The best meal from Uncle Sam

[Sean P Gilday]

Ft. Drum, NY August 2001

Came in from 11 Days of LFX running around in RBA's and Bangolors in and out of the M113's up at Range 43, and after turning in our weapons lined up for Chow. CSM BBQ'ing Steak and the BC on the Keg handing each Joe an nice frosty beer. It was heaven.

[BEAR]

I remember one cold afternoon in late 1961 in the field at Ft. Riley. We were given creamed corn, roasted chicken, and milk. The corn and the milk froze before I found a place where I could stomp the snow flat to sit down and eat. Not the favorite memory of my military career.

Reminds me of my tour with Charlie Airborne in Alaska. We were on a Battalion FTX in the Donnelly Dome area of Ft. Greeley. Been eating nothing but C-rats for several days when a CH47 Chinook showed up at the C.P.s front door with hot chow. Temperatures at -15 degrees were bad enough but the Chinook couldn't shut down his engines in case he never started again so we stood in a chow line in a howling down draft wearing snowshoes to boot.
We were served off the tailgate on sectioned paper plates with an additional paper plate to cover everthing... so it wouldn't freeze??? On the way back to the 10 man tents and yukon stove the guy in front of me (a newbie) crossed his snowshoes and went down dropping his entire plate of food into the snow. When I helped him up he looked at his snow buried plate and I really thought he was gonna cry (it was a tough first Arctic FTX for him). I smiled and said "No worries!" and picked up his plate with all the food still frozen intact and covered by the second plate. We then proceeded to the the tent where I showed him how to thaw his food under the Yuke and then reheat it in his canteen cup. He turned out to be a really good Arctic trooper.
BEAR

[Andouille]

Bear mentioning Donnelly's Dome reminded me that the best meals I had with Uncle Sammy were at Fort Wainwright, AK. First Friday of every month, the NCO club had a king crab buffet that we used to go to after happy hour. Those were some great meals and great times with great company. Of course, you pay for your own at the NCO club......

However. At the time, the army was transitioning from Viet Nam to peacetime, and shucking lots of folks who'd been to Viet Nam a time or three, and got shot up some or a lot while they were at it, but didn't quite fit the army's idea of whatever the hell it was the brass ass hats deemed acceptable. Just tossing folks out, no gratitude for the blood spilled nor attempt at improvement. Just get the hell out. As a young buck sergeant, I had been somewhat proud of my MOS (11B) and having caught the tail-assed end of Viet Nam, and I'm still damn grateful for the experience. But I took it somewhat personally that some damn good people were shown the door, whilst some CYA idjits were being retained. You know, the kinda folks Maury Krupp was talking about earlier. After watching that, I concluded that 20-30 years of that kinda horse **** weren't for me. So the absolute best meal I had, courtesy of Uncle, was the last one. Hamburger & fries at the mess hall, if I recall correctly. FIGMO, color me gone, etc.

Possibly I was too young and impressionable to see the "big picture" as it were. Your mileage may have varied. I hope that it did.

[Ltdave]

the biggest surprise was at Altus AFB in '93. i was due to get out soon and they had shrimp cocktails during the lunch hour...

the only time i had to bus my own table was the 32 days i spent at Ft Richardson during '89 Brim Frost. the other 3 days i either ate downtown or the one day i took a couple of soldiers detailed to help put the ANG camp back in order, to Elmendorf AFB to show them how the other half lived. they almost cried at the accomodations and the food...

my FAVORITE wasnt really a meal. i talked a couple of buddies of mine to go aboard the USS Kitty Hawk during fleet week in San Francisco. we were stationed north of Sacramento at Beale AFB. it was like 9pm (2100 hours?) and we strolled up the gangplank and flashed our IDs. a sailor who had just come back from liberty with his family got grabbed by the collar and told to give us Airedales a tour of the ship. first thing he did was take us to the galley and we were treated to GIGUNDOUS club sandwiches on fresh baked sourdough, bug juice, a great relish tray and hot cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven that were the size of a pie plate!

great times...

[Garden Valley]

I guess I could probably stop and think awhile about best meals from Uncle, but one that immediately comes to mind was at Phong Dien in early January 1968. Phong Dien is on Route 1 just north of Camp Evans. Another Marine and I had been detailed to set up a radio relay post at the district headquarters in case it might be needed to enable communications during an upcoming joint army-Marine operation along the coastal area. There was an advisor compound there but no room in it for us, so we lived in the back of a non-running ARVN 3/4 ton truck for a few days, eating C-rations every meal. A goodly number of army troops showed up the afternnon before the operation began and set up a CP. The next morning all these army types are milling about and complaining about breakfast when a couple of Hueys landed and off-loaded several mermite cans (which were an oddity to us). All the army types started saying it was about time chow arrived and us two dumb Marines looked at each other in disbelief. I don't know what the Corps may do now, but back then hot chow was NEVER flown to the field. I never saw it happen. Anyway, those very nice army types invited us two Marines to join them for a hot breakfast. There was a good variety of food, most everything you would find in the messhall. It was hot and it was good. About two weeks later our battalion abruptly departed Camp Evans for the siege at Khe Sanh where we had nothing but C-rats for three months. Bless those nice army types at Phong Dien and whoever invented the mermite can!

[Guamsst]

Grand Forks AFB used to serve cabbage rolls every day with some other dirt cheap flavorless option. Then they would take all the money they saved and have steak and Lobster one day a month usually. I would have preferred decent food every day over bad steak and fair lobster once a month.

[Beachbumbob]

It was served on this freedom bird. Fresh salad with tomatos and cucumbers, some kind of baked tourist chicked, fair mashed potatos, green beens out of a can and chocolate cake. Served with FRESH milk.

I'm sure I had meals that rated higher on the 5 star category but none that I enjoyed more. Silverware, cloth napkins, cute stewardess' and knowing that it was going to be OK -you'd made it.

Cheers,

Bob

[Plain Old Dave]

Christmas Day 1996. Forward deployed onboard USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) inport at Cannes, France. The messcrank serving on the port side in the Aft Galley was none other than the lovely Miss Halle Berry.

[Oyaji]

Christmas Day 1996. Forward deployed onboard USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) inport at Cannes, France. The messcrank serving on the port side in the Aft Galley was none other than the lovely Miss Halle Berry.

Halle Berry? Shazaam! That certainly beats some cigar chomping, beer bellied, and dirty aproned stewburner for a mess attendant.

[badsbsnf81]

Best meal I ever ate (SOS) was at a mess hall at Benning in the early 60's. My dad was a platform insturctor at the school Most memorable was when the Bn Cdr flew out hot chow to us after being stranded out on the range for three days due to flooding at Ft. Sill in the mid 80's.

[cplnorton]

Any meal that wasn't in a damn foxhole! lol

[Vern Humphrey]

My most memorable meal was Thanksgiving of '66. I was married just before going to Viet Nam and was an adviser with the 18th ARVN division. We didn't get US rations. My wife mailed me a small canned ham. There was no way to cook it in the field, and it was raining all the time. On Thanksgiving day, I rigged a poncho for shelter, lit a marble-sized piece of C-4 and cooked my Thaniksgiving dinner.

[Nick Riviezzo]

My mother tried to mail me one of those small canned hams and the Post Office person said it was prohibited! So, she went to another P.O. and when asked about contents she didn't metion a canned ham. It arrived in Quang Tri just fine. The irony is we had a shelf full of small Danish canned hams that we picked up off of dead/alive North Viet soldiers. They came to the NVA via that great patriot[of NVA] Jane "The Bitch" Fonda. In 1966-67, I was stationed in Phouc Vinh[3 Corp] my favorite Tn. sipping whiskey was not availabe in RVN. My mother,ever resorceful,tried to send me a jug for my Birthday but the post office Nazi heard the nectar sloshing in the package and wouldn't let her mail it.She went home emptied the jug into a plastic soda bottle, then she inserted a small plastic bag in the top and filled it with water to the brim,sealed it and taped a straw to the bottle .Her instructions were to use the straw to drink the water ,remove the plastic bag and enjoy! Ah!The memories. Nick

[seabee12]

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

Don't you believe that, at the Rock Pile, in the rain outside, two cold storage eggs and canned bacon, on a paper plate, with a plastic fork, just yummy!

[Garden Valley]

Don't you believe that, at the Rock Pile, in the rain outside, two cold storage eggs and canned bacon, on a paper plate, with a plastic fork, just yummy!

I don't recall there being a messhall at the Rock Pile. I was in and out of there several times in 1968 and ate C-Rations whenever we were there. Did some more permanent units there have a messhall?