Did you know...?

[82Rigger]

...that the field rations in use during Vietnam were NOT C-Rations?

C Rations were adopted by the U.S. Military in 1938 and were manufactured until 1958.

In 1958 C Rations were replaced with the "Meal, Combat, Individual" (MCI) which we knew in Vietnam.

In 1980, the MCI was replaced by the "Meal, Ready to Eat" (MRE).

The black "C" (sometimes a black crescent) which is on the outside of a case of Vietnam era MCIs does not stand for C-Rations.

A black "C" is the NATO military symbol for food, and identifies the case as a food unit for non-English speaking allies.

[SuperScout]

Is that supposed to make them taste any better?

[sfc_darrel]

I was eating C-rations from 1966 to 1970 and you left out K-rations. Note the cigarettes
Darrel
The K Ration

The Field Ration, Type K was adopted for use in 1942. It was developed at the request of the U.S. Army Air Force and first used by paratroopers. As with the C ration, the components of the K rats evolved over the course of the war to offer greater variety while still maintaining the need for compact size and balanced nutrition. While the K rats were designed for only a few days' use under assault conditions, the demands of war meant that soldiers often ate them for days or weeks on end, and boredom and complaints naturally ensued. At the height of the war in 1944, over 105 million of these rations were produced.
Early boxes (left) were plain brown card stock. The packaging changed to a set of distinctive color designs (the "Morale K Ration") to make it easier for soldiers to quickly select the "right" meal: brown for breakfast; green for supper; and blue for dinner. Within these colored boxes the meal was contained in a plain tan box; this was twice dipped in wax, after the contents were inserted and the box was sealed, in order to keep the contents waterproof.

Breakfast Unit Canned meat product Biscuits Compressed cereal bar Powdered coffee Fruit bar Chewing gum Sugar tablets Four cigarettes Water-purification tablets Can opener Wooden spoon
Dinner Unit Canned cheese product Biscuits A candy bar Chewing gum Powdered beverage Granulated sugar Salt tablets Cigarettes Matches Can opener Wooden spoon
Supper Unit Canned meat product Biscuits Bouillon powder Candy Chewing gum Powdered coffee Granulated sugar Cigarettes Can opener Toilet paper Wooden spoon

The canned meat and cheese products were individually boxed in 3" x 2 3/4" x 1 7/17 cardboard containers, while the other items were contained in a plastic bag that, according to instructions on the carton, could be reused for keeping other items such as cigarettes, matches, letters, and photos waterproof if the bag was carefully opened.
K Ration Packaging

There were at least two distinct types of wooden K ration containers. Wooden boxes marked "KS" were early war types (as Hudson & Allen's product states), and those marked "K" came later. Gerald Peterson says he has seen both KS and K boxes dated 1944, but the KS crate had the older brown individual meal boxes in it, while the box marked K had the full color Morale K Ration boxes in it.
According to C.Q.D. No. 28H, dated August 31, 1945 (superseding an October 31, 1944 directive), twelve K rations were packed on end in a snug-fitting corrugated fiberboard container. "The arrangement of the cartons shall be 12 in length (major panels facing), 3 in width, and 1 in depth. One row of 12 cartons shall be for breakfast, one row for dinner and one row for supper."
The fiberboard containers were either placed into wooden boxes directly, or sealed in a waterproof triple-ply "bag" of kraft paper or kraft paper, metal foil, and cellophane, before being packed in the box.
The C.Q.D. directive does not give the exterior or interior measurements of the wooden boxes, other than to say the wood was not less than 11/32 inch thick, though the end panels could vary between 3/4 inch or 5/8 inch thick. However, Gerald Peterson says they were 22 1/4" x 12 1/4" x 8 1/4". Alan Batens, of Strictly GI, measured 22" x 12 1/4" x 8 1/2", also from a real specimen. As Alan states, "Mind you, original cases have suffered through the year, and those diensions could vary a little due to shrinkage and damage."
The directive notes that wooden pieces smaller than the full dimension of the box panel were assembled with tongue-and-grooved joints.
"Style 4" of the box had wooden cleats "not less than 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches," but does not state where these cleats were placed on the box; perhaps they are on the underside of the lid, as found in Tamiya's wooden box below.
The wooden boxes were then secured with rust-resistant zinc-coated steel straps, either round (15 or 16 gauge minimum) or flat (3/8" x 0.015 inches minimum). The "Style 1" box had a strap wrapped around the ends of the box, and two straps around the top, bottom, and sides, approximately one-sixth the length of the box from each end. "Style 4" only had the two straps wrapped around the top, bottom, and sides.
The directive specifies markings on the wooden box thusly:

The upper two-thirds of one end of the nailed wood box shall be printed in bold Gothic letters as follows:

CONT ______________ (Contract No.) (3/4 inch letters)
RATION K (2 inch letters)
12 RATIONS (3/4 inch letters)
WT 43 (or 41) CU 1.3 (3/4 inch letters)

The directive also specifies the size of the half moon symbol (3" tall, 2" wide, and 7/8" thick at the center of the moon.)

Near the upper right-hand corner of the front side of the shipping container, the marked end being to the right, the following information shall be printed...in bold capital letters between 1/2 and 1 inch high....

___________ (Name of contractor)
___ ___ (Month and year packed; possible packer identifying code marks)
REQ. ____ (Requisition number; only required on some containers)

Lengthwise across the approximate center of both top and bottom of the shipping container the letter K shall be printed or stenciled in a bold capital letter approximately 3 inches high.

While this directive appears after the war ended, it was the best the Quartermaster Museum could provide and we can assume that any changes were minimal by that point in the war.
I haven't been able to determine why most of the packaging we see in historical photos are the fiberboard containers as opposed to the boxes. It's likely that the cartons were pulled out of the boxes upon reaching the major supply depots in order to reduce weight and space for transit to the front lines. In the Pacific, wooden boxes were used almost exclusively because the humidity quickly degraded even the thickest fiberboard.

http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES.../krations.html

[82Rigger]

I'm sure you DID eat C Rats in Vietnam. There must have been warehouses full of them that were sent over there.

I guess I should have been more specific and said that the MCIs that most folks think were C Rats were not C Rats. Which is the point I was trying to make.

Wouldn't be surprised if you saw some K Rats over there also.

Read an interesting article about the D Ration chocolate bar of WW2...that it was so hard that most soldiers couldn't bite it...had to shave slivers off the bar with their bayonet and eat it that way.

Enjoyed the info on the K Rats. Thanks!

[1CAVCCO15MED]

I ate C Rations that were canned when those of us from the class of 65 were playing on our playgrounds in the first grade: 1953

[Stick]

We always knew 'em as LRRP rations.
Heck their how I got half my smokes bummin' 'em off the guys that didn't smoke 'em because having the time to get to the PX was a luxury rarely given.

[DMZ-LT]

We got some chocolate bar we called the John Wayne Bar cause it would never melt in your mouth. Think we got it an SP pack and it was called Tropical Chocolate Bar and was round