A Military Thanksgiving during World War 2
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- Опубліковано 13 лис 2023
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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose
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Canned Cranberry Sauce: By Famartin - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Sweet potato casserole: Laura Blankenship via Flickr, CC BY-SA 4.4 www.flickr.com/photos/lorda/1...
#tastinghistory #thanksgiving #navy #wwii
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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Happy American Thanksgiving to American friends
Nice seeing you freshing up on your German, would love to see some of our recipes on your channel :)
I'm a veteran and researching past military history has become an obsession of mine as I try to understand how we keep ending up in the situations we find ourselves. Your military history episodes are my favorite, Max. You show a really empathetic and human side that kind of gets lost for me when I read about the frustrating and preventable events that preceed war
Happy Thanksgiving to both of you. Enjoy!
I asked for a refund almost immediately. That was well over a month ago. I haven't received my refund, nor have heard any communications from Babbel. Not cool at all 😡
We often bitched about the food, but we all knew that the mess cooks did an incredible job, especially at the holidays. Imagine feeding 2,000-5,000 people in an hour and a half, three times a day. They did a great job of making decorations and putting out little extras for holiday meals, nuts and candies, special dishes and such. God bless our mess cooks. ❤
My grandfather was a cook in the Navy during WW2. He was career Navy, and after he retired he made us the best meals! I’m sure all the men on the ships appreciated what they did with the ingredients they had. ❤️
Oora! Our mess cooks traded with locals any time they could, just to get us something new. Good bless those men!
Exactly, the logistical work put into feeding 5000 sailors 3 meals a day is nothing short of mind blowing.
heheh as a former Navy cook- you warm my heart like an oven with your compliment! It's been an honor to cook for and serve American fighting men :)
I was in regimental.
The cooks were in our barracks as well.
They worked their ass off.
It really can’t be understated how important food is to a soldier’s morale.
Food is literally how my workplace bribes us into decent morale.
"An army marches on its stomach"
@@melissaharris3389Beans and bullets, Trollop
@@codiefitz3876 No no no no... It's "Beans, bacon, whiskey, and lard!" ^-^
Ah, the four food groups.@@jeromethiel4323
As a European, I thought I knew most of the U.S. traditions but this video actually told me more about the importance of thanksgiving than all the movies, series, books etc. Thank you Max!
I mean yeah, traditions are gonna be massively important no matter where you go. It's generally the traditions that makes us feel like we're home.
One of my special Thanksgiving memories is from my overseas tour of duty in 2004. My unit had to guard a church compound miles from the camp every third week and it meant 8 hours sitting in a guard tower. Through bad timing we had the duty over Thanksgiving and we were missing the evening meal. The Army does a great job feeding you during holidays (most days actually) so this was a bad luck assignment. I was sitting there at the beginning of the shift when my platoon sergeant unexpectedly appeared and said "Take your guys back in for the night. We are taking over your shift so you can eat and have the night off". The top NCOs of the unit came though with a great example of leaders taking care of their troops. I will always remember that.
COMFORT CHANNEL UPLOADED LETS GOOO
Just brightens my day everytime he uploads
@@riteshgaikwad2905 amen to that
YEEEAAHHH!🎉
Hahaha for real
Lol I love this
What's insane to me is just how good US military logistics is. There are militaries that can't even get meat to their own troops in their own country. Meanwhile the US is getting ice cream and whole thanksgiving dinners to their troops on the other side of the planet.
That's how you're winning the wars. Keeping the ethical high ground and the troops morale in good shape.
@@perseusarkouda Ethical high ground? There's a reason why WW2 is sometimes called the Last Just War.
The US Military at its core is a very well armed postal service.
@@RichWoods23the first gulf War is also called that from time to time
@@RichWoods23 Exactly. That's why I said that's how you're winning wars and not just battles.
My Dad was a baker and cook on a supply ship in WW2, in the South Pacific. He kept his Navy cookbook, which included their Thanksgiving menu, so your presentation brought back many memories of his Navy stories. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
That story about the Thanksgiving order from Eisenhower saddened and stunned me. I know stupid orders are issued all the time in wars, but this one I had not heard before ... war is hell anyway but it's a shame when something like this makes it worse
Congress forced thanksgiving on the army
Received so many letters complaining about the food congress ordered the army to feed the front line troops a hot meal
Something they rarely got
Only 7 wounded and 3 dead. Basically a rounding error when it comes to "top brass decisions having horrible unintended consequences".
@@Snarkbar It's not just the raw casualty count, but the absurdity of it. Sure, other decisions got far, far more men killed than that, but the sheer ridiculousness of getting three men killed trying to deliver hot food through a warzone to troops in active combat leaves a different taste in your mouth. That goes beyond just poor decision making.
I understand that this is a direct order, but I feel like he could have chosen to ignore it. It's not important and it's not like anyone would know since they are on the front lines.
@@frankorefice4115 did your troops receive the Thanksgiving meal commander?
Yes Sir! It was hot and delicious Sir!
We had reports about the turkey being abit dry this year, how did it turn out for your outfit?
The Turkey was appropriately juicy with lots of flavor Sir!
SteveMRE would love this type of history.
It might not necessarily be an MRE, but it feels like the same realm
@@HelpingAnimalsS your link is spam bullshit. stop trying to benefit from others' success.
_"SteveMRE would love this type of history."_
LGTOOAT. N.
@@JohnLeePettimoreIII Appreciate that.
I figured it was but there also seemed to be minor interaction taking place on other comments so I didnt immediately report it.
Especially the cigarette!
Let's get this onto a tray...Nice!
My dad was a cook in the Army in WWII. He actually taught me how to cook when I was a kid. Thanks Dad!
2 of my great grandpa's were cooks too. One in Europe the other in the pacific.
@@SassyUnicorn86 My Grandpa Eugene was a Navy Seabee cook in WWII, stationed in the South Seas from what Mom tells me. If there were any stories told about Thanksgiving dinner, I don't remember them. 😅 All I remember is my mom saying her dad mentioned "Sh** on a Shingle," aka cream chipped beef on toast. 😅
My Grandfather told a story about his first Thanksgiving on the frontlines in Italy. They were being rotated to the rear in small groups so that they would all (hopefully) get to eat. It had been raining quite hard for some time by this point and there was supposed to be some sort of overhead cover for them to eat under…But the cooks had either forgotten or hadn’t bothered. He said by the time he got to the end of the line, the food that was in the mess kit he’d been handed had either washed off or turned into soup, it was raining so hard. Being cold, wet, tired, and down right frustrated, he chucked the mess kit, gave up, and walked back to the front. “One of many typical Army fu** ups.” 😂
reminds me of the intro to gundam 08 ms team its raining so hard at the food line a guys mess kit gets swamped with water n the guy looks so pissed, i think the series takes place in south east asia
SNAFU
FUBAR@@buckeyebob7919
@@buckeyebob7919Only in the last year did I learn the meaning of SNAFU! lol😄😂
The comment on how soldiers tend to latch onto the happier moments to remember about their war-time experience brought to mind a conversation that I had with a veteran of both WWII and Korea. He mentioned about how when he would give talks to schools about his service, he would frequently be asked questions like "How many people did you kill?" His response to those questions was always to inform the questioner and other listening that the job of a soldier during war was to kill another man with whom you would, in other circumstances, sit down and have a beer with. That bit of wisdom from the conversation has stuck with me for many years now.
It still blows my mind how often Max uploads considering the effort that goes into the research, visuals, and the actual cooking of each video.
Busy week at the Casa Miller. No rest for the wicked.
@@TastingHistory I listened to the Goon Show ep about a Christmas Pudding. They spoke of it as an object, not a bowlful of stuff. What IS British pudding?!
@@Pygar2 The word pudding originally referred to savoury dishes, specifically types of sausage like black pudding or haggis. It expanded over the centuries to encompass more and varied dishes. In the US it eventually lost it's other meanings and became narrowed to a specific type of dessert. In Britain, and the broader Commonwealth, these days a Christmas (or plum) pudding is like a rich fruity sweet spiced cake ball that is steamed or boiled inside a cloth, and then commonly soaked in brandy, which is often set alight before serving. It is very delicious, extremely rich, and an expensive once a year treat. The word pudding alone, however, retains it's many meanings outside the US, so asking only for a pudding won't necessarily net you a plummy Christmas pudding. Gotta be specific.
@@Pygar2 ua-cam.com/video/CPs0WHtqZgQ/v-deo.html
The biggest yolk
Low eggspectations
Powder packets broken
To cover the food for fighting thousands
A dinner like home in the military
A strained sauce of cranberry
The speciality of a Max's channel
Following any type of cooking manual
Bringing us the lives of any type of community
To bring peace, edibles and unity
@@HelpingAnimalsSYeah it was completed an hour ago. The menu doesn't include spam so gonna have to report you.
*edit* I guess it worked....
@@Firegen1I just reported it as well.🖤🇨🇦
@@tamarrajames3590Yay! Thank you for doing so 🇨🇦🍁👍🏾
Cute poem my man :D
@@Firegen1 Nowadays if something contains spam it is reported...
We had a neighbor who was on the SS Jeremiah O'Brian - as a cook. He'd never, never, talk about the war, but his wife showed me his cookbook. Amazing to behold! And that began my obsession with collecting old / older / vintage cookbooks. And this channel. Thank you Max.
I found an old ball canning cook book from ww2 at an antique show here in California. Lots of good info !!!
@@doughoward6401Sweet! Where was this?
As a former Army cook, we were trained with the mentality that each meal, especially in the field, was supposed to be the best it could be for troop morale. Thanksgiving had to be perfect or you were going to hear about it. Even the locals joined us since there was no pork.
Former navy cook here- I feel you :) My shipmates relied on us for coffee in the morning and leftovers at night- truth be told, sometimes i made sure MIDRATS was better than what they had at dinner :)
My second husband was a long haul truck driver for the first 3 years we were together and we basically lived on the road. To this day my fondest memory of that time was one particular Thanksgiving. We’d dropped a load in Boise, Idaho on a Monday and a return load hadn’t been found for us until Wednesday but it was to pick up in Yakima, Washington that Friday because of Thursday being the holiday. By that time, having sat for so long, we were pretty low on cash and, so, Thanksgiving morning we decided to just head out to Yakima leisurely and at least enjoy the sunny weather, empty road, and snow covered scenery. Just over the state line I spotted a billboard advertising a nearby restaurant offering free Thanksgiving dinner, all were welcome. I couldn’t believe it. My husband was sure, even if it were true, that there would be nowhere to park the truck. He was wrong. It was out in the middle of this great expanse with open fields all around. We parked, we walked in, and were welcomed with open arms by the owner and his family who seated us amongst what looked like quite a few of the locals. The dinner was huge, it was magnificent, and, although I’ve shamefully forgotten the name of this restaurant, I’ve never forgotten the kindness we were shown or how much of an impact one meal can have.😊
that's really wonderful :) not really the same but one of my fondest memories is more recent. our family has a habit of having people over, usually friends or coworkers, who otherwise wouldn't have anyplace to go. my brothers friend worked in a middle easterns restaurant and not only brought over such lovely tender baklava, but also showed us all how to open a pomegranate. eating those seeds, salted and peppered, with a spoon was such a delightful appetitzer!
it really is the people and their goodwill that make a holiday special
You did it. You found the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
I want you and your husband to know that you guys are very much appreciated. I don’t think that truckers get enough love. They are one of what I call “backbone workers. They are the people that, without whom, our country would instantly fall apart.
I remember reading that lot of people who were children during WW2 basically grew up with powdered milk and eggs, and found the taste of the real stuff unpalatable when it became available again. My dad, for instance, was born in the 40s and always drank powdered milk, even in tea and coffee. It baffled the rest of us, but it's basically what he got used to.
My Dad loved SPAM, since he was the same age, in Scotland during the war. It was a treat then, which he tried to give us a taste for!
Powdered milk makes a better tasting nestles chocolate milk, than real milk
@@williamdozier5190Less water to dilute the flavor.
Powdered eggs were very common part of school breakfasts as a kid for me even though I was born in the 90s. I like them more than "real eggs". As an adult I usually live off powdered foods and canned food and I really find it amusing how much most people complain about food quality but for me storage life and not requiring cooking are more valuable
i am sure the folks that grew up in ranches new the blessing they had. knowing that not everyone was as fortunate as them to have fresh food.
I just love that Max can easily do that 1940 “announcer” voice! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I was deployed many times over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I was always amazed at the lengths the Navy would go through to get us classic holiday meals. That and ice cream were amazing morale boosters.
That quote from Boesch about "some silly bastard in the rear" was immediately relatable to my best friend who served in Iraq. "The more things change, the more they stay the same," she remarked.
"Verum quod." -- Lucius Vorenus
So true. And I feel so sorry for the men in that group. Those who lost life and limb and those who had to eat the meal their comrades were sacrificed for. I hate bureaucracy 😢
I served in the Navy (Submarine Service) MUCH later than WW2 (1980's). But this did make my eye tear up. Just remembering the joy and pride I felt during Thanksgiving and Christmas, at the effort of the Navy to keep morale of the crew up. From small gifts and tokens made by the wives, to the Officers and Senior Enlisted (Chiefs) going through the sub singing carols, and delivering those gifts and tokens.
Same. I was in from 99 to 2015. I was an STS1 when I got out. Lots of great memories! I was on the USS San Juan ssn751 and the toledo ssn769. I did a lot of ride time on the Miami when I was a nub
@@Linuxpunk81 @johnniewoodard648 Thank you both for your service.
Thinking about my younger brother. He’s in the submarine service. This’ll be his first thanksgiving away from home, though I think he’ll be on shore. I tell you, the weirdest thing about growing up is how everyone else grows up with you.
The ONE song forbidden on my boat was ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’. The Captain thought it was too much.
So, Submarine Once, Submarine Twice…
Thanks to all veterans who served & are serving. You are America's heroes !❤🇺🇲
I was in Vietnam in 1967 for Thanksgiving, and I have to tell you the Army went out of its way to supply us with the turkey dinner, pumpkin and mince pie and all the rest of it. If memory serves the food was very good, much better than than the C Rations we frequently subsisted on. It was a pleasant day in a not so pleasant environment. Max, thank you for this episode as it brought back memories I had forgotten about for many years. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from a an old Vet.
Thank you for your service, and sacrifice. Of your mental, physical health… Not to mention the best years of your life away from home. Your sacrifices are not forgotten, nor were they in vain. From a grateful civilian. Please take care of yourself, for you are worth it and deserve it.
Thank you for your service
Thank you for your service!
Dis you murder many native people? Since you seem so proud of being an usa butcher
My father was in Vietnam 1968 to 1969 and I want to say thank you for serving and also I truly respect Vietnam veterans. I now am a veteran myself and growing up with a Vietnam veteran father I have always had so much appreciation for everybody that went to war
When you got to the Ham & Cheese Thanksgiving and mentioned Leyte Island, my mom gasped aloud. She said her father was stationed there, and it's quite possible he had those awful sandwiches |D
My father was a POW of the Japanese in WWII. I doubt that he got any dinner at all on Thanksgiving, but when he got home, he kissed the ground, he was so grateful. And never had to go without a thanksgiving dinner again.
@@ValkyrieVal3 yes. Most of them died. The saddest part is that they didn't treat their soldiers much better. Their military was steeped in centuries of hierarchy. As a result, those on the bottom of the tier were ruthless. And the fact that we surrendered, in their eyes, made us (the US soldiers) less than worthless.
@@ValkyrieVal3I had a relative I never knew who was hung in the Nazi POW camps. (Hitler did not like young, handsome American men..especially if they were Jewish. Both the Germans and Japanese did not follow rules regarding POWs.
That was not uncommon for many of the prisoners of war after the WWII, particularly of the Japanese.
My sister's father was a POW from March of 1942 fighting on Mindinao to September 1945. He said that his camp leaders actually treated them better than the guards. They ate rice every single day and not much else. They were happy to find maggots in the rice, extra protein! He didn't have any distaste or hate for the Japanese nor rice after the war. He was a lucky man until he died with the brain tumor he got because his camp (in Hiroshima) was downwind from the nuke bombing.
@@2244ntho66 my dad was just outside of Nagasaki when the bomb was dropped there.
Spent 22 years in the Army. I'll always have massive respect for what the cooks did everyday but tenfold on holidays. Lots of emotions being deployed on a holiday and their efforts made it a little less dreary. Not just the food. The cooks usually spent time on decorations and such. If you were a cook in the military, thank you for all you did.
Yep nothing like coming off a weeks long patrol to edible food. And no I do not count IMPs as food.
The story with the men getting killed for a meal nobody wanted. How do you deal with orders given like that. I know me and I would just get court marshaled and saved my men from a needless death. I knew when I was young I would not trust my self to not smart of to the wrong person thus my reason for not joining the Navy as I knew early on I have my father temperment. You stand your ground and even if your correct and save men's lives, You can still get shit canned and you career ruined for not following orders. How did yall put up with that, How could you stand it ? I find my self dumbfounded when I hear story's like that and there are plenty of them in the US military throughout its history. And thank you for your service, your better man then me.
@@eecajledo8430 The same way you deal with any nonsensical order. You internalize it to the point were you drinking alcohol and or doing drugs to deal with the stress.
Despite that or in spite of that I personally wouldn't change a thing. Such things are the pleasure of civilians who think they know better.
Newsflash you and the rest of your misbegotten kind don't know anything.
@@eecajledo8430If you haven’t served, you wouldn’t get it, simple as that. From an outside perspective it may all seem so simple, but the military is not just “do this! do that!” The military requires more than just a drone who follows orders. A good leader acts on his own and makes their own decisions outside of basic orders. Small unit leadership is the foundation of the US military.
Mr Lance, Well of course I dont get it , That is why I am asking the question! Why in this story did the CO take his men to get this meal nobody wanted and his men ending up getting blown up for it? Why did this CO not act on his own and make his own decisions outside of basic orders given? Did you listen to the story in this video? Your responce does not give any insight as to what I am trying to figure out.@@lancelott9171
My father in law was a WW2 Navy vet. My wife is the baby (she was born when he was 66) and I was fortunate enough to be able to hear a lot of stories and insight from him before he passed away in 2013. Watching this made me a bit sad because I would have loved have had the chance to ask him about this topic. RIP Jerald Roosa
thats crazy i had a friend from schhol in 2021 his dad was born in 1897 he was in his 70's when he had him
@mikes.8823 I'm not quite that young, but my grandfather was born in 1896. He was 52 when he had my dad, who was 42 when he had me in 1989. In school, most of my *teachers* had grandparents who were in ww2, and mine was in ww1!
I feel this. My grandfather was a WW2 Navy vet too. I had recently discovered this channel and saw the videos on ice cream and others during the war. My grandfather had talked about ship life and the food, not in detail, but still. I txted my parents, which he was living with, for them to ask him if he had ice cream on the ship and if so, what was his favorite. They said they would ask when they got back from vacation in June of this year (2023). He passed while they were on vacation. This video and your comment made me want to ask the same thing.
This brought back memories of my first Thanksgiving away from home. I had enlisted in the USAF right after graduating high school in the early 1970s. I was stationed at Minot, ND - a very cold place during Thanksgiving! Our base hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the Minot community, which had a sizeable Scandinavian population. A few senior citizens brought their instruments and played old country folk songs while we all ate. I have to say I was impressed with the food we were served. Plus, I had made a few friends, and it was nice to eat with them while some lovely music played. All the same, I missed my family terribly, and no one could cook up a roast turkey or mince pie like my mom!
Wasn’t Minot an ICBM launch base? Also thank you for your service
One question, did Mom use bourbon in the Mince pie?
@@patriciayohn6136 Nope. She used either brandy.
Fun fact: Max was going to make a Marine thanksgiving meal but the store didn’t have the 🖍️ needed. So he decided to go with people food instead.
Happy early thanksgiving Max and everyone!
Matt? 😆 Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
@@TastingHistory
My apologies I was almost there lol
maybe you could use...CRAYON-berries
Listen, I love you guys - but you're terrible, you're all terrible.
Also you're fired.
He'd have a harder time finding the jalapeno cheese spread. Finding that liquid gold is like hunting for truffles in the forest.
I work in a public research library in the federal depository and I’ve browsed many of the military cook books in our collection. It’s amazing how inventive the cooks had to be in order to feed so many with limited tools.
Awesome job!
I like ww2 british cookbooks that had recipies with rations and to this day as a history nerd In a way I wish I could really truly have a understanding of what it was like in ww2 england with heavy rationing and etc.
What a cool collection, that would be incredible to be able to read!
Those guys are really inventive and good or they follow the books and terrible.
I used to be a submariner and powdered eggs were the bane of my existence. I do remember the one Thanksgiving though i had underway, and it really was something special
Former USAF here. Much respect to the "Silent Service," and Happy Thanksgiving to you.
@@PlasmaCoolantLeak you too man
They were frozen eggs on my boat, in cartons sort of like milk. They were fine for omelettes.
Navy cook here (sub tender)- yeah *shudder* we felt it too when we ran out of fresh eggs in the middle of the pacific- it's not like you can just go to the grocery store and get more :) LOL
Yes, I WILL take all of the cakes, hahaha!
I'm tickled about that cranberry sauce - that is just about EXACTLY what my mother does when she makes it, including the amount of sugar. It was really neat to realize that she must have learned it from her dad, who was Army during the end of the war and beginning of the occupation of Berlin... which is where he met my Oma, in fact. While both of them were trying to get their hands on black-market sugar, haha!!
A Story Grandad told me, he was 'loaned' for a day from the the British Royal Navy to rig up repairs to a US Ship only he could do (draper's apprentice pre war, he worked on cinema and theater curtains in South London) and that was replace a battle damaged cinema. This would have been around Okinawa while the fighting was still happening. They fed him, the US Sailors were complaining that it was chicken again, as a whole quarter of chicken was dropped on his plate. The last time he saw a chicken that was not on a soup can label was about 1940! The US Navy did a hell of a lot to keep their men fed, the Royal Navy was struggling with a make do attitude.
The U.S. had a whole huge country behind it that was (mostly) not getting bombed. It was a lot easier for us. I'm sure the Royal Navy and other royal militaries worked as hard as they could to feed their people.
There's a couple of vids on YT that show the setup for US and German field kitchens - the German one being fueled by wood or coal, and the US one by gasoline. When you think about it, the amount of gasoline the entire US Army was going through daily must have been immense, and that was just the kitchens! And this was at a time when the Germans were having issues fueling their vehicles.
One of the things that ultimately undid the Germans was that the US was able to bring such a logistical juggernaut to the war.
@@draco84ozIn C.S. Forester's "The Ship" (about a WW2 light cruiser in the Mediterranean) he goes into some detail describing the galley arrangements as the ship's cooks put together a quick meal during a lull in the fighting. Due to the ship still being at action stations the kerosene burners can't be used, so the cooks use the backup system that uses live (i.e.: superheated) steam from the boilers to heat the kettles for a big batch of soup. While that's heating they're slicing up bread to make cheese sandwiches spread with mustard, and opening large cans of "pickles" (probably brown pickled onions) to have on the side. This is then collected by messengers from each section and brought back to be divided up and eaten at each crewman's battle station.
Somewhat unusual circumstances - the middle of a desperate fight against at least one battleship and several heavy cruisers - but it gives a good impression of the logistics involved in feeding even the crew of a light cruiser.
Admittedly, US naval ships, especially the battleships and carriers, were (in)famous for their creature comforts. Royal Navy generally made do with much more basic facilities and a NAAFI. But...the RN did still have a daily issue of Rum, and "Pusser's Kye" cocoa was apparently something else.
If I recall correctly, Britain had a hard time feeding its population without its colonial empire at the time, the UK was just too industrialized to be independent in terms of food. The US meanwhile were one of the biggest exporters of food in the world, it's not really the same ˆˆ
@@krankarvolund7771 You beat me to it. :)
I was in Saudi Arabia for Thanksgiving during the Gulf War. They served us a traditional dinner and football games were available on TV later in the day. We appreciated it a great deal after months of MREs. Keep up the great work Max.
I was there too back in 1990. Thanksgiving was nice, but for Xmas we had a huge sandstorm blow in. Dinner was still nice even it it was a bit.... gritty.
I always had a huge amount of respect for the cooks making the holiday meals whether it was on deployment or in the states. Sometimes it sucked not being home with the family for the holidays but the meals were a good boost of morale to most of the guys i knew including myself. Shout out to any military cooks yall are the real MVPs
As someone from the UK, the idea of having marshmallows with sweet potatoes is so strange to me.
I know that sweet potatoes are, you know, sweet (and having the contrast of sweet with savoury does definitely work) but marshmallows just seems like such a strange combination. When I first learned about this I thought it was joke at first but then accepted that it’s actually one of the most American things I’ve ever heard.
And I’d be lying if I wasn’t jealous of you all in the US getting an extra holiday with lots of nice food. I always thought thanksgiving was like a pre-Christmas 😅.
I also find it quite strange. I'm Canadian and we also have Thanksgiving (which is actually a bit different from the US Thanksgiving) but we certainly don't mix our sweet potatoes with marshmallows or syrup. I'd be down to try it though.
It's not mixed with marshmallows, they are sprinkled on top then toasted under the broiler (grill to you) so that they are melted and crispy chewy brown. And it's mini marshmallows on top of a thick layer of yams.
And it isn't all Americans. My family never did the marshmallows on sweet potato thing.
@@AmcsaeSame no marshmallows on our sweet potatos either
Thanksgiving is still massive in the military. All the officers and senior NCOs dress up and serve the meal which often includes a lot of really nice stuff to their troops. Doesnt matter if they are in North Carolina, Korea, or Iraq.
I'll never forget being a young private and not having the money at the time to fly home for thanksgiving and just how weird it was to see Top in his class A's in the chow hall serving me my dinner. He recognized me despite me still being relatively new to the unit and spared a few minutes to chat with me. I was scared shitless talking to Top because I was so fucking young and green. When I explained that instead of flying home I sent money home for my mother who was going through financial hardships, this man who was hard as nails lowered his voice and very quietly told me that if such a situation ever arose again with my mother that I was to come find him and he would make sure I could afford a ticket home. Luckily I never needed to call upon Top as my mom's situation got better, but I never ever forgot that moment. Great man. Great leader. Tough son of a bitch.
I'd be interested in what civilians had on the Thanksgiving table due to rationing.
Maybe next year!
My parents spent the war years in the SF Bay area, my father always recounted a story of my mom making the whole traditional meal(she was a fabulous cook), they invited a neighbor whose wife had apparently left him. He ate so much at that meal that they had to pull the table away so he could get up from his chair. Being in the west coast, they had plenty of produce, and had developed a rapport with the local butcher, he had a crush on my mom (she was a “looker”), so they always had “something” for special occasions, always within the limits of their food ration, of course.
That's actually an interesting topic for another reason. After FDR was first inaugurated in 1933, he and his wife Eleanor were concerned that White House meals were too ostentatious and expensive, measured against the Great Depression's misery. There was also the concern that many struggling families didn't know how to economize meals to stretch their meager diets.
Under Eleanor Roosevelt's supervision, presidential meals were made from as many affordable ingredients as possible, which the First Family ate willingly (if not enthusiastically). The menus were often reprinted in government publications to help guide the public. This practice went on through the entirety of FDR's stay in office, the biggest adjustment being made to incorporate rationing in menus after the outbreak of war. Most of the worst dishes of the USA postwar diet, laden with aspic and other unpalatable ingredients, may have gotten their start in the White House kitchen.
@petergray2712
I vaguely recall Max covering this subject in one of his videos. Don't remember which video, though I do remember that FDR ate the meal in question in his office, separate from everyone else and allegedly liked it (though it would be impossible to know for sure).
It depends on the country. In the US not much changed as far as food goes, in the UK they had extensive rationing that continued for years after the war. The reputation British food has for being bland and boring mostly comes from the rationing years and people continuing to cook like that after. Actually traditional British food is great and well seasoned. This is the country that conquered most of the world in search of spices after all.
I was in the Army in the early 2000's. I remember all the officers and higher enlisted would put on their dress uniforms and serve us single lower enlisted Thanksgiving Dinner at the chow halls. It was a day when rank didn't matter and everyone became human again for a day. Later at permanent duty stations, my married friends would invite us all to their houses and we would all make something we loved from home and serve it to everyone else. Huge spreads of food, and everyone seemed to bring their mother's best dish. I never deployed because my job wasn't based in the middle east, but when one of my friends came back in December, we threw him a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner welcome. Of all my Thanksgivings, those were the most special. We didn't have to be family, but we'd decided we were anyhow.
I was in Afghanistan 2009. My first thanksgiving away from home. My squad was out on 3 day ambush patrol and the rest of the platoon was so kind to F***** eat everything and leave nothing for us. The excuse was there simply wasn’t enough to go around anyways because we were on a remote outpost that was impossible to resupply. So….. there’s that.
Paul Boesch was a professional wrestler before the war. He retired from wrestling a few years after the war due to injuries, but he ended up being the main wrestling announcer and then promoter in Houston, Texas until the late 80s. He's in the WWE Hall of Fame, and is regarded as one of the fairest promoters in wrestling history.
And we can thank Paul Boesch for introducing Stu Hart to his future wife Helen when Paul was also a lifeguard in Long Beach, NY. So no huge famous Hart family without Boesch.
I was wondering about his history, that pic looked like he had cauliflower ear. Thanks for the info!
I could tell by the ear the man had done his fair time in a ring!
Yes, I posted a similar post. Boesch was close to Gino Hernandez, a rising star who died prematurely at at 28 in 1986 under suspicious circumstances, so close that long-held rumors were that Boesch was Gino's biological father. But Gino's mom dispelled that rumor on the Dark Side Of The Ring episode on Gino.
His name was also pronounced basch with a long A.
I love the story of the ship that crossed the dateline and consequently had two Thanksgiving meals. I always wish I could have more than one Thanksgiving meal!
Haha. I, on the other hand, frequently regret having even the one, at the end of the day. ;)
That’s where leftovers come in clutch
Did that on a USN Frigate in 1992 - skipper was a FUN guy.
@@MrVovansim you could always celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in October and then American Thanksgiving in November
@@HelpingAnimalsS spamming scumbag
Being Canadian of Scottish ancestry, my family has always gone with bashed neeps (mashed turnip or rutabaga with brown sugar) n' tatties (mashed potatoes with butter) instead of sweet potatoes, but it's all good. Enjoy your thanksgiving feed however you like!
My Dad always insisted on turnip and would demand that everyone eat some - no matter how little. I wish we had known about the brown sugar part, it would have helped!
I'm Canadian of Scottish origin. Turnip and mashed taters is a staple with heaps of turkey gravy and the bird.
@@cardboardempire That and some sort of vegetable boiled beyond recognition.
@@michaelstanley5215 My mother used to skip the brown sugar and so I didn't like turnip as a kid, until my grandmother came down and showed us how the rest of the family did it back east. Since I grew old enough to take charge of Thanksgiving and Xmas turkey feeds, it's brown sugar on the 'neeps and my kids cook it the proper way now too. 😀 Not too late to make it proper for your family too!
And oh man, sorry to hear that. Nothing worse then boiled veggie mush at a holiday fest, not even all the gravy in the world can disguise that enough to be edible. 😞
@@exidy-yt Boiled beyond recognition is the British way. My family is Canadian of UK heritage as well.
What we often did with the leftovers was mix the turnip with the mashed potatoes and then fry it with a generous amount of butter - that was good!
My grandpa was a Navy cook in WWII. He was stationed in the Pacific and he did mention the Philippines and Leyte Island. It's surreal watching the history and knowing he was there. I wish he was still alive so I could ask him about the Thanksgiving meals. Great video!
My Dad may have been a recipient of some of your Grandpa's meals since his service fits right in with time and place. Pleasant thought!!
@@morningloryke I sure hope so! The reason I know of Leyte is bc I found out in the early 2000's that he could have a son in the Philippines. My uncle tried to look for his possible half-brother but we only had a first name, so no luck. Maybe one day a DNA test will reveal if we have kinfolk.
You should do a Max Miller History episode where you make recipes from your family/childhood! I want to know how to make that Thanksgiving leftovers pie lol
I could do that!
That's a biillaint idea! Getting clever with thanksgiving ans/or Christmas leftovers can sometimes be a bit of a task.
@@TastingHistory It would be a perfect video to post the day after Thanksgiving as a kind of holiday special.
@@TastingHistory And the short video clip you included while explaining what your dad makes...does it kind of look like that? lIke a layered pie? Since many people make sandwiches using all of the leftovers, it makes just as much sense to make a pie out of it!
Oh yes, I’d love to see this too!
As an army brat I’ve had Mess Hall Thanksgiving 3 times. For cafeteria food, they did a great job of feeding the troops and their families a traditional turkey dinner.
Saw a documentary in which an elderly US Army veteran recounted a story about some US troops looking forward to Thanksgiving, from their station in a small French village that the Germans had been forced out of. There was a poor orphanage in the village, & the children were surviving on almost nothing. When the American soldiers' Thanksgiving dinner was prepared, the GI's collected those hungry children, brought them to the mess hall, & gave them their own dinner. The vet teared up as he told the story, saying simply, "We were happy we did it.". God bless the USA military personnel, & Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I didn't think I'd burst into tears during this episode... But when I heard that 3 soldiers died over Thanksgiving dinner that "had" to get there per orders!
It's BS 😭
There's always that one officer that doesn't have the brains of a goose.
My Grandfather was a navy baker during WW2. He used these cookbooks and would have had one on his bookshelf but his ship, The Gambier Bay, went down in the South Pacific and he lost his copy. What recipes he remembered were amazing.
USS Gambier Bay? Lucky man. I've worked in commercial kitchens and had some weird things go through them, but never a Japanese naval shell.
Just read a book about the Gambier Bay. Lucky he lived.
My dad wrote a letter to his family during WW2. He sent the menu, and went on an on on how great the food was.
Reminds me of how the opposite happened in the Korean War when they air dropped the thanksgiving dinner. My grandad mentioned how if you didn’t eat fast enough your food would start to freeze up and by the time it was served it was already cold. 0:44
Dad was with Combat Camera in the Marianas during WW2. One of the few things I heard about his service was how much he hated powdered eggs.
My dad served in the army & he hated powdered eggs 🍳 & canned milk 🥫
I spent 21 years in the Army, and I had many a Thanksgiving dinner overseas on deployments. The Army spared nothing and they always went above and beyond for holidays. It was hard enough being away from family.
My grandfather was in the Navy for WW2 and at one point his job was to go around and make sure all the ships had the supplies and knowledge to prepare the massive meals they needed, as well as to make sure they followed all the regulations.
Kind of love these modern history recipes. You get the right proportions, not really guessing like the Ancient ones; but it is still so far removed from our modern senses that it is fantastical. But then you can go and see proof of it, physical objects from then, or talk to people from the time (at least for a few more years); it really binds the history together!
Being Air Force, I generally ate well while deployed, but there was something special about getting a Thanksgiving meal while deployed that fed the soul as well as our bellies.
I have a Christmas day dinner menu my dad kept from Vietnam in 1968. As you'd expect most of the dishes are the same, though there was mincemeat pie. I have to say that from my own time in the Army that they always did holiday dinners right, no matter where I was.
My Uncle had a similar experience in "Nam on his repair/supply ship. Thanksgiving/Xmas were meals the crew looked forward to the most..
It's funny how mincemeat pie has gone from being basically required to almost unknown in recent times. Most Americans think it's British food now. (of course it was originally)
I was in the Army from the late 80's through the early 2000's, and that's one thing that's never changed. They pull out all the stops to get good holiday meals out to people no matter where they are.
Thanks for doing this one. My grandpa served '31-'33 as a cook and then rejoined '42-'46 as a pharmacist mate. Served as a battlefield medic during Operation Dragoon.
This reminded me of my Grandpa. He was stationed in the Pacific during WWII. He said one time the the cook went AWOL and left them with nothing but chicken and dried blueberries for 4 months at sea.
Thank you for this video! I was an only child born to older parents and my Daddy was a WII Vet (Army) he loved it. He was given an aptitude test and scored highest ever so he was put into communications. He was never in battle! So I really appreciate this video! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!🎑 Patricia Gambino Harrington
One of my grandparents was a cook in the Navy during the war! When I was little, he used to cut carrots and other vegetables into flowers and fun shapes to get the kids to eat them. Miss that guy 🙏
9:19 Stanley Collins was my great grandfather on my moms side. A lot of my family on that side have military backgrounds. It's both surprising and awesome to see his name pop up here on my favorite UA-cam channel.
I will always remember thanksgiving in Iraq 2004. We were in a small out post. They tried to bring up thanksgiving dinner but the truck carrying it got blown up. The guys in it were fine other a few scraps and scratches but dinner was lost.
When making stuffing, I always add the herbs and spices to the frying onions and celery, then add the fried vegs to the bread. If you add the herbs to the bread, the herbs tend to get stuck in the bread cubes. With my way, the herbs get distributed more evenly through the stuffing.
Happy Upcoming Thanksgiving. 22 years in the Navy - did Thanksgiving 5 times on base and 12 times out at sea - ALWAYS proud of how well the Mess Specialists did on our holiday meals. And is was certainly BUSY on an aircraft carrier - feeding 8K folks back in the day.
Best cook I ever met was a Navy cook.
I knew a veteran who served on a minesweeper in the Pacific during the war. He told me that when Thanksgiving was coming Navy prioritized the major front line ships first i.e. battleships, fleet carriers. Since his ship was doing convoy escort far from the front they were essentially last in line for receiving the food but got it in time for the holiday. The issue was the freezer on the supply ship they met with had experienced a malfunction so the turkeys went bad but were delivered anyway. Majority of crew got food poisoning. The man never ate turkey again for the rest of his life because of the incident
The way you read the newspaper clippings in a classic radio voice was absolutely spot on!
My brother was a cook in the Army during The Vietnam Conflict. During his first Thanksgiving in Vietnsm he supervised the roasting of 23 turkeys, and 50 lbs of both sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes. He had also supervised the baking of dressing and making of gravy. When it came time to start serving the men there were only officers and high ranked men in his line. The most unusual thing he told us was that he was on the field and they had called a cease fire. He send us pictures of him and his crew cooking, and even serving.
My dad who grew very poor served in the army. He volunteered for KP (kitchen patrol) because the cooks always fed them well for working it. He said that in the army, he finally to get enough to eat.
It was only good business. KP's, on arrival, got a welcoming speech, thanking them for coming, and got fed, before anything else. Then, they would work harder and for longer, than expected, doing dishwashing and basic prep work. Today, with civilian contractor KP's, getting better pay than the industry standard, with entitled, bad attitudes, and things have gotten much worse, in garrison dining facilities. Soldiers who get paid to eat there, simply won't. That means that money that the Army was expecting to get back, goes out to fast food joints, and convenience stores. Good on your Dad!
One thing I do remember is that the military goes all out when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Even when you think it wouldn't be possible, they somehow manage to do something to make it as good as they can.
The military still does this even today, and it is still tradition to have officers slice the turkey and serve you. It was a small gesture, but it was nice when I was deployed during Thanksgiving/Christmas.
Thanks, Max, my dad was at Leyte, probably had the dinner as he was navy on a transport. adds one more piece to the things he really didn't talk about. Again, thanks. Made my day.
This makes me so happy! My grandfather was in the navy during WWII so it’s so lovely to think this is what he ate on Thanksgiving while he was at sea and it makes me feel a little closer to him.
I'm Danish, and I love learning about foreign nations and their holiday traditions! Thid video was super cool!!
Så min ven, hvorfor ærer du ikke din egen arv, dine forfædre og Gud ved at se, at han har skabt din krop perfekt, hvorfor lader du dig gøre til slave af sindssyge kulter? Ved du ikke, at du er smuk? ;~;
I hope you get to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner some day and that I can come to your country and learn about your holiday traditions
@@rozzaziobrown6515 we have lots of holiday traditions, but I recommend the Christmas markets every December in København!
Thanks for our people overseas and abroad fighting for freedom. We love you guys and are thinking of you this holiday season
My dad never told us anything but funny stories from his time in the service. He served in WWII until 1976.
Relative was a cook in WWII, Pacific . According to him. Every time he started to bake a cake. Artillery would cause cake to fall. Apparently, the Commanding Officer, got to a point. Where he had to report Any time he was going to bake any cakes!
when you said “my nana made it with marshmallows” i teared up slightly because my nana did the same - the wording got me i think. she’s no longer with us so that was comforting in a way hahah
Thanksgiving in the Army was ALWAYS the best meal. No matter where I was, I knew my hunger pangs and homesickness would be temporarily salved. Thanks for reminding me of some of my favorite memories of 8 years so long ago.
Very cool! My dad still has his Thanksgiving day menu from the Vietnam War. When I'm home for the holidays I'll have to make a copy. Would be pretty cool to try and recreate it!
Max your ability to segue into the sponsor is 💯 second to none. Its so great!
It reminds me of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, the way Marlin Perkins would slide into the commercial
@HelpingAnimalsS piss off, spammer
Can't wait to see what he does with "Raid: Shadowlegends".
Agreed. Also, I can't be the only one impressed with Max's ability to pronounce words in other languages. I mean, for just picking up some casual German, he sounded like he's been speaking it for years.
@@BenChurchill76he’s one of the few youtubers ive been following that didn’t butcher my language haha. Im turkish
Pumpkin pie will always make me feel cozy as I'm reminded of my grandmother; food really is a powerful thing! I can understand why they would go to such lengths to get a thanksgiving dinner to all they could.
i could see the ship full of turkey being a movie!
love the ending message. happy thanksgiving!
My Dad was a Sapper (engineer) in the Canadian Army in WWII. I wish I had asked him more about the food and other day-to-day experiences. He was in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Holland, and Germany.
I was very lucky to find two photos of him. One, from Library and Archives Canada of him working a crane while they were building a pontoon bridge near Essen in Germany. The other was in Newsreel just after the end of the war of the Canadians staging to be returned to Canada. I wish Dad had been around to see it… He died in 1989
Marshmallow on the sweet potatoes had never been a thing at my own home. I remember so clearly the very first time we had Thanksgiving with my relatives in Florida and my grand-aunt made sweet potatoes with marshmallows...who knew such a glorious thing was even *possible*!! Obviously as a kid I LOVED it, and although I don't usually make it myself, I am a fan. I think the caramelized sugar of the toasted marshmallow goes very well with the sweet potatoes! Very sugary though, obviously.
Ok, you've sold me on the idea as a dessert item. My preferred presentation of sweet potatoes is with a generous amount of cumin, paprika, and cayenne, but I could absolutely see a nice marshmallowy sweet potato dish as a dessert.
My great grandfather was actually on the German front when this happened - he was a medic - and one of the things he mentioned was how the (metal) cans and cutlery they had shipped with some of the thanksgiving meals would alert the German forces...it was a disastrous thing to do in the name of morale.
I wish I could give you a million thumbs up. My son is a Naval submariner and is out on deployment. He will be having his Thanksgiving meal under the sea. This made me think of him and remember why I'm so proud of him. He loves your cookbook. He watches your channel whenever he can. I like to think it is our connection while he's away. God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving day and everyday.
This year is going to be my first time celebrating Thanksgiving without my family. I'm cooking for the students at a loxal college and at first I was sad, but thinking about all the students here going through the same made me realize that maybe a turkey dinner is what they need to help with the homesickness
That Thanksgiving Pie of your dad's sounds amazing! I'd love a recipe.
Yes! We want the recipe!
You don't really need a recipe... Layer thanksgiving leftovers in a dish and bake until warm. Maybe broil it towards the end to get some crispy bits on the potatoes?
To be honest, when you were telling the story of the Great 1944 Turkey Shipment, I expected you to say the ship was sunk in sight of the French coast by a German U-boat...
And I seldom see a face light up as yours did, Max, when you first tasted the cranberry sauce!
By mid 1944 the Kriegsmarine was a distant memory. Their flagship had been sunk , their U-boats were starving for fuel and parts , and their leadership structure was in ruins.
That reminds me, I need to go back and watch the older pumpkin pie video so I'm ready for next week. I love being able to use your stuff to live little bits of history. The lemonade in your book is still my daughter's favorite lemonade.
Glad she likes it!
@@TastingHistoryMe too max! You always make My day 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤
A fine and appropriate video not just for Thanksgiving, but for this just past Veterans Day. Another outstanding job. Thank you.
Thanks for this video Max! My father was stationed in the Pacific during WWII and until very late in his life he never discussed the things he saw and did. It's very cool to know what the fellas had to eat.
When my grandmother moved from England to America post war to be with my grandfather who had been in the 14th armored division, she would make oyster dressing every thanksgiving. My dad loved it and made it a few times for me the way he remembered her making it.
Thank you so much for this! My late grandpa was a Navy cook on a ship in the Pacific in WWII, and this is a window into a part of his life he rarely talked about (and never in depth when he did). Grandpa is also the one who taught me to make Thanksgiving stuffing, and his base recipe was basically what you made here, but with a good dose of broth to moisten it up. Now I know where he learned it.
Absolutely the best Thanksgiving dinner was the time spent in uniform. The military always went well above and beyond to provide an excellent meal. I could tell little difference from that served by my family gatherings.
Thank you, Max. My grandpa was in the Navy during WW2. He said holiday meals on the ship were special, and he was impressed by what the cooks managed to prepare.
The cranberry sauce/jelly is really interesting to me, because jelly like that gets used a lot in sweden with meat focused dishes. They are often tart or bitter and fairly sweet depending on what you like, and it's a great way to cut through a heavy meal. Kind of like chutney, i think. I searched on wikipedia and the english version only mention jelly as desserts. My favorite kind is my mom's rowan berry and apple jelly c:
This brings back memories of the stories my dad used to tell about his experiences as a Navy cook during World War II. (Especially the infamous "6 months with no meat but mutton" incident!) I think I might still have Dad's copy of "The Cookbook of the United States Navy"; never tried cooking from it, though, as the recipes tend to be geared towards 100 servings each.
How the hell did that happen?
@@naamadossantossilva4736It's the army. It's probably a classic Army Fuckup.
That newsreel commentary IS amazing, and the message from President Roosevelt was so sweet and summed up what Thanksgiving is all about. I love it.
As to the question of what we prefer on our sweet potatoes, I'm like you, Max: Instead of marshmallows, I prefer a streusel-like topping. My family's includes pecan halves and brown sugar. Yum! Now I'm looking forward to eating it tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!