Hide Article Text (OCR)
THUY SHOOT CO»S. DOW TIIEY?Soldiers Have Right to GripeSoupy, Soupy, Soupyi Come und git y^r chow. —OLD DO.GG fEMESS CALLthe likes of Francois*-’ or Uocfly’s. . .mRMY RATIONS may hot as appetizing as Jone.s mast beef or Apple Valley's prime rib, but .it is a matter of record that no soldier «ver wasted away and expired from eating government rations ... in barracks or field.That is not to soy however, that no GI-cver died-from grousing about the quality or delivery of Army food. .It Is the inherent privilege of a soldier to .gripe. He could function better standing on his head than *ny noncommissioned officer. His colonels and generals are dunces -— nay, criminals for leading him so inefficiently. And the cooks •nd mess sergeants, they are fiends with no life purpose *ave to poison him slowly or else withhold from him his fair portion of the poison’’ ao as to starve him to death.The facts more likely are that the average G1 never had It so good foodwise, for not many of them, prior to theirIT WOULD BE HARD toconvince some soldiers .tjiat the Army goes to great pains to feed them. Dieticians are constantly seeking the best food for them. An elaborateranchers in the area. At breakfast you gave your order to r waiter. Lest I be court-martialed/ on the spot let me hastily add that the enlisted men ate as well. I know because I was their mess officer and ale with them most meals.By Bill SheltonM 111 VS litsystem of schools is operated to train cooks and mess per: sonnel..- .Great - effort/is put forth,* especially, during times of. crimbftt, to give/the soldier ■the best food there is, even if it deprives civilians. . * ‘And it probably 'is true that at most Army posts‘you will find-.the very best food that is served’anywhere. Of course the nicnus vary with the conditions under which the soldier jr serving.The .best food I ever ate ’ was .at •‘the officers’. mess of my regiments at Camp Fannin; Texas. Our mess officer had been-a chef back east and. he knew, his ravioli. Wc* were - served such delicacies as bilked fresh * salmon, for instance, and freshfnrnna/i f m IIIi.JONDLY RECALL myfirst' encounter .-with Armychow. It was at old Camp Whitside, Fort Riley, Kan. -Especially do I remember the delicious bread, pudding ■ and baked beans concocted•by two non-corns who had recently been on Marine duty ' oil. the Yangtze in China.Then on the other side of the coin was the terrible rubber” chicken and turkey served by order of Eisenhower tu frontline troops in Europe in 1944, The stuff probably had been ccokcd In ' England and flown in, but then ’ it was typical Army bird. Besides, one of our ^companies lost six men by lining them up behind a kitchen truck under German observation. I had no use for bird for many years after actually until I was .forced, 1 happily, to eat at /.'Phillips ‘ r.iiirk/»n Pin Shoo aftercoming to Long Beach.; The Army, field ration agreed with me. I gained weight nn it . . *. a steady diet of it. Especially did 1 like the C-Ration. My battalion was in position on Elsenborn Ridge in Belgium for 30 plus days. I dwelt in a hole in the snowy ground with our medical administrative uffi-cer, his sergeant and two stretcher bearers. We dined during that sojurti solely on C’s.A C-RATI ON consisted of three meals: breakfast, dinner (or lunch) and supper (or dinner). Breakfast was two cans’ worth, one containing biscuits (crackers), sugar butter, powdered coffee and 3 cigarettes (usually’ King Snno or Wings). The second can contained a delicious portion of scrambled eggs and bacon, well preserved.Lunch and dinner were intercbangablc. Can 1 had biscuits, butler, powdered lemonade, fig bar (ah!), cigarettes, and tissue.-Can 2 was eighter/or beef stew, pork with beans or hash. All delicious, all nulriliuus, but hardly Rochelle’s. I suppose ifr *nr\i Virnd to understandwhy after many fortnightsof I his fare, a Cl would writefondly home about his longing for mama’s apple pie, or a stack of Huhert’s hotcakes. ..But then Iherc always were ways to supplement the battlefield diet. The stories about the artillery laying o barrage* atop u fanner’s cow are ‘ not fiction. Once on leave to Vervicrs, Belgium, • I ordered steak at the besthotel in the city. How doyou want it cooked, was the 'prompt rejoinder. It was good. It was cooked justrighb It was a might lough.It was horse.• Then again at the best (well almost) hotel in Paris i dined in a great room of elegant chandeliers, tapestried walls, liveried waiters, string chamber music and fine French wine. And the entree . . . the entree ... Army hash.Ccst la guerre!
Newspaper Details
Independent Press Telegram
Long Beach, California, US
Sun, Aug 07, 1966
Page 147
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 17 Apr 2019
Other Publications Near Long Beach, California
Independent Long Beach
Independent Press Telegram
Press Telegram
Independent
Long Beach Press Telegram
