Field Rations in Vietnam

   I spent twenty-seven years in the Army and one of the biggest changes that I saw was the changes in field rations. Like everyone else soldiers have to eat, and one of the most important aspects of supporting soldiers was making sure that they had food that was ‘transportable’.

I was in an unusual situation in Vietnam on my first tour. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs I lived with my Vietnamese counterparts’ family, and we ate whatever they did for two of our meals a day. The meals were served in their kitchen at first. When Lieutenant Colonel Tua took command he had a large family with younger children, and he asked if we could be served our meals in our quarters. I‘ve always thought that he was trying to be polite and not expose us to the normal issues involving the feeding of younger children. I believe that the oldest daughter living with us was thirteen. His four older children were in boarding schools in Hue or in Europe. His eldest daughter was living in Italy, and a son was at a French Military school. One of the daughters in Hue was at a Catholic convent preparing to become a nun.

Our food was excellent and as I’ve discussed in previous blogs varied and well prepared.

On my second tour at Moc Hoa we ate in a standard US Army mess hall. Our mess steward was outstanding. I don’t remember his name anymore, but he went down to the market and got fresh vegetables and fruit. He also did a lot of swapping with the Navy to make sure that we had plenty of chicken and steaks. He could also make up really good Italian dishes, and he tried to grill up steaks at least once a week.

I ate a lot of meals, especially Sunday after church, with my counterpart Major Suan. The Major’s wife and family had been killed while trying to escape from North Vietnam. The Major and his daughter survived, and his daughter was in charge of taking care of the house. If I remember she was about 17 years old. Meals at his house were very simple, but I used to enjoy going there after church with him. He was a devout Catholic. I would always try to bring a bottle of wine or cognac when I ate at his house.

As far as field rations were concerned at the very beginning of my assignment we were still using up the old C-Rations, some of which were dated in the 1940s. I think they were left over from World War II. Others we found were dated from the Korean War. But they were in good shape.

“The C-ration was, in general, not well liked by U.S. Army or Marine forces in World War II, who found the cans heavy and cumbersome, and the menu monotonous after a short period of time. There were also inevitable problems with product consistency given the large number of suppliers involved and the pressures of wartime production…Monotony also became a chief complaint after a few days of consumption…most tended to dislike the C-ration, finding the canned food items generally bland, overly soft in texture, and unappealing. Originally intended only for infrequent use, the exigencies of combat sometimes forced supply authorities to make the C-ration the only source of sustenance for several weeks in succession. Medical examinations of soldiers after long-term use of C-rations recommended that they be restricted to a maximum of five continuous days in the absence of supplementation with other rations.”

The C-Ration, developed during World War II, was a pre-cooked, canned meal designed for individual soldiers in the field. Each C-Ration contained a canned meat component, crackers, candy, and instant coffee, providing about 3,700 calories per day. This was a significant improvement in both convenience and nutrition compared to previous rations.

Our biggest complaint was that they were heavy. The ration came in a  cardboard box. When we went to the field we would take the cans out of the box and stack the cans in our extra pairs of socks. We would put the accessories in a plastic battery bag and seal them up to keep them dry.

On a couple of missions early in my first tour we were actually provided with a WWII K-Ration. The K-Ration was terrible as well as ancient; Left overs from WWII and Korea. They came in a wax covered box and the box held three separate units:

(1) Breakfast Unit: canned chopped ham and eggs, biscuits, malted milk tablets, a dried fruit bar, pre-mixed oatmeal cereal, halazone water purification tablets, a four-pack of cigarettes, Dentyne or Wrigley chewing gum, instant coffee and a tea bag, a packet of toilet paper tissues, and a sugar packet for the coffee.

(2) Dinner Unit: canned pork luncheon meat, canned cheese, biscuits, malted milk or caramel pieces, sugar and salt packet, a four-pack of cigarettes and a matchbook, chewing gum, and a powdered grape or lemonade beverage packet.

(3) Supper Unit: canned meat, beef or pork loaf, a canned biscuits, chocolate bar a packet of toilet paper tissues, a four-pack of cigarettes, chewing gum, and a beef or chicken bouillon cube to make soup. If I recall correctly there were three separate packages for each ration.  Fortunately, I think we only ate these for two or three days.

By the time we got these meals they were almost inedible. The only thing that was great about them was the free cigarettes! I didn’t smoke so I saved mine and traded them for some extra TP as well as the gum and candy. We ended up trashing most of the food, cussing out the supply guys, and chowing down with our Vietnamese counterparts.

Later we were able to get something called a LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) ration. These were dehydrated rations, and we really liked them when we could get our hands on them usually from the US Navy. For some reason they could get them, and the US Army supply system couldn’t.

They came in a cardboard box with 24 meals in eight varieties. My favorites were: Beef hash, Chicken and Rice, Beef Stew and the Chili con carne. What I liked about these meals was that they really tasted good if mixed with a can of warm beer rather than water. When we were operating out of Ap Bac on long patrols or ambush missions we usually had cans of  beer with us. When I was on my last tour in 1972-73 we usually added rainwater or boiled water to them. The worse taste was when we had to use water that was treated with the water purification tablets. That made the meals taste terrible!

There was also an accessory packet that came with the meal. These contained instant coffee, creamer, sugar, two pieces of gum, a fruit bar, a packet of toilet paper, a book of matches and four cigarettes which I hoarded and traded with our smokers!

Our Vietnamese counterparts had their own version of LRRP rations. It consisted of instant rice, dried fish or pork, ramen noodles and fish sauce. While it didn’t contain the same amount of calories as our rations they were edible an a lot easier to deal with than C-or K-Rations. They would usually catch or kill wild game in the field as well as use a variety of vegetables and fruits that could be found in the jungle or in the fields. I usually preferred to eat with my counterparts, and they were always eager to share their rations with us – we had cigarettes!

Today soldiers enjoy a wide variety of dehydrated meals called Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). They come in a wide variety of menus and range from excellent to ‘don’t bother’. They are lightweight and easily transportable. They come with their own heating element that requires a small amount of water to prepare a hot meal. The only downfall that I’ve found with MREs is the large amount of trash that they develop. But they are lighter and more appealing than any of the meals that were previously developed for field troopers.

We’ve come a long way from the old heavy cans in the C and K-Rations. MREs are a marked improvement over the old LRRP Rations with a wider variety of meals and a convenient heating system. But in the long run no soldier wants to subsist on these field rations for long periods of time. A great hot meal prepared in the dining facility is a well-deserved treat for any soldier serving in the field.

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Again please take a look at all of my books that I have listed. They can be purchased from Amazon.com with the click of a button directly from the website. Until next week, Have a good one.

The Advisor Series:

• “The Advisor, Kien Bing, South Vietnam, 1969-1970. A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B09L4X5NQ3)
• “The Province Senior Intelligence Advisor, Kien Song Province 1970-1971; A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0BHL2XCX5)
• “The Hardchargers,” Vietnam 1972-1973; A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0C7SPR1JY)
• “The Tuscarora Trail” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0D3QY2GM6)

Check out my website for other books that I’ve written or edited. Website: ptaylorvietnamadvisor.com