We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:29:19 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification For those of you who have suffered through C Rations (mmm, green eggs and ham!) and MREs - This story will have a great deal of meaning. Yes it is true that some of the meals were marked "Not for preflight or in flight use" I about pi$$ed myself. Anybody know this guy? I got it in an email today. Man, I haven't had Ranger Pudding since that night at Bleidorn Tower when the 8inch had a fuze malfunction 200m overhead. Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day,... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:09:42 -0600 Cricket: Old thread, you may not be looking here still, but: I have a hat, jackets, and some other odd stuff (e.g., a watch fob) from men in my life who've mattered to me. They're small things, but they connect me to those people. I wear or carry the stuff when I feel the need. Sometimes, my daughter wears my old field jacket, or my grandad's old-country fisherman hat, and that probably gives me more of a thrill than it does her. I am not one for shrines to those who've died, but considering all of my grandfolks were steerage class immigrants, small mementos and heirlooms are worth more than money to me. And as a grown-up boy, I can still feel the magic I felt when given those things by them. And I certainly understand the power of the items your kids carried while waiting for someone to return home! -SangerM http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12944 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12944 Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:28:49 -0600 My husband gave me one when we were dating. I know the US Cavalry store carries them, but the issue ones were the best. I have used it to cut yarn and thread (I knit and surf the net)as well as open boxes and whatnot. I have been feeling arthritic lately, so that is why I haven't used it, but it is still there on my key ring. As each of our boys turned ten, he gave them a P38 that he bought at the CAV store. Our boys were lucky in that my dad is retired Army (chaplain type)and he purchased some terrific surplus items over the years that he shared with all the grandkids. Down filled mummy sleeping bags, poncho liners, officer's mess kits, and old field jackets not only set my kids apart at scout camp, but their gear was the envy of the other campers because it worked. Two years ago when dh was in Kuwait, each of the kids found something that he had used that was military and they either wore it (an old BDU ball cap minus the rank) or kept it with them in their rooms until he got home. Such priceless memories...thanks. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12917 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12917 Fri, 28 Jan 2005 21:26:26 -0600 P-38, right here next to my dog tag on the key chain... How many times have you struck up a conversation with some unknown fellow because you heard HIS dog tag jingling on his keychain? The P-38 is "the grunt's fingernail", screwdriver, pry bar, ice scraper, plastic-wrap cutter, tape cutter, box cutter, field expedient "get yer hand off of me tool", extra affirmation that it's friggin' cold outside when you put your dog tags on first thing in the morning, and occasionally even opens cans of food or coffee... ...And they can have it when they pry my cold, dead fingers from it... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12764 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12764 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 14:08:43 -0600 Cricket - Re: Left-handed P-38-- 1. Try holding the can upside down and 2. Use plenty of paper towels or 3. A hundred-pound Samoyed-Lab mix who thinks she's a Ranger*. *They'll stick their noses all the way inside the can, too, if you let them, but they won't let you pet them... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12761 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12761 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 13:26:04 -0600 P38 can opener, not James Bond's weapon of choice. I have one too and it is a useful little gadget. Probably one of the few useful things a committee ever came up with. It hurts my right wrist and did they ever make a left handed one? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12755 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12755 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 11:44:39 -0600 http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml#e A CAN OPENER?!?! Oh, for heavens sake. You guys were going on and on about your P38's, I figured they had to be some sort of fancy tool- not a kitchen utensil! Just kidding- obviously they're a big part of military history and very handy. I found the link above doing a Google search and thought I'd share it with you P38 devotees.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12749 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12749 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:03:03 -0600 can opener. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12747 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12747 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:47:48 -0600 Ok. Stupid civilian question. Just what IS a P38? Sounds like a Leatherman tool or something. Oh, and the P38 Lightning is my 7 year old's favorite plane. Absolutely loves those suckers! We went to the Children's Museum last weekend, and he made one out of Lego's. Had a dickens of a time getting him to leave it there- it was very cool. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12746 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12746 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:43:15 -0600 AFSis - if it's a good funny story, write it up and we'll post it (having readers provide content *so* takes the pressure off the blogger...) Sanger- Griffits was succeeded by Peters, my guy. P-38. Mine is on my key ring, and has been since 1972. It's actually worn the profile of the cutter into the handle. The MITRE guys in the office next over send their secretary to borrow it (they're too embarrassed) when they need to open a new can of coffee, and of course, it doubles as a screw-driver, mailbox tape cutter, and fingernail cleaner. tmjUtah - same experience with TSA. Almost had to make good on the threat to miss the plane. Local LEO came over to see what I was fussing about. Took one look (he was a former soldier) took the offending piece of gear, told me he'd mail it to me as he understood the value - and told the TSA guy to grow up and get a life. He then wandered through the gate area 10 minutes later and did a 'live drop' and gave it back to me. My P-38 has seen 5 of seven continents and a little bit of combat. If I ever go to Australia or Antarctica, it will go with me. Trivia question: Where did the nomenclature "P38" come from? Save you from a red herring - while introduced in WWII, it has nothing to do with aircraft of same name. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12744 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12744 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:15:42 -0600 From what the lad told me they put the un opened Mystery Meal in the flames and the bags explode with a LOUD one. We were at Fort Lewis at the time, and the scout camp was in Nisqually, just down the road from a training area. I think some of the incindiary matter ignited the conifer. He was rather vague about the whole thing. He would love it here. All guy stuff and gear stuff and stories. I have four boys and one daughter and well, I like doing fun stuff with the kids...you ought to read the ideas Miss Cassandra came up with for her kids and I am going to borrow this year! I never grew up. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12732 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12732 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 06:56:29 -0600 TmjUtah - Stepping off the C-rat portion but keeping in line with cruel-but-hilarious jokes, I knew an L-19 pilot who'd fly over a patch of woods that had been Arc Lighted within the previous week at 3,000 feet, cut the engine, then toss about a dozen empty Coke bottles out the window... Quick explanatory note to those who don't remember glass Coke bottles--toss an empty just right and it'd whistle exactly like a descending 250-pound bomb. Go buy one in a boutique for twenty bucks and throw it around--you'll see. I mean, hear. Keep that in mind and re-read the first paragraph... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12725 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12725 Thu, 27 Jan 2005 00:33:08 -0600 first John Wayne, received in bootcamp at the top of Mt. MF on Camp Pendleton (1980) is on my keyring as I right this. One of Ridge's boys gave it a long look there in the little plastic tray at the BWI security checkpoint on our way home from grandma/grandpa's house once. If he'd made an issue of it, I would have missed the plane before I gave it up. Silly thing to do, toss in a sealed can of jelley like that. What you are SUPPOSED to do is poke a teeny little hole in the side and stash it in somebody else's fire. That way you get a flamethrowing pinwheel. Usually enough fire so that you can see it from across a pos, too, even if it just rolls out of the fire and doesn't do the flight thing. Another use is to smear the jelley all over a simulator and wire it under the SNCO two-holer frame. Use a pressure release trigger and the entire battery can line up for pictures while the victim is yelling after he hears the "click". ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12723 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12723 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 23:11:22 -0600 SangerM - The trick lay in knowing (or SWAGing) the water contern of the meal. Lots of water/juice (H&MFs, Beanie-Wienies) meant slow heating for an extended period of time. Best heating method was to leave it on the tire of a deuce (south side) for at least an hour. No turning required. Minimal water/juice (Ham Slices, Scrambled Vomit) you could cook faster, hotter, but you had to turn the can at least once. This served two purposes--it insured even distribution of the juice and, if you burned the hell out of your fingers while turning it, don't complete the turn--it was done. Engine components worked well (as you discovered). So did mufflers. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12722 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12722 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 23:01:01 -0600 BillT: And it pays to be prepared--you never know where your next can is coming from... Yeah, and I am but one of the many go-to guys at work whenever someone needs a can opened. Seems they're hard to let go of. And of course, I did teach my kid how to use it. She can't quite work it well, but she thinks it's cool stuff (being real Army and all, and GI Joes are her FAVORITE dolls--not my doing really, truly, cross my heart). As for the cooking, I just don't see how you could get them hot enough. We used to put cans on the manifold of the jeep when we'd be driving, but once we forgot a can of beans, and it exploded all over the inside of the engine compartment. The whole jeep smelled like crap for days, and it was nigh impossible to get it all off the hood, etc. And the hood had dent in it from the explosion! As for exploding things, on one of the first army outings I ever participated in, a guy tossed a can of C-rat peanut butter in an open fire. It exploded a little while later and a hot jet of goo hit another guy in the face! Talk about an ugly time. Lesson Learned, though! SangerM http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12716 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12716 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:21:43 -0600 BOOM> is the flameless heater...stuff it into a water bottle (1/4 full works best), screw the top back on tight, shake it up and toss it. Loud as a simulator, big puff of steam and--no sharps flying around. Oooops--your son doesn't visit here, does he? ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12714 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12714 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:11:59 -0600 BillT, that's a funny story. But then, those were the "old-style" C's... :-) The only time I ever saw ham and MFs was in basic. We were going on our first ever New Jersey Sand Nites camp-out and they'd put a bunch of C cases by the messhall door and told us to grab one on the way out after breakfast. I got the aforementtioned H&MF. I opened the can, but never did eat them. Likewise, I never, ever ate the scrambled eggs. Talk about "oogie." Like Cricket, I'd rather hunt down and kill some dinner than eat that stuff. Or better yet, steal pineappples from the Dole fields nearby... :-) And as for T-Rats. I once used one of those rectangular alumninum lids to replace the disk part of a discone datalink antenna on a Trailblazer DF system. It worked better than the orginal (less resistance on the VSWR meter for those who might care)! Mmmm, all this food talk is making me hungry. I think I'll go raid the garage. Not. -SangerM http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12713 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12713 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:01:54 -0600 Who on God's green earth decided that Ham and Lima Beans make a good combination? I bet they like orange juice with their Cheerios too. blech. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12712 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12712 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:54:45 -0600 after the Count the Bullet Holes mission) and keeping an eye on a Loach trolling for fire off to the east. He was screaming along, criss-crossing a treeline when he must have really annoyed somebody; tracers-tracers-tracers-long-story-short, he hit a paddy at a shallow angle doing 100 knots and tumbled along for about fifty yards, raising dust and shedding helicopter pieces enroute. We nipped on over figgering it was MedEvac time, but the pilot and gunner came staggering out of the dust cloud just as we got overhead. We picked them up and flew them back to Can Tho, where they promptly hopped into another Loach and returned to the crash site to pick up the pilot's camera, the gunner's M-60 and their canteens and C-rats. By the time we'd refueled and caught up with them, they were both standing by the wreckage, laughing like maniacs. Charlie had beaten them to the aircraft and scarfed up the camera, the M-60--with ammo--the FM and UHF radios, five smoke grenades and the first-aid kit. The only thing they didn't take was the gunner's lunch, which they had opened and inspected. Ham and Limas. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12710 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12710 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:44:58 -0600 My son liked to blow them up on Scout campouts. One ignited a pine tree...and I never did find out the rest of the story. When our boys were in Scout troops that had NO military affiliation whatsoever, MREs were GOLD. We had to eat them for the 'refreshments' at a disaster preparedness conference. We got cheese and crackers and PB and jelly. I have eaten them and would just as soon grow my own food, slaughter my own animals as EVER eat of them again. They are oogie. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12708 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12708 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:32:29 -0600 John, re Red Lions: 1) On reflection, not sure about Bleidonrn's first name. He was Bn CO from '75-'77ish. 2) Our next Bn Co was Griffits, replaced by ?? For the change of Command, Griffits' wife showed up in a sheer yellow sundress with little on under it. Those of us on the end of the Bn formation nearest the HQ group had a nice view of her--through the dress. What a day that was. 3) I could tell you all sorts of stories about 2/81, and 1/46 Inf and 2/37 tank, the friendly, and not so friendly rivalries. And the trips to Tennenlohe, and like times at Graf when the 2nd REAL LIVE TOW we ever fired went 10 feet out of the tube, then straight up.. or the time a bunch of CSC folks I was in charge of mooned the 1AD Commander (I think it was Otis at the time) as they drove by his reviewing stand in a 2.5 ton! 4) I have lots of pictures of Erlangen, and of the Cobra King, and etc. If ya wanna see 'em let me know. BillT: 1) mimeographed: I had to explain to my kid a few months ago what that old purple-printed paper in my I-love-me-book was. She said is that like scanning and printing? ! Of course she calls my old 33s the big black CDs. Kids. 2) And we used to cook in the helmets when we didn't have ammo cans or when they didn't have shaving residue in them. And we used to use mogas and toilet paper rolls in a #10 can cause it glowed blue instead of yellow. Remind me to tell you about how one of the 2/81 radar teams burned up a zoll hooch (and the radar, and all their stuff) on the Czech border using that technique. AF Sister: Chilidogs? In MREs? Wow! I got out before they actually put decent food in them... We had the dehydrated stuff, and in the hash browns for example, the damn bag leaked. Personally, I always did and still do prefer the C's. At least they came with water, and the cans were good for all sorts of things, and they had a p-38. You just couldn't beat that. HEY, HOW MANY OF YOU STILL CARRY A P38 ON YOUR KEY RING? I still have some in paper wrappers, just in case the world comes to an end. 'Nuff for now. -SangerM http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12707 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12707 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:30:41 -0600 It could have been, John. I remember it was in a foil bag, and it was already warm due to the hot weather and the foil. Pretty darn disgusting, but it was all the locals left us after raiding our food & water over night. I was there with Red Cross, and we had all of our food & water in a tent outside. The MRE/T-rat's were the only things left by morning- we'd get raided every night. No one really minded- at least we got to leave and get a real meal for dinner every night. Those poor people couldn't do that. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12704 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12704 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:15:07 -0600 "each brownie had been reconstituted and put back in it's stiff plastic wrapper. With the sharp corners." Is that like what happens when you don't chew up the fritos all the way before you swallow them? ooooowwwwww! :-( http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12703 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12703 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:11:54 -0600 I will have you linked by tomorrow a.m. - don't know why I haven't already done it. You've been a daily stop for the last six months or so. Artillery - lending dignity to what would be otherwise a vulgar brawl. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12702 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12702 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:05:47 -0600 Chili dogs? That sounds like T-rats, not MRE's - a completely different gustatory experience! tmjUtah - A Redleg! Welcome to da house, man! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12695 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12695 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:38:41 -0600 My only experience with MRE's was during Hurricane Andrew in Homestead, FL. We were given MRE's most days for lunch- and most days that meant chili dogs. Can't say that I ever want to repeat that experience. Just imagine what NORMAL chili dogs do to a person and then multiply that by the 2 or 3 years those things had been building up ammunition! Lord help us all... The date story was hilarious! Some day, when I've had too much Yellow Tail, I'll tell you about the first time my now husband came to dinner at my parents house. It still ranks right up there with life's most embarassing moments, even 14 years later! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12693 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12693 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:32:00 -0600 It was a dark and stormy night. Or, no shit, this really happened: (Dateline - somewhere in the Delta Corridor, 29 Palms, California, Another freakin' FIREX, 1983) We had been in the field for about two weeks. Cigarettes were going for five bucks a pack, and Skoal was beyond price. The big ramp up in Defense had yet to reach the Palms except for the fact we were shooting more rounds in effect than any of us could remember and we were spending more time in the field than ever before. Rumors of Good New Stuff circulated, though. Rifles that didn't break when you tumbled out of a truck. Trucks that didn't break down. Radios that... well, allowed you to talk to other folks. We were in a high value training evolution - yep, summer thunderstorms and high winds were adding to the experience. Round about midnite, under a low cloud cover/moonless night, there came a hammering on the door of our FDC truck (we had a home-built plywood hooch built on the back of a 5 ton) heralded the arrival of a severly lost and mightily pissed off and soaked supply type. "Is this the supply truck?" "Who wants to know?" spoke the Gunny. "I've got two cases of brownies for supply." Brownies? "We'll take 'em. Thanks, son. Steer out THAT way, or you'll be in front of the guns." Two cases marked "Brownies, chocolate fudge, dessert". Flattish, vacuum sealed green plastic packages. We were still eating C's at the time. Gunny called the XO pit and found out that the brownies were being field tested. We should dig in if he were in our shoes. Cool. We did a quick bit of math between fire missions and every man eventually ended up with five or six to enjoy as they wished. The FDC and COMM guys got ten. Some got more. Chocolate (even cardboardy, kind of flat chocolate) after two weeks in the desert is hard to ration. Back then you drank a canteen of water with every meal or when you found yourself not needing to take a leak. There was no friendly advice included with the brownies. No nutrition statement. No friendly "drink up, bucko" printed at the end of the NSN on the package. Our comm chief, who had eaten five that first night, was medevaced for constipation four days later. I didn't crap for a week, and when I did it felt like each brownie had been reconstituted and put back in it's stiff plastic wrapper. With the sharp corners. Others had similar experiences. I've been waiting for the sequel to Abu Graehb, myself: how many Iraqis were forced to eat Chicken ala King cold from the pouch??? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12691 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12691 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:06:54 -0600 that?" from the under-forty set) "C-Ration Cookbook" with fifty recipes ranging from "Gustatory Delight" to "Snacks-to-Stir-Sh*t"...very favorite recipe was Ham or Turkey Loaf (that's what it said on the can; you knew you were in for a treat if the people who made the stuff didn't know what the hell it was) with blackberry jam. Recipe: Dump the two cans of condiments into your helmet (helmets were made of steel, UF set, not plastic)and mix well. Heat it over a sand-and-jet-fuel-stove so you got that nice kerosene coating, spoon it out onto those asbestos shingles they packaged as crackers, and chow down. Especially good for long-range missions, because you wouldn't crap for two days, ergo, you never had to waste time digging a cathole. Yo, Emeril--wanna try it with mudbugs? I knew one guy who used to toast the chocolate cookies and spritz them with hot sauce, but he was strange, even by our (admittedly lax) standards... ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12690 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12690 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 19:47:07 -0600 Ah. This is where I say I was the BN FSO for the Red Lions of 2-81 AR of the 2nd BDE, 1st Tank in Erlangen. I still have my "Red Lion" Plank Bier stein. And, like all the vics in 2-81 at the time, had the "Röter Löwe" incorporated into the camo on my tracks and jeep. I'll have to tell my idiot platoon leader story some day. (And Bill, since I was never a platoon leader, it wasn't me.) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12686 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12686 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 19:04:22 -0600 Man, I laughed so hard I nearly got the heaves; then my wife read it and we both ended up laughing ourselves stupid! Wow. That guy is an a$$hole, alright, but my kind of a$$hole! THAT is one funny story. And it sounds right to me.... I have made similar stuff. In Hawaii, on Pohakaloa, our best team concoction was a couple pkgs of pork ramen, a can of Dinty Moore beef stew (remember the thumbprint?), two cans of C-ration pork slices (juice and all), a can of Olympia 3.2 beer (It's the Water), a can of beanie weenies, miscellaneous pkg spices, some tobasco sauce, some crackers tossed in, and some water. We cooked it in a 5.56 mm ammo can our blanks had come in (we never did wash out the can first), on an open fire among the lava rock. Man was that stuff great. Not sure I'd eat it now, but hey, I've got some MRE's in the garage that I pull out and feed the kid every now and then when she complains about the house chow. . . Not too shabby, I'd say. My fav c-ration meal, hands down, was an ice cold can of pears and a can of pound cake. Damn Fine, that was! BTW, my Bn Co in FRG (2/81 Erlangen) was LTC Gary Bleidorn. He told us the tower of the same name at Graf was named for his dad, who'd been a German tank officer in WWII. Our LTC was a fine, but rather intense, tanker who went so far as to offer a reward to anyone who captured a SMLM vehicle during one of our REFORGERs. Anyway, that was one funny story... True or No, THANKS! SangerM http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12683 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/haute_cuisine.html#comment-12683 Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:33:45 -0600