate butter until I joined the Navy. The only food I couldn't eat in the Navy was the greasy pork chops or chop suey. On the last ship, I was on, the cooks did a great job on liver and onions which several officers in the wardroom hated, so I ended up with several on my plate. As a PO3, I remember the cooks fixing some fried oysters for a couple officers who were sampling the crew's mess. We were on the edge of a typhoon, and the junior officers being a little green ran out of the mess hall. So, I said, "don't throw them out, I'll eat them." And, I did, but nobody would sit near me. I never got seasick.
CW04 from 62 to 84. Must have some interesting stories
Never been in the Navy, but growing up in the 50s and 60s, those were the trays we ate off of in school. What memories!
Thanks for your service!
Public Schools in Hawaii all had the Steel Trays during the same time in the Cafeterias...
Congratulations on your career Master Chief . I served 68/72 tad on dry dock Rosie cva 42 on her return from nam.did a year in Guantanamo,then HS-5 out of Quonset Point RI ,deploying. On carrier’s.We always ate good esp. at home port.enjoy your videos,thanks for your service !
Interesting, spent just about 30 years myself. One of the things that sticks in my head relative to metal trays, coffee cups and milk glasses was the necessity to place a dampened napkin under such items to keep them from sliding around due to ship movement. This was when I was on an old DD. I won't go into detail but I only have the use of one arm and I still use that technique today under my plate at restaurants when I'm cutting food and the plate won't stand still for me.
"mess hall"! The old sailing ship period nomenclature carries on.
I was on a DDG 63-65. When I saw the picture of the metal tray, the dampened napkins was my first thought.
Thank You Fellow Veteran for your Service .
@@lorengitthens8364 Thank You Fellow Veteran for your Service .
@@robertl.fallin7062 Mess deck
My dad was an AF flyer and one time found himself stuck in Goose Bay, Labrador due to a winter storm. He was killing time in the chow hall when the cook recognized him as “the guy who had 3 helpings of SOS”. He asked dad if he wanted to learn how to make it . . . 60+ years on, that wonderful recipe survives and thrives in our family!
Hello Master Chief...great video. Brought back a lot of memories. I am Master Chief John Sparks, U. S. Navy Retired. I was a cook, enlisting in June 1963 just days after graduating from a two-year Commercial Cooking course. I went to a ship and stayed under cover for a year and a half, working on the deck force (and liking it.) Eventually I was sent to mess cooking, and I hated it so much I became a cook striker just to get off that job. Anyway, I served aboard six ships, made master chief in nineteen years and had to extend three years to actually sew it on. My most proud moment...being awarded First Place in Large Ashore category in the NEY Awards in 1983 (I think.) I was the Officer-in-Charge of the EDF on RTC Great Lakes for two and a half years, feeding 10,600 sailors PER MEAL The key to that was...I had a great FSO, a mustang LT named Jim Kuensinger, who turned me loose and left me alone to do the job. I have a lot of knowledge about cooks and Navy Food Service. I also know a lot about the old Navy recipes. Keep it up, buddy!
You had a smart LT.
Too many code words to know what the heck you're talking about.
My uncle was a cook on a sub in WWII He was character who liked to carouse. When he found out the cook was the only one guaranteed to go ashore (to order food and supplies) at any given port of call he said "that's the job for me". When I was a kid he cooked many a Thanksgiving dinner at his house. Sure miss him. BTW: Got to have a Navy Bean Soup demo! We still make it regularly just the way he made it.
In the early 70’s while at NAS Chase Field and fresh out of PN “A” School and after getting out of “X” division, in the Admin Bldg, E-3’s and below were responsible for the CO’s coffee mess. There was a duty rotation with a PO3 responsible for the mess. The junior PO3 in the division was the Petty Officer of the CO’s coffee mess and got the calls from the admin officer when the coffee did not meet the standard. I was the last coffee mess P.O. when the drip coffee maker was purchased for the CO’s office.
We had SOS at boot camp. At Chase in the mid 70’s, we had the only 24 hour galley on a shore station. Since we were an advanced jet training center, the command tried to emulate a carrier. The food was always good. SOS was served occasionally and it was the ground beef version. The “E” club was about 50 yards from the galley. The perfect end to Friday or Saturday night at the club. Our mess was named for “Doris Miller.”
My dad was Navy in the late 50's and early 60's. He loved SOS and had my mother fix it at least once per month. I grew up eating and loving it. I have been making it for my family using the same recipe my dad gave my mother over 60 years ago. Good stuff.
My dad was a Master Chief in the US Coast Guard. One day he took me and my older brother to the base and came out of the Officers Club with two small cartons of milk and 2 egg salad sandwiches... the egg salad was not on bread, it was in hot dog buns. I still make it the same way today. Thanks for the videos really enjoy them
I love how Master Chief tries to sound French when describing the recipes.I served on Enterprise in the late 80’s and ate SOS once a week. Great stuff. My other breakfast favorite,especially out to sea, was spam over rehydrated hash browns with a couple of scoops of scrambled eggs mixed in.
Mr. Lyons sir I can tell you even cooks try to sound French when we are cooking.....or we did when I was in today I couldn't tell you because pc and what not
That sounds like ambrosia!
YES!! I was never in the military, but at some time in my childhood I was fed spam and eggs over hash, and it ended up as one of my fave hearty meals to make in cold weather. Also split pea and ham soup, lobscouse, (basically beef or lamb stew with lots of potatoes and veggies) and ghetto as it may sound, Spaghetti mixed with butter and 1 to 2 cans of Campbell's tomato soup. 1 can for 500g, 2 for 1kg of spaghetti. It has to be Campbell's, it tastes like dogshit with a generic soup. The butter transforms it into something special. Top with parm and enjoy!
I was aboard the Ranger, cook in an A-6 squadron. Heading back to San Diego following RimPac 86 he had a Tomcat in the hangar in the livery of one of Enterprise's squadrons and a tarp over the canopy. The AD1 who was in charge of the cleaning crew told us that it had lit both seats upon trapping. He was wrong but it took me years to learn the truth.
The real story was that the RIO had his uniforms in a garment bag in the area behind the seat. Because they were going straight-and-level from the base to the the ship they had permission to do this. After they landed and both aviators had undone their harnesses the RIO reached back for the bag, but the clotheshanger hook caught on the loop of the Eject handle. To save you the trouble of trying to sort out what came next, let me say that if you are sitting in a Zero Zero ejection seat, are not strapped in, and it fires you are not surviving.
Great video Master Chief!
I often wondered why the Navy coffee mugs didn't have handles..I thought it had to do with maximizing the storage space aboard ship. I have one myself, and use it quite frequently.
Thank you for you 30 years of service to the the U.S. Navy!
S.O.S. on midnight chow was the best, especially if you were out on a cold flightline all night.
Once they put handles on the coffee cups the Chiefs developed arthritis in there index finger.
In the Coast Guard the one day that the chow hall was always packed was when we had SOS. Coast Guard SOS was more like the Marine version, but I also had a lot of the navy version, which was also excellent.
Thanks master chief!
Semper Paratus!
I was assigned 1 week mess cook duty NOB Norfolk while awaiting completion of construction USS Pharris DE1094. I was fortunate to be assigned to the butcher shop which was run by a little Pilipino 2nd class named Oscar. My duties for the day consisted of reporting in the morning to find a list detailing the days requirements, I was responsible to pull all of the items from stores and deliver to the butcher shop and I was done for the day. Gravy, right. One day while rummaging through the freezers pulling stock I came across a dogs frozen body wrapped in plastic and my mind immediately assumed that little SOB was feeding us dog meat. Next day I inquired of Oscar what a dog was doing in the meat locker and he explained the dog had bitten someone and was rabid so it was being held in storage until such time as an autopsy could be performed. The Navy, it's not just a job, it's an adventure.
Well, at least it wasn’t SOMEBODY in the reefer you found. We had “remains” in the reefer flat on occasion.
Think it was his personal food
Michael, that was PRICELESS (Still LMAO). And yes, it WAS an ADVENTURE!
YES, Pilipinos eat dog, but only if it has black fur.
You were the "Jack of the Dust".
Hi Master Chief! I am a believer that these old traditional Navy dishes, when made from raw ingredients, are the better tasting than their pre-processed modern "healthier" versions. Maryland fried Chicken. I seen this dish in the UK in a restaurant. Who knows where it was invented and what inspired it. Perhaps the cooks about the USS Maryland BB-46. Lastly, the SOS...I avoid that dish do the appearance until I invite someone on a tiger cruise, who served in the Navy in the early 1960's. This was the dish he had been craving for 20 years. His enthusiasm for it made me try it. Never avoid again; it was placed into regular rotation. Thanks for your postings.
There's no way in the world we could get a photo of four skinny sailors eating anymore.
Go to Europe for a month and when you return you notice the BALOON PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE!
I spent 7years in the navy (Seventh Fleet), that s.o.s. was my favorite breakfast. I always went back for seconds.
@Stormy Fourwolves44 Small world Stormy. Made my first Westpac in '63. During those eight months my young wife was (secretly) servicing the entire Seventh Fleet (something about the uniform). Three days before my ship returned (Alameda pier 3) she thought it wise to weigh anchor and so set off for parts unknown. Haven't seen her since.
@@SailorSam41 Westpac widow lol!
@@BOOMER-rs5qn She was my high school sweetheart Stormy. Father was a deacon of the church. When we sang hymns sharing a book together she would harmonize and the beauty would my melt my heart.
I never saw it coming. I was removed from all duties and wandered the ship day and night. Didn't think I'd ever get over it, but somehow through the years it's managed to fade. Till your post that is, where you brought it all back. Now it feels like it just happened yesterday, only there are no decks to wander, no scuttlebutts to pause and drink from.
Only kidding Stormy. What I wrote is all true - except the part about you bringing the pain back. She's passed on a few years ago and the pain is gone. If you remember what it was like on the ship, this kind of stuff went on all the time. "Go down the sail locker son, and tell 'em we need 6 feet of water line, and hurry!"
You got a 44 in your name. If I get your meaning right, I'm a 1/31/43. 78 coming up. 😎
My dad was a Marine in Korea (out long before I was born.). I loved SOS as a child (and giggled when my parents told me what it stood for) but ours was always Hormel dried beef. Yummy! As an adult my wife can't stand it but I make it for myself several times a year. A little splash for Worcestershire and a couple of drops of A1 and onion powder and just a dash of cayenne while dissolving the roux... Heaven!
don't forget the Texas Pete!
As an Army career guy, I took an interest in Naval history while visiting the USS Cairo restoration at Vicksburg National Battlefield run by the National Park Service. I found it interesting that even back in the Civil War that each sailor was issued a glass bottle with a cork, and inside the bottle was some sort of pepper sauce, probably similar in purpose to the little Tobasco bottles that used to be in the MRE's. That would make any bland meal like Navy Beans better. Bought one as a souvenir. Enjoy your show.
I loved SOS when in the Air Force. Hats off to all the cooks in whatever service!
my dad loved sos as well,he was air force 1955/1965
Hey Chief, SSG Army Engineer Hvy Cbt Retired here; had sos every morning in regulars in the mid 70’s with a couple eggs over and home fries washed down with a big hot mug of coffee. Man I’ll tell you you could run a D-7 dozer all morning with that in your belly
You brought back lots of memories of better happier times
Thanks for your service and memories
I served in the Navy from June 67 to June 73, and I thought the chow was pretty good. SOS was a favorite of most of the guys. This video brings back many memories from long ago.
I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of food served at the Lemoore (California USA) Naval Air Station Enlisted Dining Facility in 1976. I was a civilian attending college at Fresno State, when a dorm roommate had a friend stationed at Lemoore; where I accommodated the roommate's request to pick up his friend at Lemoore for a weekend visit to Fresno State.
That Naval enlisted guy was a cook for the Enlisted Dining Facility, and when I showed up, the Naval guy got permission from the watch commander for me to go through the chow line, as I had short hair at the time, making me look like an enlisted guy in civilian clothes.
What the food lacked with visual aesthetics, it made up for being _absolutely delicious;_ with unlimited servings. Best of all, no indigestion afterwards.
I previously heard that Naval chow was one of the best among the armed services, and my experience at that Naval Air Station made a believer out me.
While on the USS Forrestal CVA-59 (68-72) we were provided with normal dinnerware (ceramic plates, cups etc.) for a moral boost ( nice touch). Unfortunately, a mess cook went nuts and from the scullery began tossing decks of plates out the door into the hallway adjoining the mess deck. Attempts to arrest the poor soul were met with a stack of dishes. He broke every dish he could get his hands on. Next day we were back to trays and we never saw that mess cook again (I never saw him again).
Had the metal trays on my frigate. Good thing, the way we rocked and rolled! 😉
The MAs probably chucked him into the sea! LOL
Ahoy Master Chief. I served aboard the USS Nimitz CVN 68 during Desert Storm. I was an HT in the Hab shop and we took extra special care of the cooks. In order to have your whatsit fixed you had to fill out a chit and wait for the apples to grow onto the trees. But we told the cooks just call us directly and we would ALWAYS be right there. Kissing the hand that feeds you does pay its dividends. There were many times we received a cookie sheet the size of Montana with a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MOUNTAIN on it. Plus being the Hab shop we had our own washer and dryer which always pays off! There was always really good food served up on the Nimitz (oh the pork adobo). The cooks are the heart blood of the Military God Bless You All!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
As a Marine, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The S.O.S. brought back fond memories at a field kitchen in the Winter during Infantry training. Man it was fricken cold! That S.O.S. was a godsend! The Tabasco I saved, sealed the deal. Great chow! Good video Master Chief. My compliments.
Wow....VERY, very impressive ! I love the research here....now if I could only get my wife to prepare some of these meals for me ! Keep it comin'....
I served in the USN from 7/11/1958
To 3/13/1968 as Stewardman cook
For only Officers on board ships. The
Menu on board ships in the enlisted
Rank had so many changes in 1950’s, I never had this kind preparation on board ships.1960’s
Had so much changes in Navy meals because the Navy has got more budgets and all provision are
Cheap also meat and seafood
Provision.. The Navy has a great
Food espcially on board ships.
After 10 yrs in the Army i cant count how many times i ate SOS for morning meal =) and still do one of the best breakfast items. Thanks for the great video and Thank you for your service Master Chief from an old Staff Sgt
My dad was a SeaBee. My wife's dad was a "Iwo-Marine". She & I enjoy "SOS" at least once a month. Had it many times growing up.
My dad was a retired CPO. Every Sunday before church we had SOS! He fixed it USN style... Real comfort food!
Just found ur channel. The topic of meals is such an overlooked aspect of military life that's hardly ever mentioned. Great job of documenting the history of food in the military! 👏
EX IC2 here-Served on a Nimitz class carrier and Aegis Guided missile cruiser. HIGHEST respect for Navy cooks!-John in Texas
This is Kirk disabled vet US Navy. I cooked on a USS canopus as34 I should have stayed in but I got married and got out. Salute to the chief. God bless
My dad was in the Marines ( 2nd division ) in WW2. When I was a kid , we ate budget things for dinner. One thing I can remember was chipped beef on toast. My dad was quite a cook making that.😄
Creamed chipped beef on toast is one of my favorite dishes...just give me plenty! Also, chicken-a-la-king over white rice. Now it's hard to find these things in a store, and when you do, it's canned or frozen.
A little thing never talked about; I was on the USS Ricketts from 77 to 81. We were the first Atlantic based ship in the Persian Gulf as we were visiting Karachi Pakistan. We joined the La Salle a day later. No one was expecting this stuff to happen. I was assigned to my three months of mess cooking at this time. We started running out of food. We went to half rations and then third rations. They broke out the Alpo. A canned meat that looked exactly like (and may have been) Alpo. So some of our meals were Alpo and crackers washed down with bug juice. Since I was mess cooking I had access to the reefer decks. They were empty except for a few boxes of yeast. Some people would eat a cube of yeast to feel full. We arrived in early November and the carrier task group showed up in March. The first pallet of food, delivered by helo, was lettuce and oranges. Neither made it below decks. They were both eaten by the crew.
Months later after our return in April, the Nimitz showed up and Norfolk (and Jimmy Carter) turned out to honor their sacrifice. I remember being disgusted when stories were printed about the crew of the Nimitz running out of ice cream and losing their Frisbees over the side. I made sure that I was not on the base that day since I didn't want to wear dress blues for either the Nimitz or Carter.
I was in the Navy 50 years ago. For some reason I loved midrats. We also called it slum gullium. They take everything that was left over from the day's meals, throw it in a kettle, heat it up and you get to eat all you want and then hit the rack.
Found this to be extremely interesting !! 👍👍.
Could you do additional videos on the military food from other Navy's around the world please ! 🙏
SOS was so well-liked in the Air force that I remember getting up at 6 AM on a Sunday and trudging through 3ft. of snow at Lowry AFB in
Denver (1960), because one of the chow halls was serving it that day. In fact, I have some in the freezer right now;. Yum-m-m!
My dad was in the Marines during WW2. When I was a kid we used to eat SOS every once in a while. It was great.
I was an infantryman in the Army for 9 years. In the field we usually had MREs but sometimes hot “A” meals from the mess trailer. These guys cooked in the rain, snow, dark, you name it but the food was always very good, amazing if you’d consider the conditions it was prepared in and huge quantities needed. The mess hall food, which later we had to call “dining facility” was consistently excellent sometimes amazing. At work these days, people frequently ask me about the Army and what it was like being a grunt but usually they ask about the food. They always are surprised when I say the food was very good as they assume it was slop. It kind of pisses me off people think that the Army would purposely feed the troops bad food. As an officer, had that ever occurred I would make an issue of it and would speak to the battalion commander in a second in any of the units I was in. I never had to do that because I know that any commander would rip the throat out of a mess sergeant that didn’t put out good chow. It never happened because the food is a point of constant command emphasis and you just don’t do that to troops. Besides, the officers eat the same food, we just eat it last and usually cold - especially in the field. I don’t know about other eras but from 81 to 90 Army chow was very good.
One funny thing about field chow as I always ate last was I would get whatever was left after troops went through. Sometimes dinner was 10 pieces of chicken, another day it would be a pound of bacon and half a loaf a bread and another an entire cobbler. I got used to weird meals like that but it was always better than a MRE. Good times... 😀
In the British Military Legend was Feed the Animals first,The Men then, the Officers!
I'm pretty sure the breakfast we got in the field was where Dr Seuss got the idea for green eggs and ham from.
2/58 Infantry 75-79
Oh and BTW, our brigade commander decided to have hit chow with us in the field on one exorsize. He was so appalled at the food he had them bring C-rats out and apologized to us for the miserable job our cooks did and further promised to make it right the next day. He kept his word and the next day the cooks were barbequing burgers, dogs and steaks with fresh salads.
Normally our cooks were great. Breakfasts in the mess hall were always my favorite. Some of our cooks did exchange training with militaries from other countries. France and germany were just a couple. But I'm telling you, we had a couple military cooks who were stereotypes. Overweight, dirty and clearly just didn't give a crap. Others were as professionally geared as any other MOS in the Army.
Marine cooks made even spam taste wonderful.
@@keinokfarang851 I still eat Spam
@@fordfan3179 I see there are new flavors,need to try some.
Thank you, Master Chief. Served in the Greek Marines. I found your presentation interesting and was surprised thinking the "chow" served on American ships in the early 1900s would be unappetizing. God keep you well, Sir.
Thanks! I enjoyed this. I was a cook for a naval base for 3 years as a civilian for MWR. I enjoyed this job immensely!❤
I worked in the dirty shirt wardroom on the Carl Vinson in '83 and the EDF on the California from 84-86. I think we put out decent chow on the California despite coppers that didn't shut off and convection ovens that were out of calibration. We just put our heads down, and put out the meal. Breakfast was my favorite meal to serve. I worked the griddle for eggs and home fries and the fryers for fritters. I can't believe you never ate SOS even on the messdecks, Master Chief. Anyway, great content.
I've seen several videos on Navy meals and they all look
like slop compared to what we were served when I was in.
I guess I was lucky because every meal was spectacular
compared to what they are showing online. We did eat
allot of roast beef but we also had steak and lobster every
Friday. Breakfast was the best, with eggs or omelets made
any way you wanted, bacon, sausages, pancakes, waffles,
hot syrup, melted butter, fresh fruit, 3 different kinds of bread,
orange juice, milk, tea, coffee and you could go back as many
times as you wanted for more.
They had two lines for lunch; one where you got a turkey dinner
with gravy and vegetables for example and a fast food line where
you could get a hamburger or shrimp , fries etc. and of course
both had soft drinks if you wanted.
They didn't have these pre-made hash-brown patties etc they
have now or dinky little fruit cups.. Everything was fresh and
made that day and coffee was available 24 hours. Also we
used plates not trays.
My husband says the same thing. 😆
I think Navy chow has gotten better over the years but you'll notice that I took some of these recipes from some pretty old Navy cookbooks - of times when fresh wasn't as easily available.
These days, the Navy tries to accommodate the more sophisticated pallettes that sailors have today. More of an emphasis on presentation and healthy eating. Today's galleys don't have deep fat fryers in them. Which as an MS, I don't miss. Fryers were a PITA to clean.
I am ex ARA (Australian Regular Army). It is interesting how the recipes, quality of the rations and the messes have changed over the years. Still, fresh rations beats a ration pack anyday. Thankyou for posting the vid. I have a nephew in the RAN and he swears by the rations the sailors eat in the messes on board.
One of my favorite childhood memories is eating Great Uncle John's SOS, which after retirement from the Navy and then another round of government service he modified to his taste. After spending about 40 years cooking for Uncle Sam (retiring as CPO) he still enjoyed cooking. Seems remarkable to me. But I guess he figured he had the skill to make things the way he wanted. Thanks for sharing this.
I went into the Air Force in 1968 and they served us S.O.S. each morning for breakfast along with eggs and bacon/sausage on the side. I never tried S.O.S. until I entered tech school after boot camp and the meals at that base was so bad until I began eating breakfast each day and not missing a meal due to the better quality, especially after going to Thailand the first time. During the main holidays we received great food there, but upon returning to the U.S. the food was bad again. It didn't improve until after the Air Force began hiring civilian chefs to train their food personnel how to cook good meals. McChord AFB, Washington had the best food I ever ate in the military and the next best was the Navy meals they served at Andrews AFB, MD.
I drive by McChord frequently but never catch a whiff of any cooking
I was a cook in the Coast Guard, I've definitely made Maryland Fried Chicken and S.O.S. MANY times ( our SOS was always made with ground beef though ). We use the Armed Forces Recipe Service on recipe cards as our "cookbook" and a major part of SS ( Subsistence Specialist ) school was doing recipe conversions ( the math to exponentiate your ingredients to the amount of portions variable to the crew being served off of the base recipe for 100 portions ).
Denny's used to had "Maryland fried chicken" on their menu for awhile back in the 1980's I think. But it was somewhat different. The coating was darker, fairly firm, and had a hearty flavor I could never identify. Perhaps a bit "nutty" or something. And it had a light gravy on top. It was a large chicken breast with the bone and was quite good. Seemed better than the usual choice of dinner entrees there.
@@trainliker100 hey, my grandson is crazy for 'chicken fingers', I've been around for a good bite and never met a chicken with 'fingers', must be some kind of mystery meat. Sounds like Denny's was giving you the whole breast, the bones add flavor to the meat, I'm freaking sick of boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken.
@@henryostman5740 And then there is the question of just what part of the chicken is the "nugget".
I was in the Army during the Vietnam era and in country May 1968-May 1969. Not in a line combat unit, though.
At breakfast I usually ate fried eggs because I knew they weren't powdered. I ate SOS when it was served.
In the mid 1970's -1980's I used to go to dinner meetings and we usually had "Chicken Maryland" (it was the least cost banquet entrée). It was a boneless chicken breast with a bread crumb coating. We usually had mashed potatoes and green beans with it. Quite a few years later I was in Baltimore with my girlfriend, saw on the menu at a restaurant, and ordered it. Completely different.
Every big occasion in the Navy had one of two menus: the Steamship Round menu, or the Surf and Turf menu.
Thanks Master Chief, reliving some memories now from my time in the Navy in the late 80's. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light Three Six Mayport Florida. Two deployments, one each onboard USS John Rodgers DD983 and USS Gallery FFG26.
I served in the Army for three years and we always had the creamed hamburger on biscuits or toast. The ONLY time I had chipped beef on toast was at Treasure Island, compliments of the Navy while I was separating from the service after my tour in Korea.
It was darn good!
AS a Commissaryman, we prepared Creamed Ground Beef the majority of the time. Creamed Chipped Beef would show on the menu on occasion as would Minced Beef. Of the three, Minced Beef was my least favorite. It was made with tomatoes and mace. MSCS, USN, Ret.
Navy Commissaryman 2nd class here. Yes the ground beef with tomatoes and mace, remember it well.
My Dad was MM3rd on US Endymion. He would "whistle" us to dinner each night. You could hear that whistle a mile away. SOS is nostalgia.
I’m a boomer and in the sixties all the men mostly where in WW2 and since everybody worked 9 to 5 all families pretty much ate at the same time about 6.00pm well we’d be playing about three blocks away and our neighbor would stand on the porch and whistle we’d all look at each then hightail it home for super time and you better not be late because we always or I should say that dad would say grace then we would eat. If you came in late and everyone started and you missed the prayer before, lookout🤪🤪🤪🤪
My SOS: Rinse dried beef in cold running water (cuts down on the salt). No need to dry.
Cut up in small 1/4" squares. I put about two tablespoons
salted or not salted
butter in a skillet and melt. Add beef stir, and then 3 big tablespoons flour,
I add white pepper, stir till all flour is mixed with beef. Add milk. Maybe 1 1/2- 2 cups.
Thicken. Serve over toast, biscuits, hash browns, or corn bread. Easy and fast.
Great videos Master, on the JFK enroute to Lebanon in 81, I think, we had a catapult fire with fatalities. The bodies stored in the freezer until they could be removed. I know that menus are made far in advance, but we had barbecue ribs for evening chow, hardly any was eaten, but the fish were happy that night.
Chief, if you had never eaten shit on a shingle when you were in for 30 years it had to be a choice because as I remember it was served on board that Adams class destroyer I was on at least 4-5 times a week. Of course you probably ate in more chow halls with better facilities than we had s you probably had more choices. Just wanted to tell you I really enjoy your channel, it brings back a lot of memories.
Best mess hall ever ate in was at Mare Island, Calif. in the early 1980s. Five different entree choices each meal! I put on weight during my three months of tech school there.
Norfolk's mess hall was pretty good too.
What was the Charles f Adams’s like?
@@lancerevell5979 I went to a “C” school on Mare Island in 1969, and that was choice duty!
@@lelandgaunt9985 served on the HMAS Hobart, not bad ships but they rolled on a wet sponge in comparison to a British designed ship.
I served aboard the USS Toledo { CA 133 } in the 1950s. we still had those C rats hard tac crackers served on mid rats with veg. soup I liked them a lot. wish I could buy them today. The food was PDG on the Toledo. We had those steel trays too. Love your Blog. Thanks for your service Master Chief.
I've tried to explain the iconic handle-less mug and it's place in shipboard history. I only served eight years and change but also never saw S.O.S, a dish I happen to love. Thanks for the memories, Master Chief.
Craig Slusher
USS Josephus Daniels, CG-27
"World's Finest Guided Missile Cruiser"
SOS was the first meal I ever had when I enlisted into the Air Force. Back in the 60's, You would arrive at Lackland Air Force Base at about 2200 hrs. The bus would enter the base and drive for what seemed like an hour turning constantly. You would be politely de bussed by an attendant Training Instructor with a very high volume voice which you couldn't help but follow. (That's the voice of Leadership LOL) After standing and being berated for a couple of hours, and reacquainted with your personal family history that you were unaware of, that was called in processing. you were then marched to the chow hall which was a very long distance and fed Midnight chow. A generous amount of SOS with a glass of milk. Very good I might say. Then you were marched to your barracks and gently put to bed at about 0145 hrs. Did I mention that 0530 hrs was wake up call LOL I still miss the service to this day and the great people I met and come to know and respect. The draft days brought a great cross section of people of all races, economic realities, and political, backgrounds together, and required them to work it all out as a team. We did.
Went in the early 70s. Same experience at Lackland. Would not trade those days for anything. By the way, AF chow halls were (and I hope still are) the best.
@@utubecustomer0099805 They were great, but it was like eating at a restaurant every day. Made you miss home cooking, LOL I also really liked Army Mess. Great chow in those as I remember.
I loved SOS in ground beef as a n Infantryman. Cold weather, hot, or anywhere. Honestly the Army or possibly the Marines. Marine guys correct me if I am wrong. Breakfast in the field starting 0530. Hot green eggs, 2 slices of bacon, round pork sausage, hot to be cold hash browns, one apple or orange for fruit, Beverage is military coffee, orange, or apple juice. Lunch is either C-Rats or MREs depending what era. Dinner or supper is either C-Rats or MREs, but from my experience is. Pork chops with rice or mashed potatoes with green beans. Hamburger patties with the same, chicken breasts with the same. This was in Mermite contained foods. Later in the 80s they came in complete trays known as T-Rats. They came in gigantic tray cans each to feed a squad of 8-10 guys for each meal tray. They came in as breakfast units, lunch, and dinner units. It was easier to feed Grunts in he field. I ate them with a sense of humor. Really i did find my favorites along the way. The T-Rats in the late 80s and early 90s I really liked. For breakfast was Eggs and Ham, Sausage Links,, lunch and dinner was Chicken Breast, Turkey, Beef Stew, Beef BBQ, Chicken Stew, and what was like Meat Loaf? I ate some of these during the Panama Invasion with no problems. During Iraq I had always good food and never ate many MREs during combat or convoys. But I always pick out my favorites when times got shitty. The Navy will always eat better than their Marines or Army Soldiers in the field. The Navy has the best cooks or CSs in the US Armed Forces.!! Their Filipino Chefs are the best US Armed Forces wide!! They are the best Culinary Specialists in the world! They are the best in the US Navy!!!
The best advice I ever had was to join the Navy and get into aviation! Aircraft carriers ride out storms much smoother than small ships. Navy chow was always the best!
I was a MS2. Never worked in the galley except for 2 weeks supporting a sea cadet boot camp. I did learn to work and repair a switchboard with cables in the BOQ.
SOS was probably retired due to bad press, but my mom served it to us as kids at least once per week. Dad had been in Korea in the army and he liked the stuff. I cannot say I miss it at all. Thanks for the nostalgia!
I am surprised you didn't mention beans and horsecock. That was a standard of our midrats when underway.
Yes!
A search brings up results that aren't food. What's beans and horsecock?
@@TheBigMclargehuge, on my ship it was a pot of white beans (navy beans?) with half inch to one inch chunks of kielbasa or smoked sausage. There may have been other ingredients like onions, but I do not recall.
Wish my father was still here to talk to him about this subject. Served both on the four stack destroyers and re enlisted for WW II. Would probably have quite an opinion on this. Tks Chief for this video.
Thoughly enjoyed your presentation on the history of U.S.N cooking. I was a Culinery specialist Master Chief, thanks you! I was a Watch Captain. When your hungery this food is okay. Steel-beach picnic with "surf, and turf" Great experience, I remember some of the Master Chief's, they knew how to get things done!
During the Vietnam conflict the Navy and Marine Corps used a master meal list prepared by the Navy Department. Every vessel, station or base in the Naval Service ate the same menu at the same time. Logistical good sense to be sure. The SOS then used hamburger in place of chipped beef. Every Sunday you had all the steak you could ever want. Who could forget "Potatoes O'Brian" or fried Okra. Never got Chinese, Italian or even Mexican style cuisine. The handless mugs made by Corning Glass go way back to the 1880's and were issued to all the branches of the service and not just the naval service. Great presentation and enjoyed it very much.
Come on guys......It was called ‘shit on a shingle”......... Damn good eating.
USS HANCOCK CVA 19.... 70-73
SOS For short.
We gor SOS every Thursday in Middletown Hospital looked like Puke!
The Chief was simply trying to be polite. lol
U.S.S. HANCOCK (CVA-19) 1973-75. Medical.
My maternal grandfather, who came off of a farm in North Dakota and served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific during the War, always called it "One-horse cavalry."
Back in 81 to 89 when I was floating around on Uncle Sam's dime what I remember most is the garbage meat meals we had to save mess money for a monthly steak and lobster dinner.Rabbit,mutton,greaseiest sausage known to man,boiled corn beef.
Us Navy Mark 1 Mod 0 Mystery Meat! 😉
Remember it was Hash for one meal, and creole spaghetti for the next!
My dad served in the USN in the Pacific during WWII. He made a dish very similar to SOS but instead of beef he tossed in tuna. He also added canned peas as well. He served it over toast. There were five kids to feed and I don’t remember anyone complaining.
I started my career in 1972 and retired a Chief Electronics Tech (SW) after doing my twenty. Every ship I served on the Wardroom had its Silver Service set provided by the sponsor city of the ship. The Wardroom also had their own personalized china service usually identified by the ship's seal. The use of trays went out when the word got around that only institutions like prisons used trays. When they did switch to plastic trays for a short time they found that they couldn't get them hygienically clean because they were porous in nature. I remember when we switched to glassware from trays. It was a whole different experience. I recall eating "steamship round" beef better than twice a week while aboard a tender. Much of these changes came about because the Navy was dealing with a higher caliber better educated person who actually volunteered their service to country. You just had to treat enlisted people better or all that investment in specialized training would walk at the end of enlistment. That's why we have family service centers and expanded MWR services now.
I wasn't in the Navy a long time (a bit under 4 years 1966-70) but at enough locations to know that food quality varied widely. It was pretty good at Great Lakes boot camp and I think that, in spite of all the marching in hot humid summer weather, most gained a few pounds there. Midway Island (technically, the "Midway Islands" comprised of Sand and Eastern islands) had excellent food. But almost never fresh milk. It was a powdered milk with an odd taste that you quickly got used to. This was also used for baking so those items had some of that odd taste. But the baking was superb. You could also eat any time of the day and somebody was always there to make eggs to order for you. On Ford Island at Pearl Harbor for a couple of weeks, again, very good food. Then to the USS Norton Sound where the food was not so good. All the more puzzling since the ship spent almost all its time at Port Hueneme, California and a typical cruise was from 9 to 5 in one day (the ship tested weapons systems and other systems). One day a minesweeper tied up to us in port and invited some of us to eat dinner with them. The food was amazingly good. I remember breaded pork chops and scratch made au gratin potatoes and fresh vegetables. We all wanted to transfer. I always did appreciate the hard work of those in the mess. While much of our work as electronics technicians was intermittent, their work was relentless, and often thankless.