The best meal from Uncle Sam

[Jeff L]

What was the best meal you had on base, aboard ship etc?

-Jeff L

[Rick]

Sometimes on the carrier we were working 20 + hour days and couldn't get away to eat for a few days at a time. So anytime we got to eat and not wait in a chow line for a couple hours all meals were appreciated. In the yards we had seafood on Fridays and could have all the lobster, shrimp, crab legs, and scallops we could eat. Being from the Midwest and raised on beef and pork I wouldn't even try the stuff. Would love to go back as it was sure my loss.

[Art]

When I was in Korea there was a Hawk site we had to drive past when we serviced a site north of us or when we had to go to Humphreys to get mail or deliver or pick up parts or supplies. Their cooks made fresh bread every day, it was great stuff, as good as any fresh homemade bread I've ever had . If we were going past it we always stopped for lunch and their hospitality was always excellent. The rest of their chow was pretty darn good too!!

[BEAR]

In the early 70s when I was stationed at Ft. Richardson, AK there was one mess hall that would open a 19:00hrs and close at 22:00hrs (7pm to 10pm for you air force types). We called it the "MP" messhall because it would feed the troops on shifts like MPs and aircrews, etc. But it was open to all soldiers. They would only offer short order foods such hamburgers, hotdogs, chili, tamales, french fries and sometimes things left over from the dinner meal like chicken or beef stew. This was a God send for the cash strapped private that didn't have a POV. When the post movie let out there would be a cattle stampede to the mess hall ... great stuff.
When I was reassigned there in 1985 they had discontinued it. By then the Army had the "Fat Boy'" program in full swing and they didn't want Pvt. Tentpeg seduced by all those fattening foods.
BEAR

[Nick Riviezzo]

As a EM,NCO and Officer[especially as a Commander]I made it a point to eat regularly in our mess halls. I've had some fine meals and some mediocre in messes through out a career. I have to say, that for a consistantly excellent meal, the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in mess halls were always good. I loved to see the troops bring their families where it was allowed.I also noticed how the quality of the chow improved when the Commander and Platoon Leaders ate in the mess frequently.I do have to give a little credit to a certain Sea Bee mess at Da Nang for their excellent sea food dinners. Sorry, I don't remember the units designation, but the lobster was top drawer.Nick

[Maury Krupp]

At the Army mess halls I had to eat in Thanksgiving and Christmas were probably the two worst meals.

Not only because eating in an old run down WWII mess hall by yourself on a holiday isn't real high on anybody's hit parade, but because by the time we single junior enlisted swine got to eat the 0s and SNCOs with their families had picked over everything and the kitchen staff were tired, more surly than usual from working on a holiday, and just wanted to go home.

Probably the "best" (on a relative scale) was the day the IG was inspecting the mess hall; the worst was the day after.

Maury

[Dan Shapiro]

Best was the last. Just returned from Nam and going thru out-processing at Oakland. 2am, steak and french fries.

[Art]

Nick

SeaBees always have the best food. It's a tradition that goes way back to the founding of the organization. I recommend William Bradford Huie's "Can Do" and "Omaha to Okinawa" which have some great annecdotes on the subject in World War II

[cwartyman]

Worst was in Iwakuni Japan in 92 when they served surf and turf of a piece of shoe leather steak and a very mushy lobster tail. Since then have never enjoyed a well done steak again or tried lobster tail. The best meal was on March 13, 1991 in JFK airport when we deplaned coming home from Desert Storm so the plane could be refueled and cleaned for the next leg of the trip, and they were serving McDonalds it wasn't hot and didn't taste great but we were home in the States and they truly cared that we had something from home, then they opened the phone banks up for all 400 of us to make phone calls. Being from NYC i tried to call my parents to get them to come out but they had gone to Atlantic City for the day. Wasn't until I reached El Toro that i was able to get in touch with them, by then the party had started in the hangar so after not drinking for 7 months the 4 beers I had knocked me for a loop lol. At El Toro midrats was always the best meal served, either eggs to order or burgers and fries.
Mack
USMC
1988-1995

[cmbtinfantry]

It wasn't fancy but my best meal was right after we got back from the Shah-e-Khot valley. Good old egg and sausage t rats with grits and awful waffles. It wasn't the best but after sharing an mre between my fire team for 2 weeks it was heaven.

[Nick Riviezzo]

Maury, I don't know where you were having to eat after the Officers and NCO's but I never in 23 years saw that kind of crap.If I had I would have been feeding some Officers and NCO's "C" rats. That's just the kind of BS a good officer or senior NCO wouldn't tolerate. The soldiers are the precious comodity. Short change the troops look for some severe guidance from any Commander worth his salt.Nick

[phil441]

Maybe not the best but the most unexpected. Goose Bay Labrador in winter of '62. We had been in white-out conditions for several weeks. I had noticed if you held up your bologna to the window a certain way you could see a green sheen on it. Didn't matter, we ate whatever was left in the fridges. No fresh veggies or fruit at all. A Canadian company had a contract to fly in only the true essentials and we could hear them coming in when we couldn't see 'em. Those guys were good!
Weather finally broke and a couple of days later when we entered the SAC chow hall we found the lights were all off with candles on each table. Great! we thought, now a power failure... Nope, the serving line was open and cooking steaks to order. Candle-light and steaks to order. The mess Sgt. went from table to table making sure everything was OK. He got several rounds of applause while I was there.

[BEAR]

Maury, I don't know where you were having to eat after the Officers and NCO's but I never in 23 years saw that kind of crap.If I had I would have been feeding some Officers and NCO's "C" rats. That's just the kind of BS a good officer or senior NCO wouldn't tolerate. The soldiers are the precious comodity. Short change the troops look for some severe guidance from any Commander worth his salt.Nick

I'm with Nick on this Maury. After 21 years I never saw anything like that. As an NCO in Airborne Infantry Battalions, the NCO's and officers played DRO and served our troops on Thanksgiving Day (Hmmmmm! just like GW). And we wore our Dress Blues (or Dress Greens) to boot. Never begrudged that duty, I was honored. One Thanksgiving, my wife and the other NCO wives in my platoon had a second TG meal at a community center for my whole platoon. Those guys packed it away at the messhall and then again at the community center also. No left over turkey sandwiches at my house that year. Good time was had by all.
I'm sorry your experience was so different.
BEAR

[BEAR]

Since I'm on here I'll give my best experience in a dining facility other than Army. My unit was undergoing amphibious training at Coronado, CA and we had just lined our troops up at their dining facility. True to standard we NCO's stood at the back waiting for our guys to go through before we went through. One of the Marine Gunny's was giving us the squint stare from a short line just opposite the main line. He then stalked over to the main line, unclamped the cigar from his teeth and told us NCO's that there was a line for us over where he was standing. He the told us that NCO's have too much to do waiting to eat chow after the troops. Well, we didn't want to argue with the bulldog on his turf so we followed him over. When we got inside we saw that the facility was divided into two different areas, one for enlisted and one for NCOs. The food was excellent and they had civilian dining room orderlies (DRO) that waited on us at our tables. Never had to lift a finger after I got my food. They even took our trays from us when we were finished. We thought that the Marines really knew how to treat the troops .... that is until we went to Pendelton 2 weeks later, then we realized that Coronado was a NAVY base.
BEAR

[Nick Riviezzo]

Hey Bear, I was DRO at the Last Supper! Nick