15 Forgotten Things Inside a Vietnam C-Ration Box That Beat Modern Survival Food

In July 2009, a retiring Army colonel stood up in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes and opened a small olive drab can he had kept since 1973, when he was a Marine helicopter pilot off the coast of Vietnam. What was inside, and what he did next, is one of 15 things from the Vietnam-era C-ration box in this video. You will see the white bread that came out of a can, the crackers so hard the men named them after John Wayne, the breakfast nobody wanted and everybody called the Joker, the peanut butter that doubled as a candle, the empty can that became the stove the Army never issued, and the little steel opener that outlived the ration it came with. These are the forgotten things inside the Meal, Combat, Individual, set honestly against the MREs, freeze-dried meals, backpacking stoves and stormproof matches we buy today. Modern survival food wins on taste almost every time. The old box still wins in a few places most people would never expect. Did you eat C-rations in Vietnam or anywhere else? Tell us in the comments which meal you hoped for and which one you traded away. #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryHistory #CRations #VietnamWar #SurvivalFood #Veterans #P38