1966 Vietnam Meal Combat Individual MCI Fried Ham Vintage MRE Review Taste Testing
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2017
- Check out this MCI (Meal, Combat, Individual) review - the last generation of the C Ration. (Pre-MRE) This fried ham was a real doozy - and the pears were a little past their prime. But the B unit's fudge bar was perfectly edible.. a very rare occurrence indeed. Newport cigarettes & of course some perfectly edible peanut butter that I just couldn't waste a bit of because it was even better than usual.
This is a little bit of a throwback review - had a real blast with making this one. And hopefully you folks will enjoy it too.
I want to thank Michelle @ / michellevillefarms
She sent some MRE's and MCI's - sadly the MCI project she provided ended up not working out, but I still wanted to give her a shoutout the first chance I got with an MCI review. So here it is!
Thanks so much, Michelle!
For correspondence, or to send a Military Ration for review, my mailing information is:
Steve1989
3616 Harden Blvd
360
Lakeland, FL 33803
www.mremarketplace.com/
www.mreinfo.com/
www.patreon.com/user?u=282133...
And thank you everyone for watching & subscribing - hope
you enjoyed this one, as I certainly did making it!
-Steve
** All Music By: Steve1989 MREinfo **
Check out the other awesome YT reviewers:
Oldsmokey:
/ @oldsmokey1
RC Gusto:
/ @rcgusto2427
gschultz9:
/ gschultz9
stickyfingaz745:
/ @sticky745
gundog4314:
/ @gundog4314
emmymadeinjapan: / @emmymade
Kiwi Dude:
/ @kiwidudemre
Paul Buikema:
/ @paulbuikema
Elandil:
/ @elandilmre
MrBrowningm1911
/ @mrbrowningm1911
dingo7055:
/ @dingo7055
SparrowMedicine:
/ @gaberilla1988
LET'S GET THIS OUT ONTO A TRAY, NICE™
NICE HISS™
I'LL BE COMING BACK AT YOU WITH SOMETHING NEW OR OLD, ALRIGHT COOL SEE YA™ - Розваги
I was a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-1969. Hard year. One C-Ration had to last a day. In this case the Pears were called a "heavy" because it was the big can. The Ham was called a "light" because it was the small can. We had either a heavy or a light in the morning and then the other can in the evening. The coffee was terrible but that could be because of the water we used. Water resupply in the field was no practical in those days so we filled our canteens with whatever was naturally available. Worse case was using rice paddy water. I'd save the cocoa pack from other C-rations to mix with the coffee to kill the taste. C-Rations generally tasted terrible, especially eating them for most of the year. The ham steaks in this video wasn't too bad. We'd form a fork from the wire that packaged the C-Ration case and cook them over a heat tab and season them with some salt and pepper. Ammo was far more important that food and resupply was sporadic at best.
Turkey Loaf was my favorite. Others like Ham and Limas, Beans and Franks, etc. were horrible so we would cut up the small wild peppers and add them in to kill the taste. These peppers were super hot. They make your eyes close and nose run without stopping. Also severely burn your mouth--but it was worth the pain.
Lots of memories.
Thank you for serving, and sharing your experience!
Thank u
wow, thanks for sharing those memories. you guys were all hero's!
Dong Ha , Camp Evens 1968. Night mares still
So cool, thank you for your service and for sharing your story and experience!!!
Steve's doctor - "No".
Steve's stomach - "Nooo".
Steve's toilet - "Nooooo".
Steve - "Nice".
steve , your eating food thats older than we are from the 1980s. your eating food that from the 1960s.
Steve's rectum - "Nice hiss".
If you're living off C-rats, you ain't gonna need a toilet for three or four weeks.
Dude’s stomach must be lined with lead.
🤣🤣🤣
I was a Tank Platoon Leader and Company XO, 1981-1984, in a M60A1 Armor battalion. So I was serving at the end of the C-Rations, to the introduction of the MREs. There was an interim period of about a year, when we ran out of C-Rats, and had bag lunches made by the MK-Ts' (Mobile Kitchen Trailer) cooks, with A's for breakfast and supper. Some hacks that I remember for C-Rats were:
With Peaches and sometimes Pears, add your cream and break up a cracker to make "Peach Cobber/Pear Cobbler.
With the Pound Cake (a favorite) take your Cocoa Packet, add a bit of water, make a paste and frost your pound cake to make a chocolate cake.
With ham slices or turkey loaf, use an extra cheese and heat the can with the cheese on top, it was flavorful and would improve your morale. :-)
Make a C-Rat stove by removing all of the contents from the box, remove the lid, cut it up into small pieces, and remove the front panel leaving a stove shape to the the rest of the box. Vent your meat can, add cheese if you have it, and set the box on fire and it would warm the small meat cans sufficiently. If you drew the big cans (B-2s?), then forget it, they were universally bad. I could eat the spagehetti, but the beef slices and potatoes were terrible with a layer of congealed fat at the top of the can.
For M60 tankers, we could heat rations in winter using the heater pipe by the driver's hatch and jamming a .50 Cal ammo can lid under the exhaust pipe to make a stove and heat water, for the meat cans. When we drew Abrams we used the vehicle exhaust at 800F and our trusty .50 Cal ammo can lid. This also made your shaving water and coffee in the morning after "Stand To".
These are a few "hacks" from an old tanker.
I was in from 1977 to 1983. I remember my first MRE, and wasn’t impressed at first. But I was just used to the C-Rations.
My favorite was the Beef with Spiced Sauce.
The peanut butter would make, and keep, a flame if you dropped the trioxane tablet in there. The peanut oil would burn for over an hour.
And we made perimeter alarms with the cans. Lots of uses after the meal.
I liked your hacks.
Semper Fi
Its called survial...and a lot of us did.
Still greive for those that didnt make it home...Semper Fi !!!!
Tank Commander 2/32 Armor (M60A1) 3rd Armored Division 1974-76 Kirch-Goens Germany.
Thank you for you service sir
Same exact timeframe and experience as you, I might have even met you at AOB at Ft. Knox or Ft. Riley. Tank crewmen who opened their CRats and found canned apricots as the fruit were unfortunate, as apricots were considered bad luck (your tank would break down!) and had to be immediately jettisoned regardless of unit trash SOP. The Ft. Riley tank trails were probably paved with tossed cans of apricots!😁 Good times.
I think Steve is the only man that can make smoking a cigarette look like the most wholesome and family friendly activity on the planet
👍🏽😂
LMAO! 😂
Interviewer:
Tell us steve how do you stay in such great shape?
S: I dont eat any food made after the Cold War
LMAO!!
@Zuckerdrone respect that one! Beautifully crafted.
Zuckerdrone WHOooooooOSh
Hell yeah,that sounds about right.
Evan Vandermeer Sad to think how shitty our modern diet is compared to just two generations ago
Friend: “How do you like your coffee?”
Steve: “At least 40 years old!”
“Type two if ya got it”
Friend: “...Yeah, I’ll just make a quick trip to the war museum. See you in a bit!”
How do you think he grows such a thick beard?
@@Lotusblessings816 "and spray dried"
"I like my women like I like my coffee..."
My dad was in Vietnam, he joined the army in 1958. He spent 12 years in the regular army, about two years after that he joined the reserves. I believe he really liked the army. If it wasn't for having 5 kids and a wife that missed him he would of stay in the regular army. Anyway when he in the reserves he would bring me and my brother the same exact meals home to us, that would have been in the middle 1970s. We loved them. We tried everything in the box, not the cigarettes we were still little boys, about 11 and 12. Dad died April this year, he wanted to be baried in his fatigues, he was a drill Sergeant, he was a soldier! I miss him.
The B1A unit was one of the best you could draw back then... And take it from me -- the fudge bar was EXCELLENT back in the day when they were fresh. There was also a vanilla cream bar that was very, very good. The B1 unit had what we called "John Wayne Wafer Bars", which were foil wrapped chocolate discs with some kind of crunchy sh!t mixed in... not bad, but never in the same league with the candy in the B1A. We'd make little stoves out of empty C-rat cans and use a walnut size piece of C4 as fuel to heat the main meal. Worked great.
The absolute BEST main meal was "Beef With Spiced Sauce"; the worst was "Ham And Lima Beans". The "White Bread" was also good, but only if you stuck it on the end of a rifle cleaning rod and heated it over a fire first. Then it tasted just like fresh baked. Those were the days, but glad they're gone.
I agree the Ham and Lima Beans were the worst.
The eggs and bacon always reminded me of alpo dog food when you opened it, but wasn't bad heated up.
Steve just seems like a nice guy
Thanks Guy, it's most gratifying leading a Nice life.
I sure don't miss those MRE'S. But, I do miss my legs.
Lieutenant Dan Taylor Sure you can't *walk* it off?
New legs😔😔😔
You got new legs at the end of the movie.
Shouldn`t have eaten them..
Maaagic leeegs
In March '69 my infantry unit was sent to a small base. It was pretty miserable, but then a bunch of Australian armoured cavalry guys showed up. They were disinclined to engage in misery. The Australian field rations were really, really good. We were happy to swap and sample each other's rations. The part I remember was unlike our powdered coffee and powdered creamer, the Ozzies had small tubes like toothpaste tubes with condensed milk and concentrated tea and coffee. We both agreed their coffee kit was far better than the U.S. stuff.
I remember beginning to work at a gas station when the last of the men were returning. Most were broken, all didn't and many couldn't talk and then the divorces began. You could however see that they would do anything for you unless they were really messed up.
I love it when Steve says "let's get this on to a tray..."
"Nice!"
Hmmm nice hiss
mmkay
Its so over the top 😂 he's like a caricature of himself.
*n o i c e*
EVERY
ONE
does,
that’s
so
Steve, after eating a 50-year old cracker: "A little bit stale."
Lol
@Himalayan Duck Vietnam war veterans wanting to see their past foods again: *"A FOOLISH MISCALCULATION"*
Reply to this if you agree with it
If it's a little bit stale,that means it's still good. They were a little stale when we got them.
@@johnsommermeyer4649 We used to make 'cratcho's' (natchos) by pouring hot sauce over them. Very little good memories, my friend...
Brave dude! C-Rations were tolerable back in the day, but 50-60 years aren't likely to make them better. I was in the Marines in the early days in Vietnam and we had C-Rats made in 1942! Canned bread was rare but was in some of them. We had names for all of them: I remember "Beans and Balls" (meatballs in beans), "Beef and rocks" (Beef and Potatoes). "Beans and Weenies" (self-explanatory) , and of course, "Ham and Mother___ers" (Ham and Lima Beans). The only way we could eat the Ham and Mothers was to drain all of the liquid from the can, fill the can with water, heat them, and then drain all the liquid again. I always promised myself that I would find out who ran the "Blue Star Food Manufacturing, inc" and make them eat their own rations, forcibly.
Had to be careful to destroy the cans because if the enemy found them, they'd stuff an M26 frag grenade in them with an instantaneous fuze and attach a slack wire that ran down in the grass, waiting for someone to snag a toe. Remembering those things still keeps me awake at night.
My father was in the Marines and he also said many times the ham and lima beans were awful even when you haven’t ate in a few days they were hard to eat, so I can only imagine being in that hell and having to eat crap like that.
A little bit (4 years) after you posted, but as a Marine who served in Vietnam in the 60s as to the MCI fudge bar. As I remember them, they came in either chocolate or vanilla, and were rather mundane even when fresh. They were like something you would get out of a vending machine for a dime: mainly corn syrup with a flavoring and a binder. I don't remember them ever being particularly sought after in trades and I can't remember anybody that particularly coveted them. The fudge bars were just a fact of life, if you got one okay, if you didn't, that was okay too.
My grand uncle was in Vietnam and I remember him telling me that he was the only person in his unit that liked the fudge bar and they always gave Them to him
Really interesting, any story from your experience there? Thanks for your service sir. 🙂
They came in either chocolate/fudge or chocolate/coconut.
@@siriusgd4753 Yeah, I remembered the coconut after posting. I think I even got a few.
I wonder if the chocolate was waxy to keep from melting in tropical heat.
If Steve wins the lotto there's gunna be a mass MRE shortage.
Jestronix Handerson xD
He would eat one for every meal
😂😂😂
1 year later. COVID-19 hit and we have an MRE shortage. Offf.
Lmaooooooo
Steve's tips on surviving an apocalypse:
Step 1. Get rations
Step 2. Obtain peanut butter from MCI
Step 3. Find a plentiful water source
Step 4. Never forget to say "Nice!"
Those are 4 essential steps to survive.
random guy what are you going to put your rations out onto huh? Survival tip #5 a tray
Noice!
As long as the ration has cigarettes I can survive 5 nuclear winters.
#6: Have a P-38 can opener.
Memories came rolling back seeing this. Joined the Marine in 76 and assigned to H&S 1/7 and this was our meal. My dad, a Marine also ran the VC village training at Camp Pen from 70-72 and we would go to work with him. We rat_ _ _ _ _ _ these meals and pocked out the stuff we wanted. I was glad when the new meals came out and ate them in Desert Storm and Somalia. Great emergency rations. Thanks for sharing.
“The chocolate has a strange pungent chemical smell” Steve then takes a big bite and says “Mmmmmm” in enjoyment. 😂 Your awesome my brother.
Had me lmao a few times 😂
I was about to comment the same thing, when Steve tried out the chocolate fudge: "It looks good, but i'll give it 4 out of 10" no later after that, Steve finish eating the entire chocolate fudge oh man 🤣🤣🤣👍
Nice hiss: 4:18
Had a hiss: 6:51
No hiss: 13:56
Nice hiss: 14:48
Marlon Wörsching nice piss
14:48 was more than nice. That was an epic hiss.
MRE review bass cover +live tabs
Thx, my life is complete now
nice ass
Steve I love your videos, I served. From 65 to 67 brings back a lot of found memories
Hey Larry, thank you for the kind words. So glad these can bring you some nostalgia. Above all, thank you for your Service.
Larry Melton thank you for your service my grandpa also served
Larry Melton, First, thanks for your service! And is do you remember what was your favorite items in the MRE's?
Larry Melton Thank you for your service sir, may the the Lord bless you.
Larry Melton glad u made it back home, i just missed TET 68, USMC, Semper Fi my brothers
December 1968, I used the cardboard lid as a Christmas postcard. I mailed it to my mom. She received it.
Put a heat tab into an empty can, light it, push it away from you with your Matel 16 and that marks your perimeter for Puff the magic dragon. I still have my last P38 from 1969.
Thanks for your service man.
Oh yes, the P-38 was a Newell wash,t it?
There's something about watching a guy smoke a 50 year old cig that's calming.
Lung problems in minutes, not years.
You know its a damn good cigarette when you develop lung cancer in hours and not decades
@@Legitpenguins99 Now that's a robust cigarette to do that!
I'd love to see you review something from a five star restaurant, you make a 52 year old canned ration sound amazing.
SRT8 Madman you mean 3 star i hope.
I wanted to write the same. I love the fact that these fucking reviewers lie so fucking much about MREs.
LMAO!
SRT8 Madman ,,. I
Roach coach
wife: "hun, what are you doing?" Me: "watching Steve1989 smoke cigarettes and drink coffee", Wife; "Nice, Mkay!"
Lmao
They just can't understand
I existed on one C-rat a day as a 19 year old kid. They tasted damn good!
i joined the Marine Corps in 1981 and we still were using the Vietnam "sea rats" exactly like what you are showing. however, i don't think our MRE's had cigarettes' in them. i think "cigs" were on their way out by 1981. there were i believe 4 or 5 different meals with each one of them having a different "main course" and different "accessory packs." some of the meals had packages of grape jelly that you could eat by itself or put on the crackers. lots of guys put the peanut butter on the crackers but others put it on the chocolate cookie you show. when we were out in the field and it was "chow time", the Sgt. or "Gunny" in charge of the "Marine mob" would stand in the bed of a "deuce and a half" and reach into the main MRE box and throw whatever meals out he grabbed to the guys. NO ONE was allowed to pick the meal they wanted. once everyone went over to a tree or a someplace to sit down, you were allowed to trade anything you had to other guys. after Paris Island boot camp, i got sent to the "grunt base" Camp Geiger beside Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, N.C. to learn to be a Machine Gunner. i was there in the middle of a hot N.C. summer and we sweated like dogs when we went out on our common "5 mile forced marches." back then, the plastic canteens had just been issued and they heated up the water in them like a stove. this was great for mixing coffee but if you just wanted a drink from being hot and sweaty, taking a big gulp of "hot water" just didn't quench one's thirst. SOOO... if you got the can of fruit, pears like you show or peaches, you could trade that one can for several items because the fruit juice tasted GREAT even when hot! lots of guys didn't like the sea rates and would only eat a few things. the Sgt. or Gunny that was "running the show" would make guys throw anything they didn't want in a big "rat box" and any Marine could then grab whatever they wanted out of it when we took another break. i was in the Marines for 23 years so i saw the "replacement" of the sea-rats with the plastic-bag MRE's. ALL those meals tasted GREAT to me and they came with a chemical heater pouch that when you broke it in half, two chemicals mixed together and it got REALLY hot. you placed that heater in the big main plastic bag with the main meal bag against it and it would heat it up pretty hot. the only BAD thing about the chem heater was that you were suppose to use it "outside only" as it put off some kind of chemical gas that you couldn't breath without choking. sometimes when we were in a field "bivouac" overnight, Marines would try to use the chem heaters in their tents and would end up throwing it outside on the ground after it filled the tent up with toxic gases. LOL! i could eat either the Vietnam era or later MRE's all day long even now. i really like them.
Oh I think I'd go into the army air force or navy if given a choice. I'd like some semblance of choice instead of not having a choice as you marines have to endure. Good for some but not for me. You did sign the contract when you enlisted. But thank you for your service...
@@josephcontreras8930 i was kind of destined to be a Marine as my father was a WW2 Marine in the Pacific and my older brother did two tours with the Marines in Vietnam 68-70. i did 23 years in the Marine Corps Reserve as i had a couple of special MOS's jobs including 8 years in Intelligence. i loved the Marines but by the time it was "time to go" , i had pretty much "been there, done that, got the Tee shirt" for most things "Marines" do.
@@jimharvard thank you for your service sir... you followed a great legacy.
@@josephcontreras8930 thank you Joseph for your kind thoughts...
Carlos Hathcock, the most reknowned sniper in the USMC during the Vietnam War, often went on solo sniper missions during his two tours. He traveled extremely light and would trade entire C-Rats for the peanut butter from other Marine's B2 Units. The containers were small and didn't weigh him down, the peanut butter was high in calories by weight and could be eaten without noise, preparation and without utensils. It also had the benefit of ...umm...plugging him up. Subsisting on water and peanut butter for several days may have been boring but you didn't have to GO that often...unlike after a can of beans and weenies. It didn't give you the grumbling guts or make demands for "latrine issues." Important for a sniper. Odd but true.
dee coe,
I was a Navy Corpsman, assigned to the Marines. I would ALWAYS carry an extra bottle of KEOPECTATE in my Unit 1(1st aid bag) and sip on it all day long so I wouldn't have to take a 💩 in the field!!! It would sure give me "the winds" tho', which was advantageous in itself. When you've jumped several clicks and stopped for a short break, the "malingerers" would swarm, with every malady known to man, just to get back to camp. A few good rips usually cleared out all but the REALLY sick or injured. A great triage barometer, I'd say!!
even the peanut butter was problematic ... vc could smell it on your breath 20 yards away ... double that if you're laying still and pass gas
Somewhere, between those meals, you could stay regular.
Hey there everyone, here is a little bit of a throwback ration review of a true classic.
One thing though, who else is severely bothered by that one hair on the box? I know I was. hahah
More releases coming out this week starting with a first generation Food Packet Survival General Purpose from 1965 tomorrow @ 5pm US East. Stay tuned! -Steve
Steve1989MREInfo
Nice.
I do have a question for you, What is the difference between coffee instant type I and coffee instant type II, and also just instant coffee, like tasters choice, in an MRE today.
Steve1989MREInfo cant wait!
Steve1989MREInfo Nice,
That hair wasn't that
Rad
I ate c rats for over two years and learned to eat what ever I got. One thing to remember about the chocolate was that it was tropical chocolate that was made to not melt in the heat so things that were not normally added to chocolate were there. I seem to remember that the chocolate had a waxy coating on it. But like momma used to say “when you get hungry enough you will eat it “.
That fudge bar reminds me of a product labeled 'Bob Hoffman Energy Bar' that I used to eat often during lunch hour in the mid-70's here in York, PA. The filling was a very dense peanut butter-type based product enrobed in chocolate and had an interesting flavor unlike any candy bar, I loved them but haven't seen them in stores for decades.
Bob Hoffman protein powder . Gobbled that in the bodybuilding years . Bob Hoffman the barrel chested power lifter .
I always got pall mall or lucky strik, they always tasted like chiclets, that came in the accessory pack
*sees steves uploaded
*prepares cup of tea
*sits down
*instinctively says "nice" while clicking play
Hey nice choice! What kind of tea?
cant beat a green tea
Daniel Depasquale gotta love the green tea
Daniel Depasquale Sorry, the correct answer was: Coffee Instant
Green tea is fantastic. It won't give you the jitters (like I always seem to have when I drink too much coffee, instant and decide to open up a rare gem on camera). Lemongrass always takes the bitter edge off for my tastes on green tea.
Amazing video. "Sorry I draw the line when pears turn Brown" best sentence ever
exto cy Another 60 years they might turn yellow again 🤷♂️
In Vietnam in '66 I had one that was made in 1947. It was still ok though. If I remember correctly, it was ham and white beans.
in 1981 i was doing the reforger in germany and we had ones from 1944. i just ate the snacks out of them but others were heating them up on their engines and eating them. nobody died so they must have still been good
@@gregh7457 Reforger 75..that was a blast.
Steve walks into a reptile store... “Hmm, nice hiss...”
why doesnt this have more like lmao its so funny
@@littlebodyblues4532 I know, right? I had to give this one a thumbs up:))
Reptile store?? XD wtf u been smoking.
"Yeah I'll take the gila monster"
😂😂😂😂😂😩😩😩😩
hahahaha
Damn, coffee and smokes from before man landed on the moon. Steve, living the dream. 😎
Landing on moon, lol hahaha
@@Chrispbacon99 ok....
Astronauts on the moon, hahahahahaha
@@Chrispbacon99 lmao
Here come the flerfers... 🤫
Blast from the past! I liked the C rat with scrambled eggs and there used to be one with a corn flake bar. There also used to be something called a LRRP ration, I was freeze dried in a bag, you added hot water. Everything needed Tabasco.
that was the one they gave us when water was scarce to hydrate them. Never knew if that was planned or not eat plenty of that dry
I sent for hot peppers from home,my Mom sent a ton of stuff.
For reasons currently escaping me, this video was entertaining and satisfying to watch. Well filmed and enjoyable, thank you for sharing this! You get a like and subscribe good sir!
War! What is it good for?
MRE reviews!
That's perfect.
I would defenitly buy a shirt with that printed on it. *winky face
Steve1989MREInfo how often do you vomit every time you eat a old ration
Ab-so-lutely!...
NICE!!
Matt Hayward war is good for nothing *bitch*
"...it's just this absolutely, unusual and pungent chemical smell and flavor". - takes a big bite.
Hmmm. Is he describing napalm?
*For money OFC*
WOW, I never got a "fresh" can like you have. The fudge was nicknamed "hockey puck", then the "John Wayne" crackers, the "flammable" peanut butter (yup, pour off the oil - lights right up), the gum was always stale, the creamer & sugar were always in clumps - not powder, didn't matter much cause it did nothing to enhance the coffee, pears look normal as does the ham (need a strong stomach for this stuff). The matches & smokes were good and of course the best for last - the toilet paper. You had to get serious with this generous portion and use BOTH SIDES to get the job done.
Tanks for the memories!!
I joined the army in 1979. I was stationed in Germany at a combat engineer unit. Actually located in eschborn. And for the whole time I was there this is what we had back then. I guess just leftover c-rations that they had to get rid of. But that's what we ate every time we went to the field. And that brings back some great memories. Thanks for sharing
I haven’t smoked in years but every time he smokes a cigarette out of one of those it looks so appealing
Watching Steve smoke is like watching one of those Marlboro man commercials
Stale Chesterfields weren't that appealing, as I recall.
Barbeque beef was my favorite and the green eggs and ham were better than they looked.
The cakes were all denser than fruitcakes and were terrible. I can't eat fruitcake to this day.
I wish I could buy crackers like those.
I swear the "coffee" was brown colored caffeine powder. Cube up a cake in a 1/3 canteen of it didn't help either's taste but made both easier to eat.
A half a roll of tums would have been a worthwhile addition.
I agree
Best way to get over cravein a cigarette is to dip it in 🦆💩 and smoke it.
@@keithclark486 LOL
My uncle, before he passed from cancer 3 years ago, gave me one of those can openers that he still had from his tours in Viet Nam, and I still use it from time to time.
Is it imprinted with "P38"?
ALSO KNOWN AS A JOHN WAYNE
P38 or P51 ? The P51 was faster by a good margin, it was for larger cans.
@@ButcherBird-FW190D Is the P51 the one Coghlan's copied? Its way bigger than my surplus ones.
@@zacharyrollick6169 Yes. They were larger and faster. I think you could likely say safer as well in that you were less likely to slip, and past that, the did the job quicker.
Loved your video. Lots of memories. My favorite was eggs ‘n ham. No one else wanted them so I could always count on my favorite. The chocolate bar tasted like soap. After 50 years am still carrying my P-38 can opener from when on active duty. Years later, when in Reserves, after eating my first MRE ( Mr. E), I appreciated how good those C-Rats were..
The mre’s actually tasted better, I thought. And there was more variety in each pouch. So it brought up a whole new argument about what tasted good, and what was crap. But seriously, the mre was a smarter packaged meal. You could slip the whole meal into your shirt, and your Lce would keep it there, until you got a chance to eat it.and that Kevlar plastic package it came in was waterproof. And that flat chemical immersion heater! Just add water. And then, they added a little bottle of hot sauce. I always found that kinda funny, like hmmm, something to cover up the nasty taste of the main coarse. All these years later, I can still get a little queezy , just thinking about mre’s.
I was born an Army Brat and stayed one up until I went active duty myself. I ate those growing up. I loved the chocolate/fudge disk. They also had a chocolate/coconut disk too that was sort of like a Mounds bar but nowhere near as good. I still loved C Rations up until I got out in the late '70s.
Had a flat tire the other day.
Nice hiss.
...Not bad!
😂😂😂
Jvstyle farted.
No hiss
Hiss like a cat thats so cute!!!
XD Lmao
Watching this series makes me question my life choices. Why am l watching someone eat 50 year old food. Bigger question is why is it so fascinating?
Geez, me too.
It's all personality, dudes a beast
it is simply fascinating... without any reason.
It’s fascinating to me because if I eat Mac and cheese, McDonald’s, eggs ....just normal food then I am paying for HOURS! He eats 50 year old food and says it has an interesting smell. Eats it all and walks away unscathed. Plus, he looks like a male model stepping out of a GQ magazine. Just fascinating.
Well, I think it's because Steve has found a really fascinating way to experience history. I hated history when I was a kid, all sanitized and stale. Steve goes into a ration and literally tries to experience the things of the past first hand. Granted, sometimes it has gone or it's inedible, but the effort makes the experience of history deeper and more memorable. Also, we're always secretly sitting here wondering what sort of bad-way Steve might end up in from some of these. 🤣
I didn't eat much in the field. I did love the peaches & the pound cake. It was all edible for me except for the ham & eggs. Maybe I wasn't fixing those right. We mostly just eat our C rations cold. Food tasted so great when we got back to Camp. I had the great buddies back then 67-68 DMZ korea. Recon infantry scout. God bless America. HHC 3/23 went by Sparky back them. Still miss my many Chingus, They were special set of guys.
I bought a trunk at a 2nd hand store and it had a WWI era ration in it called an A ration. It had hard tack and chocolate in it made by Hershey. It had peanut butter and a chicken mash in a can. Everything was canned all of it seemed good the only thing I tried was the peanut butter and the chocolate.
I ate a lot of these back in the 70's, bought at surplus stores. The best ones were beef stew and came with Marlboro smokes. If you were lucky it had a P38 can opener in it
How much did they cost?
If you're really lucky, it had a tape of "Fortunate Son" in it.
Cool!
@@stayfrosty6290 😂
My favorite was the Ham and scrambled eggs, or the beans and wieners. I always ate the fruit, and the crackers and peanut butter. The coffee tasted like medicine, but it was better than nothing. The chocolate bar he ate was like exlax. And if you ate enough of it... it acted like exlax. lol.
I liked that coffee. Commercial Brand is Sanka.
That would be the Sorbitol, that stuff is lethal in anything other than small amounts.
Pork steak, with apple sayce was the bomb. Tasted just like pork chops and applesauce my dad used to make for dinner. My Thanksgiving dinner in '66 was turkey loaf, and pecan cake roll for dessert. We flew hot meals to all the grunts thst day, snd when we were. fone flying, the mess hall was closed. Pretty dure the pilots got a hot turkey meal, though.
Yeah, but it unblocked you from eating the peanut butter! You can't be talking about chopped ham and eggs??? Looked like someone already ate it and barffed.
@@zylfrax791 No it's the sorbitol, sugar alcohols act as hyperosmotic laxatives. And you're thinking of polyethylene glycol, which is another hyperosmotic laxative. Propylene glycol is an antifreeze aha, and polypropylene glycol isnt really used for anything I know of.
I grew up next to Camp Pendleton, and this brings back memories of me and my 4th & 5th grade buddies in the mid 60's getting boxes and boxes of C-Rats from the dads in the service - during maneuvers, they'd skip the rations, smoke the ciggies, and bring the rest home for us. Peanut butter, jam, crackers and cheese (well, canned Velveeta) was a mainstay in our kid fort, as well as this ham, ham & eggs, spaghetti, and some stews. I remember that the fudge bar wouldn't melt in your pocket - it was some waxy chocolate! Every box was like a treasure chest to us - I'm sure it made the dads laugh! I also remember an OD tropical chapstick I had for ages - again, no melt in the pocket and worked great on the job during the summer!
My brother in law was in the tank corps in Germany and brought me C Rations home one time. I was a kid and I thought it was so cool I ate them up like manna from heaven. I was the only one though. Every one else was eating home cooked food and I was eating that stuff....didnt care.
I'm literally eating peanut butter on salt crackers and drinking instant coffee at 1am. Thanks Steve.
😁
Are you in jail lol?
Always gets me in the mood for 2am peanut butter and crackers. Maybe some chilled scrambled eggs.
@@gymlimberita715 fucking disgusting
Just ripped open a more modern MRE and was eating the breakfast bread with peanut butter and a little salt. Nice.
*Steve shuts off camera after video
Eats the ham with his fingers and follows up with the pears
😂😂
Lol
The ham was probably ok..
I would've tried the pears..
Beans and Franks was my favorite meal. We would trade around. I didn't care for the Ham and Limas, but they were all good when you're hungry.
@bufordjr ... Army Infantry NCO, III Corp RVN 68-69, 16th Inf Rangers. ... When I drew the Ham & Lima Beans meal, I'd toss enough of the lima beans to make room for other ingredients. Added the plastic pimento cheese spread and a bunch of broken crackers. Stir thoroughly, add some precious water, quickly scald it over a ball of burning C4 plastic explosive. It made a tolerable meal.
The Sorbitol is not only an anti cavity sweetener, but a laxative to keep the troops regular. When my brother was in his final stages of cancer, it was all through his guts, and his hospice nurse gave him actual shot glasses of Sorbitol (I got him a 2 jigger “Texan Boot” and he liked that)… the Sorbitol was very effective.
Wife: "Steve, did you smoke again?"
Steve: "I do not smoke... I inhale history!!"
I showed my grandfather this video, and it certainly brought him back memories. He served in Vietnam '67 - '69. Though he mostly served in mess tents, he also rode shotgun on supply convoys and fought on the front lines.
A very funny story he told me was that an extra supply of food had arrived at the camp, so they decided to have a cookout. And across a nearby river were a camp of South Koreans. So the camp's sergeant decided to invite them. Later on during the cookout, a large portion of Americans started dancing(my grandfather says his group was made up of 70% African Americans, most claimed to be from the Phillie area.). So more people started dancing, and the curious Koreans started dancing, too. But, they Koreans (Sergeant?) came up and ordered everyone to attention. And my grandfather said if he said to go to attention, no matter what you were doing, you went to attention. He came up to one of his men and beat the crap out of him(most likely the first dancer). Then that night, apparently some Americans went to their camp when everyone was asleep, and beat the crap out of the Korean. And nobody knew who did it!
Yet another great video Steve. Thank you.
You have the absolute best channel on you tube . Keep up the great work Steve
I like it when you say "hey it's pretty good, oh wait uhh..oh! ugh! it's actually..uhh! nasty!"
I like when he says "nice"
There are some videos where he does that and I just lose it. Cracks me up! Especially when he starts off with "mmm!" then "hmm"..."umm"...oh wait...ugh owh muh!
That's my reaction when i see a girl from behind..
A Troll DAMN HE GOT EM
Also.....”I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Oh heck, I might as well finish it.”
Steves voice is like the Morgan Freeman of MREs lol I love it
Hey thanks Tiffany!
Tiffany Marie you're cute
Tiffany Marie More like the Bob Ross of mre
Yeah, I'd pay to hear him overdub Darth Vader.
Bob Ross for sure
I was at Ft. Jackson in the summer of 1983. We were issued c-rats at the start of the cycle, and we were eating MREs at the end of basic training.
Handy i was there too! MREs were nasty.
Beans and franks meal was the most popular. Officers would go thru the cases and pull these out. And anything else too good for EM. Overall the food wasn't bad. Meat, etc., was much better heated. We used an old c-rats can with holes punched in it, a cube of lit C-4, and put the can to be heated on top.
These were the same kind of rations being used when I was in the Army in the early 80's. when you opened the B-3 can and pulled out that chocolate fudge disc my mouth started watering. When you first get out in the field they weren't that good because you were used to something like a Hershey bar. But after a 3-4 days with no cocolate or sweets, those discs tasted amazingly sweet.
You also missed something. Within that one meal you had the cure for both diarrhea and constipation, if you were having a problem. The peanut butter and crackers would help with the diarrhea by binding you up a little, and the syrup from the pears would loosen you up if you were constipated - same holds true for canned peaches/pears you can buy in the supermarket. Those were the simple cures a GI would try first if having those problems.
Most C-Rations tasted pretty good if you could heat them up, so it was always handy to have heat tabs. I'm surprised you haven't shown the viewers how to make stoves for heating rations using the cans.
Thx fo servin
I read the book On Point and Roger mentions heating his rations w small amounts of c-4. Ever hear of that?
@@HARDCORESURENOTHUG It actually works. Just take a small piece about the size of fuel tab and light it. C4 wont go off without a detonator, usually.
@@HARDCORESURENOTHUG C4 could be used. Just do not put the fire out by stomping on it. That would cause it to explode. The Cs were heated a number of ways in the field but most of the time they were eaten cold. When they were heated, if done by the mess section, the cans were put into a large galvanized trash can filled with water and heated with an immersion heater. If heated by an individual soldier they were usually heated with heat tabs. Some soldiers brought small cans of sterno and fabricated small stoves out of cans with cutouts made with the P38 can opener.
They were still using those cookies when I was in the Army 90-95.
Spent many a day eating those in the army. I think those choc bars where mixed with wax or something similar so they would not melt in the hot climate. I used to save mine for the kids over there. They loved those. CRAZY that those survived for that long and that your munching on it LOL.
Hey could u tell me if u remember, do the meals accesory packets have random cigarette brands in each meal or is it the same brand based on which meal u get?
year is that a thing?
Great Videos Steve, Thanks! Well Organized, Presented And Detailed. God Bless
In Tech School, we were issued C-Rats for lunch. Us smokers kept the B unit can as a ash tray for the dorm. On my first assignment walking thru the commissary in 1983 they had a fire sale on C-Rats, MRE's were being brought out, I bought 4 cases.
Steve1989, to answer your question about why peanut butter is so shelf stable. It's because it's naturally a shelf stable fat. The oil is fully hydrogenated for the most part. Think of it like animal fat. Which is also fully hydrogenated. In order to keep this brief and relatively easy to understand. The fatty acid chains are in long, straight chains and stack like bricks which is why bacon grease gels at room temp. While vegetable oils have "kink" in the chain. So they stay liquid at room temp. Now as to why peanut butter is liquid at room temp is beyjond me. Generally they are more stable. Which is why they rarely go bad with time and are great for cooking. It's more common place now to find peanut butter with fully hydrogenated soybean oil added to peanut butter because it's cheap. Manufacturers have found it more profitable to sell the peanut oil for cooking oil.
That being said. Peanut butter is a super survival food. High in carbs, protein and fat. Oh and cheap. Which is why it's so common in rations. Surprisingly it contains two incomplete proteins which when metabolized by the body combine to make a complete protein. Which doesn't often happen. The body often has to use energy to make complete proteins to maintain tissue health. Vegetable/fruit only contains incomplete proteins. Animal protein is complete. Peanut butter just happens to have the two that are needed to make a complete protein. Often times it's way more complex. Requiring 3 or more segments of proteins with a great deal of energy. Watching your channel has only convinced me more that it still holds true. Which is why I've invested in it as a survival food for my food storage. Forgive the redundant and lengthy explanation.
I also meant to mention that unsaturated fats are unstable at the kinks. That's why vegetable oils go rancid. Something Steve1989 I know you're quite familiar with. As to why the peanut butter taste so much better. I'd venture to guess that is because it's made with nothing but peanut oil and peanuts and sugar. No soybean oil like we have now.
1. Peanut butter contains relatively little saturated fat, it is certainly NOT fully hydrogenated
2. Peanut butter contains very little carbs
3. The "complete protein" combining thing is a myth, if you ate literally just rice for your day's calories you would hit all the essential amino acids' minimum requirements.
Ok well, this is how I had it explained in my college biology class. The professor had it broken down on the molecular level. Showed how everything I just explained works.
Agent P This is true, I always have to heat up my bacon grease before drinking it in the morning.😉
I read that last sentence in steves voice. Lolz
Was in the army for 20 years and just retired in September 2020 and I've NEVER seen a dude get more hyped than this dude for MREs lol. Awsome.
20 years huh? What rank did you get out as?
@@robzilla730 SFC/ E7. Last job was platoon sergeant in 6-1 Cav.
@@ericthiel4053 HOO-AHH!
@@robzilla730 lol man, I never thought I would, but in all honesty I miss the hell out of the army in a way. I take it you served as well?
@@ericthiel4053 I was a Part-timer, lol. 1 enlistment. Wish I'd stayed in and got my 20 yr letter but oh well. I hear the Mil's really gone to pot. All woke now. Even the marines. Very sad
With your palate, Steve, you could easily be a chef ... and with that physique pretty much anything else you want to be! Thanks for another great video. I do appreciate having a window into time as to what our men in the field were eating back in the day. MREs for me in the USMC were pretty darn good, but that was only about 20 years ago.
My favorite C-Rat meal was the Turkey loaf !
This MCI is 6 years older than me. I was born in 1972. The oldest military ration I ever ate was when i was in basic training when I was 18. My drill sergeant dared me to do it when we found them cleaning out old storage containers from the Vietnam war. It was made in 1972.
Yeah, what happened?
Dude if u think that's some shit, he eats some tinned meat from a British war @ the end of the 1890s (Boer War).
I'm glad Steve has some standards. I draw the line with pears turned brown.
The ORIGINAL NEWPORT BOX and white filter. WOW!
That Newport looks like it took you to a whole other realm I’d love to try one of those old school menthols I’m glad they were preserved enough for you to smoke you enjoyed it for us all lol
I wasn't in the military THEN; but I was eating those meals while serving with the USFS Hot Shots. Always had two on the line; plastic breakfast (meal in a plastic bag - boiled); but STEAK for dinner, every night; after a while the C-Rations were gourmet meals.
Boy, I remember my dad bringing home a case of C-rats after being on maneuvers. I loved them! Beef patties,pound cake, cheese spread and chocolate bar-tropical were the best.
I think I like these Vietnam-era reviews the most! I've yet to order one form ebay, but I just have to get my hands on some old smokes.
Rebphoenix I just opened a B3 unit with the rancid cheese and had to skip the funky crackers. However, I've got MCI peanut butter and blackberry jelly, so I'm thinking about making a modern 50 year old PB&J!
I have to wonder - is there a market for vintage cigarettes? The cigarettes seem to be the one part of these meals that almost always ages well. I'm not a smoker so I don't know if cigarettes mellow with age, like wine.
@@AshleyPomeroy With the expansion of the internet, obtaining goods has never been easier. There's a market for everything these days.
It is always fascinating to see MRE videos and see what soldiers and possible civilians had to eat during war throughout the years
love that maniacal smile.excellent video dude!
16:50 "the more I poke at it, the more the smell eminates from it"
No truer words have been spoken
😂
😂😂
"now it just makes me wanna smoke a cigarette"
You should do a video on that shelf with all the cool stuff on it
I'll do that one of these days.
Steve1989MREInfo please do a collection overview
I noticed the Frank Zappa Sheik Yerbouti cassette, The Bruce Willis album on that shelf. Lot of other good things too! :)
Is that Kyle Reese in the frame? I had a Bruno album back in the day. He put together a whole blues band and plays pretty good harmonica.
One of the best videos I’ve ever seen. Good job buddy you’re awesome well sad.
Your mre collection is almost as impressive as your throwback shirt collection 👌 nothing but the good old days on this channel
Steve, please please please:
1) House Tour
2) Q&A
3) Work out routine
Thank you!
Vevake Sur yes please
Vevake Sur YES
everyone like this
Yes!
Vevake Sur
No.
Nothing gets me more moist then Steve talking about MRE'S
hahahahahahahaha YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU
iiiiwwww wtf gross!!
Mood
Sounds like Patrick Bateman
Eystin true af 😂
I came on here to comment because whenever my husband has a bad day I'll say to him "Alright let's get this out onto a tray" and he instantly laughs hysterically. We love watching your videos together 🤣🤣
this man is a time machine
Steve I stumbled on one of your videos .. I am hooked on watching them . retired army .. I remember a lot of the mre's thanks !!!
That was great mate. It never ceases to amaze me how long some components can last when stored correctly.
Hey Dropbear! It's all about storage conditions. This was in the top 10% of that era in terms of preservation.
Indeed. Seeing things like this keep after all that time is very impressive!
Just discovered your videos, through recommendations of Emmymade. Very interesting videos. After watching the 1957 rations(my Husband's Birth year 🙂) Had to watch my birth year rations. The Okinawa poster caught my attention. Was there 1991-1994. Thank you for these videos.
In some of the ww2 metal detector videos, they always find those type 2 coffee instant packs and all the condiment packs all over as there hunting for ww2 relics were these battles were heavy in Germany at that time ,pretty incredible they last that long in those elements.
Nice hiss
Rancid
Steve1989MREInfo I'd love to see a video where you specifically go through all the potential hazards of eating these old MRE, and explain
how you assess them.
I'd never have guessed how bad milk powder could turn until I watched your videos 👍
Steve1989MREInfo Rancid? You mean extra flavor.
+1 on Matt's suggestion.
If you were a superhero would you rather have your catchphrase be nice Hiss or rancid
I remember getting those for the first 2 years I was in the army. I entered the army in 1981. I personally prefer the "C" rations over the MRE's. With the C rats I could put the can on the engine of my truck while driving and when I got to my destination I had hot food. Those crackers were delicious.
Dude you have an amazing Beard keep up the reviews they are an awesome tid bit of history.
The National Guard was still feeding those MCIs to us in the field when I enlisted in 1982. We would use the peanut butter on the crackers and dip the fudge cookie into the peanut butter.
I remember eating C rats in 1985
I wondered about the peanut butter on the fudge bar.
These videos are amazing. After a long, boring day, I can lie down, and watch some of Your reviews, Steve. Your voice is like the voice of god. I like that i can put a video on, Lie down, and fall asleep, So long as i fight the urge to look at what's in the box.
Hey thanks Snayke!
Its certainly impossible to stop watching. Voice of god and attitude of spicoli
Pears, Pound Cake were my C-Rats favorites. I would trade with other service men who didn't want them/hated them.
Oh, I also forgot I knew a guy who would take a few C Rat ingredient packs throw them together and cook them over a small fire and whoa la he had just made a little sugar cookie!!! 😳