"Surviving on the Front Lines: The Food that Sustained" Topic

… Vietnam War Troops

"Food is a crucial aspect of military operations, playing a vital role in sustaining troops physically and mentally. In times of war, soldiers face immense physical and mental challenges, and proper nutrition is essential to ensure their well-being and combat effectiveness. The Vietnam War was no exception, with troops facing unique challenges in terms of terrain, climate, and logistics. This article will explore the challenges of feeding troops in Vietnam, the mainstay of the Vietnam War diet – C-rations, the evolution of C-rations over time, other foods that sustained troops, the role of local cuisine in feeding troops, the importance of hot meals and field kitchens, the impact of food on morale and mental health, the impact of food on physical health and combat performance, the legacy of Vietnam War food, and lessons for future conflicts…"

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Armand

I ate c rations in the 1970s and early 1080s. Never had a problem

I ate C rats in the 80's. The last one I had was older than I was!

Rat packs. A subject that has caused more arguments, debate and bad feelings than a Miss Universe contest.

In '75, when I joined, we were still getting packs from the mid- and late-60's- the same as the diggers had in VN. In theory we were supposed to get a "freshie"- a hot meal made with fresh ingredients- after 14 days on rat packs (similar to, but different to US C rations). Like the "One beer per man, per day, perhaps." ideal, it rarely happened like that (unless you were at Battalion HQ, with the cooks).

Having sampled Australian, US and Malaysian rat packs I'd say the US was least tasty, but had more food. There was a lot of sugar in US packs- beyond the "giving energy" level and into "rot your teeth in five minutes" territory- even the tinned meat tasted sweet. The Malay rat packs had some good meals- eg satay chicken that tasted like satay chicken- and excellent tinned pineapple, and had a similar amount of food to ours.

Things I try to forget about the Aussie rat packs- Corned Beef Type E; Creamy Caramel Fudge (which was useful for boiling a brew if you'd run out of hexamine tablets and/or C4); Biscuits, Breakfast (Armour Piercing); curry powder sachets (which could make most things near edible, even CB Type E); Biscuit, Jam-filled (replaced by Biscuits, Shortbread, Supposedly) and how much a hot brew can raise your morale.

Still, they could have been worse and did get betterish over the years (though they did introduce Beef Tortellini, I think in the D pack….). A Pommy (2RGJ? IIRC) bloke on exchange raved about how good our rat packs were, compared to the Brit ones. He was either insane and/or had no taste buds, or the Brit rat packs were very, very sad.

Thanks

Armand

My father spent 68 in Vietnam. HE said he would trade his rations with the local kids for coconuts. My father always hated coconut……so that says a lot about his opinion of the rations.

The oldest c-ration was a 1952 date. It was the only one that had maggots in it. That was in 1975 ROTC exercise.

Thanks also…

Armand