Subscriber Comments for
C Rations?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 331255	2012-10-14 03:07 PM
You got c's. Zip codes came into use in 62 or 63, before I saw VietNam. We did a lot of swapping. The nastiest meal was ham and lima beans, but it came with the best desert, the date-nut roll. The food came with a small pack of toilet paper, which was a treasure. There was also a pack of 4 stale cigarettes which we gave to the kids in town. Oh, the nasty food was not a total waste, with lots of Tabasco Sauce it became bean soup.
COMMENT 331259	2012-10-14 03:16 PM
Looks like botulism to me.
NATURE BOY	2012-10-14 03:24 PM
Looks military to me. Or at least government-issued. Maybe emergency rations from FEMA? Any other info on the packages, besides ingredients & manufacturer info?
COMMENT 331268	2012-10-14 03:30 PM
You found Trash!
COMMENT 331269	2012-10-14 03:30 PM
Details are always missing in these posts. WHERE did you find them? In the wilderness? Your backyard? An army supply store yesterday?
COMMENT 331270P	2012-10-14 03:32 PM
These are C rations. They are what we were issued in the late 60s in the US Marine Corp.
COMMENT 331273	2012-10-14 03:46 PM
My stash!
COMMENT 331275	2012-10-14 03:47 PM
Garbage
NATURE BOY	2012-10-14 04:09 PM
Oh be nice. Would knowing whether they were found in a garage or in an attic help you identify what they are? And you can read one of the zip codes: 37210. So tell me what THAT can is, based on that zip code. If a post doesn't meet your criteria, simply don't answer it.
COMMENT 331285	2012-10-14 04:33 PM
C-rats for sure. Saw Korean vintage in Vietnam. Box would have "entree"; often spaghetti (don't the green eggs and ham here!) and if you were lucky a can of the highly desireable peaches. Often dried crackers and gummy peanut butter (yes gummy, no yummy). Occasionally a coconut hockey puck covered in chocolate. A few sheets of industrial strength TP. Two cigarettes; those of us non-smokers would trade up for the peaches or rarer fruit cocktail. No pop tops here...needed a P-38 or knife to open. Often eaten cold...but when it was your only meal for the day it all tasted damn good.
COMMENT 331286P	2012-10-14 04:35 PM
Definitely C-rations....like previous poster stated, 60's era. I know for a fact cuz I used to eat them!....in fact, I was so poor at the time, my cat ate the tuna ones, and I ate whatever was left over. I was a civilian who happened upon a cache of these leftover from Vietnam.
COMMENT 331299	2012-10-14 04:58 PM
Definitely c rations. The nut roll was always my favorite. I take it that you smoked the pack of "4" cigarettes that were also a part of the meal. After enjoying the c rations, a nice smoke was always a delight. You could always barter the small wrap of toilet paper that was also included. If you think c rations were bad, try walking through an airport being spit on... Spec 4th class, 116th Ordinance Detachment.
COMMENT 331304P	2012-10-14 05:18 PM
331299 Thank you for your service.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-14 06:02 PM
I found sample packs of Camel non filter cigarettes from ww2 back in the 70's unopened. They were probably worth bucks but I smoked them..I was a smoker then and had no cigarettes.
COMMENT 331319P	2012-10-14 06:03 PM
Spitting on Vietnam Vets = urban legend. There are many other sources as well. http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=350
COMMENT 331269	2012-10-14 06:04 PM
319p- urban legend???? I guess it didn't happen to you, so it didn't happen. Let me tell you, first hand. It did happen. Don't even go there, son.
COMMENT 331327P	2012-10-14 06:15 PM
I accidentally clicked "negative" on 278. sorry!
COMMENT 331259	2012-10-14 06:21 PM
1419... why must you insult someone's experience and call it urban legend? If your sister was raped would you tell her she imagined it or brought it on herself? Seriously..... shame on you. You owe all Vietnam vets an apology for that crass statement.
COMMENT 331337	2012-10-14 06:21 PM
319P, the actual event may be a myth but the spirit of the quote could be true. I was ten years old in 1969 and I remember the gold stars in neighborhood homes. But by the early '70's the stars were gone. Maybe they weren't spat upon, but the hostility was there, this was outside Detroit.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-14 06:28 PM
I remember vets being spit on I did not do it I wanted to go but was too young. My Brother in Law was wounded in Vietnam. Even though I did not go always took care of down and out vets they are like brothers to me. I spit on acouple cops when I was drinking, barfed on one but NEVER a vet.
COMMENT 331285	2012-10-14 06:29 PM
319p...not a stretch to think you could define the Holocaust as an urban legend. SP5,229th Avn Bn. 1st. Cav.
NATURE BOY	2012-10-14 06:41 PM
Interesting side note: If you Google "spitting on viet nam veterans", the first result is of an SB street rat who spit on a veteran during an Iraq war protest only a few years ago. I recognize her, i used to see her in De La Guerra Plaza during those days. Interestingly, she hasn't show her face around here in recent years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_-TBirrPiQ
COMMENT 331269	2012-10-14 07:17 PM
319p's comment is typical of someone who thinks anything could be an urban legend if someone writes it on the internet. Not only did it happen, it happened enough that it was on the nightly news (I remember it!) and it happened to people I know. Who are still alive and would be offended by what you have said. You should hang your head in shame and apologize for what you've said here. It's fine to have opinions and to question things but doing a cursory check other than some random sites that have agendas isn't the same as factual research.
COMMENT 331356	2012-10-14 07:32 PM
No urban legend, but I can understand how those that weren't around during those turbulent times could never imagine an American citizen doing something that horrible to our returning heroes. Thank you Vets for all your sacrifices and know that the majority of us appreciated your service. I hated the disrespect some misguided, stoned hippies exhibited in those days. We all look back with shame for how that must have made you feel. You all deserved a heroes welcome!
COMMENT 331268	2012-10-14 08:03 PM
get on topic! c rations period end of topic!
COMMENT 331366	2012-10-14 08:26 PM
just a thought, but those may have been collectable if left unopened and potentially worth some $. Can't be too many unopened rations that old anymore.
COMMENT 331269	2012-10-14 08:43 PM
268 thanks for the policing, but I think it's totally appropriate to respond to the urban legend issue. The original topic has been addressed numerous times and then this person brought up a secondary topic, as sometimes happens. I don't see what's wrong with the responses, here.
COMMENT 331373P	2012-10-14 08:49 PM
OP, here. Just tuned in. Thank you to everyone who has told us these are "C" rations. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences. What fun, to read all the responses. We have about two dozen cans, as yet unopened. We didn't want to write the entire story, but just wanted to get a little info. These were found in with collections of old soda bottles, old milk bottles, anything my mother thought might "someday be collectible." We only opened the "leaky" ones, just for fun. We also have grape jam, apricot jam, peanut butter, Beef with Spiced Sauce, cheese spread, chocolate nut roll, Crackers candy, Crackers cocoa powder mix and-----the dreaded Fruit Cake! Alas no cigarettes, as those are a bit more collectible. A cursory search of Ebay resulted in much disappointment. Turns out we'd be lucky to get $3 apiece for any of these. Some taller cans (like "Beans with Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce") have lead seams up the sides. (Scary stuff.) Thank you again for all the wonderful (even the snippy) comments. We were laughing out loud at some of the comments. We are so happy people were entertained.
CORKY	2012-10-15 06:39 AM
What was the thing that looks like a helmet?
COMMENT 331397P	2012-10-15 07:18 AM
Corky, the shape looks sort of like WWII vintage Japanese helmet--maybe Chinese or North Vietnamese?
COMMENT 331434P	2012-10-15 09:17 AM
To all of those who served, thank you for your service. My father was a career army officer who served in WWII in North Africa, Sicily, and the Battle of the Bulge. He also served in Korea (we were "back up" in Japan for that one) and in Bien Hoa in VietNam in 1965-66. He commanded the Third Corps. Again, thank you all for your service.
COMMENT 331444	2012-10-15 09:54 AM
Gulf War vet here...six years living on an aircraft carrier. Seeing these old C-rations, I just had to add that on our ship we had 4 chow lines, 2 with the entree of the day, one dedicated hamburger / hot dog / french fry line, and one line with a taco bar. Puts things into perspective for me.
COMMENT 331467	2012-10-15 10:35 AM
I guess if someone says they remember it, it must be true. Or not.
COMMENT 331482	2012-10-15 10:48 AM
Yes C rats....they were worse than the leather tough water buffalo you got in the chow hall. When I came back from the Mekong Delta I weighed 170 pounds...14 less than my grad weight from SBHS....in some measure due to the food
COMMENT 331681P	2012-10-15 05:43 PM
I remember that time between 1970-76 vividly. The disrespect shown by millions of Americans to our returning veterans was NO urban legend! I want to point out that I was totally opposed to the "war" in VietNam. I marched in picket lines protesting against wasting our young men's lives fighting a futile, unwinnable war. (Both JFK and Barry Goldwater, both WWII heroes, agreed that VietNam was unwinnable, by the way.) But when it came to the reception our military personnel received when they finally came home, it made me heartsick, and ashamed of my fellow Americans, for treating our vets so shabbily. I have always felt that we must show respect and appreciation to those who fight on our behalf, even if we disagreed with the war itself.
COMMENT 331467	2012-10-15 05:52 PM
@331335 My sister says that she was spat on and raped by a band of gung-ho thugs with 'I love Sean "chickenhawk" Hannity' tattoos. You would have people give as much credence to politically charged claims by anonymous internet posters as to their own flesh-and-blood sisters, but somehow I doubt that you will do the same.
COMMENT 331761P	2012-10-16 01:50 AM
Coming in way late on this one, but just want to remember that it wasn't only war protesters who were vile to Vietnam vets (who were mostly draftees). The VFW refused to recognize them as veterans for years (said this wasn't a war, it was a "police action") and treated them like a bunch of disloyal hippies because they told the truth about the war and asked for it to stop. I was there, and I remember.

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