Thanksgiving Dinner Back in the Good Old Days - Finger Licking Good!

Our turkey dinner in Vietnam!

Add a heat tab.... and a veritable feast.  Yummie!

Delicious and nutritious. It was better with hot 
sauce.

Some guys liked Nước chấm sauce with it. 
Nước chấm is a Vietnamese dipping sauce - 
an acquired taste. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

__________________

No guarantee you would get turkey.  The C Rations 
came 12 to the box.  The Platoon Sgt would turn the 
boxes down so you would not see which one you would
get.  Ham and Lima Beans (Insert swear word 
instead of Lima Beans.  Then the troops would 
trade meals or portions of meals.


The Most Unpopular C-Ration, Called Ham and and Obscenity by the Troops

P-35 "John Wayne" Can Openers


 

A friend asked if we were issued can openers for our C-Rations. We were!


Official military designations for the P-38 include 

"OPENER, CAN, HAND, FOLDING, TYPE I".


We were issued a P-38 can opener, commonly called a "John Wayne".  Many of us wore the opener around our necks with our dog tags. They were small and handy and many of us still have them.


From Wikapedia


The P-38, developed in 1942,[1] is a small can opener that was issued in the canned field rations of the United States Armed Forces from World War II to the 1980s. Originally designed for and distributed in the K-ration, it was later included in the C-ration. As of 2020, it is still in production and sold on a worldwide market.[2]


Click to read more:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_can_opener

12 basic varieties grouped in three menus of four different entrees (later supplemented by "alternative" variant entrees). Taking into account slight differences in preparation or meat, a total of 18 entrees were available over time:

  • M-1: Beefsteak, Chicken or Turkey Loaf, Chopped Ham & Eggs, or Ham Slices (Cooked in Juices or Fried). M-1A: Tuna fish.
  • M-2: Meat Chunks w/ Beans in Tomato Sauce, Ham & Lima Beans, Beef Slices w/ Potatoes in Gravy (Beef and Boulders), or Beans w/. Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce. M-2A: Spaghetti w/ Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.
  • M-3: Beef in Spiced Sauce, Boned Chicken or Turkey, Chicken w/ Noodles in Broth, or Pork Steak Cooked in Juices. M-3A: Meat Loaf.

Ham and Lima Beans was irreverently known throughout the armed forces as "Ham and Motherfuckers" (or other variants such as "Beans and Motherfuckers", "Ham & Claymores", "Ham & Lifers"). Beans with Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce was called "Beanie Weenie" or "Beans and Baby Dicks".[citation needed]

Bread unit[edit]

The "B" unit came in three different varieties:

  • B-1: Seven crackers and two chocolate discs (Types: Solid Chocolate "also known as Lifer Bars", Chocolate Creme, or Chocolate Coconut).
    • Peanut Butter Spread.
  • B-2: Four Hardtack Biscuits (often referred to by troops as "John Wayne cookies") and a cookie sandwich or fudge disc.
  • B-3: Four Cookies and a packet of Cocoa powder.
    • Jam Spread (Types: Apple, Mixed Berry, Seedless Blackberry, Mixed Fruit, Grape, or Strawberry). It was used with the bread in the D-3 can.

Dessert unit[edit]

The "D" unit came in three different types:

  • D-1 (Fruit): Halved apricots, sliced peaches, quartered pears, or fruit cocktail. D-1A (Fruit): Applesauce.
  • D-2 (Cake)Pound CakeFruitcake, or Cinnamon Nut RollD-2A (Cake): Date Pudding or Orange Nut Roll.
  • D-3 (Bread): White bread. (There were no alternatives).

Each menu was grouped by their unit number (i.e., M-1, B-1 and D-1 items were grouped together). Alternative items (designated with an "A" suffix) were introduced to provide variety and reduce the monotony. For variety, the M-1 and M-3 units (since they both used small cans) were often switched.

The "B"-unit's Crackers & Candy can was lined with a piece of corrugated cardboard to protect the contents from damage. In the "D"-unit, the white bread came in one solid cylindrical piece wrapped in wax paper, while the pound cake, fruitcake, Orange Nut Roll, and Cinnamon Roll came wrapped in paper wrappers like cupcakes.

The Accessory Pack came with salt, pepper, sugar, instant coffee, non-dairy creamer, two pieces of candy-coated chewing gum, a packet of toilet paper, a four-pack of commercial-grade cigarettes, and a book of 20 cardboard moisture-proof matches.

Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette ration were: CamelChesterfieldKentKoolLucky StrikeMarlboroPall MallSalem, or Winston. Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the accessory packs in 1975.[4]

Happy Thanksgiving!




Thanks to Taffy Cannon MPHS 66 for sharing the video below from WKRP Cinncinati video on Thanksgiving.  No turkeys were harmed in this video.

WKRP "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf3mgmEdfwg
Nov 24, 2011 - Uploaded by Epic Houston
WKRP "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"Thanksgiving.

WKRP Thanksgiving Turkey Drop - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p00nBSNIPwg
Oct 13, 2014 - Uploaded by Cuchulainn's Picks
Les Nessman discovers that his station's Thanksgiving promotion just isn't going to fly. For more info ...

Watch WKRP in Cincinnati Online - Turkeys Away | Hulu

www.hulu.com/watch/322
    
Sep 20, 2007
Stream WKRP in Cincinnati season 1, episode 7 instantly. ... This one website, wetpaint, showed 12 Thanksgiving Day episodes, and the  ...

WKRP "Turkey's Away" - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeCGURWzjwE
Nov 24, 2011 - Uploaded by whoohaaa1000
WKRP "Turkey's Away" .... This was a great old Thanksgivingshow. .... WKRP "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly" Thanksgiving  ...

WKRP in Cincinnati Full Episode (Turkeys Away) - IMDb

www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi254935065/
    
Watch the latest WKRP in Cincinnati Full Episode (Turkeys Away) on IMDb.

Thanksgiving Dinner Back in the Good Old Days - Finger Licking Good! Our turkey dinner in Vietnam! Add a heat tab.... and a veritable feast....