In my Marine Corps I almost always had good Chow. Now here’s the facts, There’s Officers Mess, Staff NCO Mess, NCO Mess, and the Mess Hall where we went to eat CHOW, call it what you want, it was Chow. I have to admit I grew up during the Depression and my Mother couldn’t afford great lunches, but going into the Corps didn’t enlightened my life by finally getting better food.
Mother told me when I married (and was making but $50.00 a month) “no matter what happens, no matter where you are, Make sure your family has a Steak at least once a week. One good meal helps make a week,” and I followed her advice, it did make many a week.
Now Marine Corps Chow in my time went like this, Breakfast, SOS, fried potatoes, Fried eggs, toast and coffee oatmeal (for the mush lovers). It could vary with bacon or ham (even fried horse c-ck), medium boiled eggs, but always toast and coffee. Lunch could be a lot of things, horse c-ck, bread with some veggies, and coffee, even soup with crackers. Supper ran the field with Steak, Pork chop, Ribs, all kinds of meat dishes with potatoes and gravy, other veggies and stuff. Usually a great meal after running over the hills of Pendleton, Lejeune, PI or SD.
Most guys couldn’t get away from the way their Mother cooked their meals for them, WOW, Rare steaks, mashed spuds, Turnips, carrots and peas, then after that they got, MOM’s Apple Pie, ain’t no where you can get better than that… join the Corps and Mom’s apple pie comes in a big flat tray like affair and you usually got a 4 inch slab on your tray, but (and you gotta admit this) you could get
some of the best Ice Cream in the World Popped on your tray (or a slice of cheese). Chow down.
The Marine Corps always tried to feed you a healthy meal, but it wasn’t always what you wanted. I remember in my whole time overseas, War or not, dipping my canteen cup into a garbage can full of cold water and apple jelly mixed in. Never got used to it but also didn’t dislike it mainly because it was cold and refreshing.
In my 26 years, I remember traveling from here to there on an APA or MATS ship, having beans for breakfast on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. I, Also, remember Steak and Eggs for breakfast, the so-called Invasion Breakfast and seeing it all over the floor of a LCVP or AMTRAC prior to landing.
I remember “K” Rations, “C” Rations and “MREs”. “K” Rations had their time and are gone, “C” Rations were changed so many times and just from WWII to Korea the change was awesome to a few and not so much by a few more. Vietnam Rats were different again, and in my book were better than we had before, but for MREs… I really relished the Korean MREs.
Coming in out of the cold in Korea and getting my MESS Kit filled with “C’s” the cook had dangerously started the stoves of the day and heated the rations for us which warmed the icy hands and feet plus going on to warm the cockles of your heart. Korea was a journey into nothingness with mountains tall and rice patties rank and smelly. Sleeping in a bunker in Korea during winter was your time in h-ll because of the cold. Sleeping in a bunker in Vietnam was your time in H-ll with the Heat. The “C” Rats were always there and some even heated their C’s with the explosives in a Claymore Mine set on fire, (note picture). So the “C’s” can’t be too bad for someone to heat like that.
GySgt F.L. Rousseau, USMC Ret.
Have seen this story before, and Gunny Rousseau’s words are immortal, as some of the new readers may not have seen it. We would often use C4 to heat C-rations, but I never busted a claymore just to get the heat. The whole claymore just might have saved my ass sometime. So, I’d rather eat cold rats before ruining an intact defensive weapon. But then, everybody isn’t me. Semper Fi!!! Top Pro
Like fishing with hand grenades, not the best use of hand grenades. Harry 1371
We dropped grenades into the Tourane River south of Danang and gave the fish to the Vietnamese. We were there heroes and on evening one of them came up to teh wire and said “Many VC”. I reported it to teh CP and we had Hueys and A4s on station. Went on 100% alert. Sure enough about 2:00 Am they came. Got their head handed to them. No Marine casualties. Fishing with grenades teh next day was our first priority. I never told the Captain why that guy tipped us off.
Hey Al, we did fish with hand grenades at the “Liberty Bridge”, there were always local kids hanging around and they loved it. I was just thinking in hindsight it was not such a good idea. Harry 1371 Semper Fi!
I told my wife just the other day I don’t remember ever having a bad meal while I was in the Corps. I do remember some meals were better than others but none were bad. That includes the C-rations we had when I was in the bush in Nam in 70-71 with Lima 3/7 & Kilo 3/5. Heat tabs did the trick when making hot chow. Using the C-4 from a claymore to heat your chow was not good sense & especially if there was going to be a time that you needed it. It would also get your butt in a hurt locker if you did.
Cpl. J.P. Sitek – 0331
Gunny,
Great story. I guess I’m one of the relative few Jarheads who liked Marine chow. Nothing was ever fancy, but never had a bad meal. The only complaint I had was that they always seemed to serve two types of meat for evening chow, but you only were allowed one or the other, but not both. Not so though with Navy chow when we were on floats. The night time mid-rats for Jarheads and squids on watch were never fancy either, but I never had a bad meal. In the Bush when we did get hot chow, call me crazy but I liked the powdered eggs for breakfast. I was in from 81 to 85 so that was the cross over period from C-rats to MREs and I liked both. Favorite desert in the MREs was the freeze-dried peaches. Loved em!!
CPL Mike Kunkel. 0331. Lima 3/8
The only bad chow I remember was on teh General JC Breckenridge. We had roast beef it seemed every night. Called it Breckenridge steak.
Never dismantled a claymore for C4. However, we did have 1 lb. blocks of C4 and would pinch a chunk to replace a heat tab. C4 would burn slower therefore cooking the C rats slower making them a little more pleasant to the taste. Even the ham & mf’s. Just remember in the Corps every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet. NO BAD CHOW. Jim, Nam 67-68 2nd CAG.