An Old Grunt Remembers: 21 Things Nobody Told Us About C-Rations in Vietnam

A cardboard case hits the mud. Twelve meals inside. Twelve young men who haven't eaten anything hot in four days. Twenty-one things the Army never told the grunts about C-rations, counted down — and remembered by a man who ate them for a year. The real name nobody used (Meal, Combat, Individual). The P-38 and the "38 punctures" legend. Twelve meals and no choice. The Joker, beef and rocks, and John Wayne crackers. Four cigarettes with every meal. Cans older than the men who opened them. Heat tabs and boonie stoves. Tabasco and the Charlie Ration Cookbook. The trading floor. Peaches and pound cake. Ham and lima beans. The Lurp. Forty ice cream plants. "Send Kool-Aid." Fifteen pounds in a sock. Plenty on paper, hungry in the field. The children in the villages. Fifty-seven thousand turkeys. "Over ninety percent served hot." The jam at the Ia Drang. And number one: the empty can. If you served — what was your favorite C-ration, and the one you'd never eat? Do you still have your P-38? Tell us in the comments. We read every one. Chapters 0:00 A case of C-rats in the mud 1:33 #21 It was not called a C-ration 3:26 #20 The P-thirty-eight 5:24 #19 Twelve meals, and no choice 7:09 #18 The Joker, Beef and Rocks, and John Wayne crackers 8:52 #17 Four cigarettes with every meal 10:34 #16 The can was older than you 12:20 #15 Heating it up 14:03 #14 Tabasco, and the Charlie Ration Cookbook 16:18 #13 The trading floor 17:54 #12 Peaches and pound cake 19:47 #11 Ham and lima beans 21:44 A word for veterans (PACT Act) 22:30 #10 The Lurp 24:39 #9 Forty ice cream plants 26:37 #8 Water, tablets, and Kool-Aid 28:35 #7 Fifteen pounds in a sock 30:15 #6 Plenty on paper 31:55 #5 The children in the villages 33:37 #4 Fifty-seven thousand turkeys 35:43 #3 Over ninety percent served hot 37:27 #2 The jam 39:09 #1 The empty can 40:59 Back to the case 42:23 Your turn