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MRE grog opens 1945 Breakfast K Ration


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Interesting little piece of history to see. Always wondered what was in a "K". I was probably one of the last troopers to experience "C" rations though as they were getting phased out being replaced by MRE when I first went into service. All of it is pretty nasty compared to real food, but i'll never forget my first MRE which had me wishing for a "C". Thrown off a supply truck at 4 o' clock in the morn. The ever dreaded "Dehydrated pork patty" eaten cold! Ah the nastyness! At least "C" were easier to heat and they always came with a a cool little P-38 can opener which I'm glad I kept one as a souvenir along with a few hemorrhoids. lol

These were the ones I remember most, The worst thing was the toilet paper. Look at how little they gave. Not that you needed it much. These things would pug you up something awful, and when you finally went first time in a week it was like giving birth to a brick.

This is it without the hot water. You have to watch this one for a good laugh.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Vinnart
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Vinnart,

Sure wish my first (and only) MRE had been that corned beff hash! Looks delicious. Instead, when Dad and I visited brother George, who was on Bradley CFVs at NTC, he gave me what was supposed to be a good one, Turkey a la King. Believe the key to obtaining instant surrender is to force the other side to eat one. Blech!  Horribly salty, chemical tasting and generally awful dining experience. I did, though, get to eat the prized "roadwheel" cookie and found the much reviled fruitcake pretty good, too. Was charmed by the tiny bottle of Tabasco, which struck me as an absolutely brilliant way to build brand loyalty via strong, sustained positive associations in the minds of young adults. Were I running McIlhennie, I would've given those things away if need be. Didn't see any, though, in a CrazyRussianHacker video where he opened up an MRE. As far as I'm concerned, our troops are the worse for its absence. Adding insult to injury, some other nation's MRE now has the same size tiny bottle of Tabasco, but this time, it's the green variety. Believe George said he'd eaten C Rations himself. Meanwhile, there's a whole site devoted to K Rations!

http://www.kration.info

Found this cool wartime film, too.
 

Regards,

John Kettler

 

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LOL I think it speaks volumes about the human condition. Everyone's bias to see the head winds and not the tail winds:

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-my-life-so-hard/

Many of us should find some things to be grateful for in general but here relating to CM. :D

That last sentence will make sense if you listen to the Podcast.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had C-Rations in basic.  Still carry the P-38 on my key ring.  After I got to the 82nd we had MREs.  I thought there were only four MRE menus when I first reported to Division (Early 1984).  If I remember right Chicken Ala King was my favorite.   

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All this has been buzzing my memory. Forty years ago I was happily living in somewhat primitive conditions. I had a cabin but it lacked running water and other utilities. For light I had a kerosene lamp and candles, and I mostly cooked on a tiny white gas pack stove, although I also had a wood burning stove that I cooked on sometimes. Under such conditions, I wasn't going to be cooking up the kind of elaborate meals I was accustomed to preparing and eating, but I still like to eat well. Which led me to try freeze dried meals, with varied success. A couple things I like really well. One brand had beef stroganoff that with a few additions worked out quite satisfactorily. Another brand had turkey tetrazzini that I was always happy to eat. One of the things that I liked about this style of dining was that it was fast and didn't require much preparation beyond bringing some water to a boil.

Michael

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2 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

Forty years ago I was happily living in somewhat primitive conditions. I had a cabin but it lacked running water and other utilities. For light I had a kerosene lamp and candles, and I mostly cooked on a tiny white gas pack stove, although I also had a wood burning stove that I cooked on sometimes.

 

I didn't realize you'd spent time in Utah, Michael...  Good times...

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4 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

"Forty years ago I was happily living in somewhat primitive conditions. I had a cabin but it lacked running water and other utilities. For light I had a kerosene lamp and candles, and I mostly cooked on a tiny white gas pack stove, although I also had a wood burning stove that I cooked on sometimes."

Sounded like rural Utah to me lol.  (I did spend some time in southern Utah amidst the Martian landscape.)

Edited by Erwin
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I remember when myself and my driver Dobbo did a CTR on a USMC 4 tonner (cant remember what you yanks call them lol) we appropriated 3 massive boxes of MRE's and hid them in our landie ready for when we crossed the border cause our 24 hr rations were pretty rough.  I absolutely loved the mint poundcake.  Happy times lol.

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You people don't know you're born. I was only in the Cadets but we had British Army Compo 24hr individual rat packs (they came with my Lee Enfield No4, which was made in 1942!). The compo  came with "Biscuits AB". There are various things you can do with Biscuits AB: use them to stop bullets. Kill mice with them. In extreme circumstances bite down on them when you sprain your ankle (or worse) as they are more hygienic than sticks. Just don't eat them! Not if you value your teeth and jaws :)

Don't get me started on hexamine stoves!

 

Although there was the time one of my school mates was using an old Army trick to cook faster: use your knuckle to put a small dent in a the food can, and then heat the can directly on the stove until the dent pops back out. Voila - instant pressure cooker and much faster heating without the need to wash mess tin. Do NOT (as this guy did)  forget about the tin while heating it. Especially in poor weather when cooking just outside the mouth of the tent. The report of a bean tin rupturing is quite loud. He got well covered in beans. And your partner in a 2 man tent will not thank you when he is finding beans in the tent at 2am after night patrol later on!

(We didnt have Health and Safety in the 70's ;)

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