WWII Rations and Mess Kits

Nazi Fuehrer Adolf Hitler dishing his own meal at mess hall near German officers. On front line during WW II.
Date taken:1940

 

" The fishing on Amchitka was great (Novak on the left, Donald on the right). [Note from Harry Higgins: Those are cod. We made spears and at night would take a flashlight and go down to the south beach and these dumb cod were lying in the shallow water where we could snag them with our spears. We would drop by the mess hall where the mess crew were eating steaks and scrounge some butter. Back in the hut we would fry the cod in butter after digging our their worms. They tasted great - much better than the lousy Vienna Sausage and Spam they fed us. 'Here I am, eating Spam, for Uncle Sam." Dolly Varden trout would run in the streams but we never had any tackle and they were much smarter than the cod.]"

Don Meier's Amchitka Scrapbook

 

African American regiment in mess hall during World War II.

 

Mess Hall at New Guinea, South Pacific

 

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I remember Dad telling me about hunting Roe deer in Germany during the Occupation. For the fun of it, they used to hunt with their M1911's.

 

"Iwo Jima...Negro Marines on the beach at Iwo Jima are, from left to right, Pfcs. Willie J. Kanody, Elif Hill, and John Alexander." March 1945.

 

Problem No. 1 for Colonel Fairbrother is getting food to the troops who are up forward. Canned goods from the United States or goods received from the British on reverse lend-lease often arrive loose, their cases smashed by the rough handling to which they have been subjected during the long trip overseas and on the journey from the ports of India up to Assam. Judian coolies loading the cars and shifting the supplies from one type of railroad to another work hard at these tasks, but their methods subject the cases to severe pounding, which often results in breakage. A coolie can carry heavy loads on his head, but they have to be placed there by two or three other men. Often there is nobody to help the coolie take a load down off his head, and he has to let it fall to the ground. Wooden packing cases cannot take much of this sort of beating.


Cases that arrive broken, or supplies that are thrown uncased onto railway wagons (the term the British use for railway cars), cause much extra work. All loose cans, or cans in broken cases, have to be counted and then repacked in burlap bags for storage purposes. Though it wouldn't be a hardship in a small operation, repacking supplies for a base like this becomes a full time occupation, requiring many men. Long neat rows of cans tied in burlap testify to the time consumed in this repacking.


Some of the loose cans rust in transit. Rusted cans must be issued immediately before the rust eats its way through to the inside and the food starts to spoil. Sometimes it is too late, and the food inside the cans is already spoiled when it arrives.


Supply of food to the Chinese Army creates a double problem, for Chinese soldiers need a ration very different from ours. Warehouse after warehouse is crammed with rice and other Chinese staples. Having to use two ration standards with two entirely different types of food naturally complicates the distribution of food supplies. For the most part the Chinese supply is kept separate from the American.


Food for men who are in outfits near the base is broken down at a Distributing Point in the base. Breakdown is made at night, and everything is ready for the mess sergeants when they come in the morning to pick up their rations. Midnight finds the DP empty except for a few Indian chowkiders (guards) who jealously watch over the neat stacks of food and threaten all who approach with their business-like steel-tipped spears.


Soon after daylight the trucks start to pour into the DP. Rations are quickly counted by the mess sergeants, and the line of waiting trucks diminishes rapidly. By ten o'clock the supplies for the day have been picked up by the various organizations for which they were intended.

Rations for the troops in the forward areas are picked up in bulk at the base warehouses during the night. The trucks then carry the ration in this form to a DP located farther up along the road, where the necessary breakdown takes place. By 5 :30 A.M.(0530 hours) the breakdown is completed, the supplies are loaded, and the convoys are once again on their way through the mud, heading for the hills. Rations for troops at intermediate points are loaded on trailers which are dropped off at a midway warehouse, where the final breakdown for the units in that area is con­summated. The trucks continue on to the most ad­vanced DP, where their supplies are unloaded and separation is made for distribution to the vanguard units.


In addition to food for the Chinese and American soldiers, the Quartermaster must concern himself with food for the Indian laborers along the road-the Nagas, the Caros, and countless other types of natives. Thus a third kind of ration must be issued. The food for these Indian laborers is stored in a separate warehouse in the base.


Animals. too, must be fed. Near the railhead there is a tremendous outdoor feed depot to which the Chinese come every night to pick up hay and grain for their horses. Supplies are brought into this depot from the railroad during the day and issued out to troops at night.


There are no set hours when the trucks will arrive for their supplies. The condition of the road determines when they will come. Often a truck slides offthe road into a ditch and the men in the warehouse wait until daylight for another truck to be sent, for a wrecker to come and pull the ditched truck outof the mud


Fresh foods are issued to the troops whenever it is possible, but the amount is limited because of the lack of natural sources of supply in the area, and by lack of refrigeration facilities for the preservation of perishable foods. Beef is scarce. A small abattoir slaughters all the cattle that are available, but the number heads is small, and the meat must be eaten soon after slaughtering because it spoils rapidly in the Assam climate.


An egg-candling plant has been set up and thousands of eggs go forward every day. Breakage of is high. There is no way to cushion them against jolts that are a part of every drive up through Naga Hills and on into Burma.


Ice is as unknown in Assam as rain is to the California Chamber of Commerce. Recently a small ice plant was set up and the refrigeration provided be this small quantity of ice has proved a boon to gigantic hospital installations in the base. But there is none left over for storing perishable foods. These still must be consumed quickly before the ravages of the weather start to take their toll.


http://www.qmfound.com/supplies_burma.htm

 

POW German mess sergeant checking supplies in the prisoner of war mess hall pantry at Camp Swift.
Location:TX, USDate taken:August 1943

 

I hope this haven't been brought up before, but is there any known policy in Allied armies to give out combat stimulants? I vaguely recall an account in which an American Ranger or OSS unit fought behind Axis line for an inhuman length of time and the commander took his issued amphetamin tablet before starting his final assault on the objective. I cannot be more than a teen when I read that, but I recall the style of the prose in which the story was written is very formal, like an AAR or official history.

 

I don't recall reading if there was. I do think that drugs for German Paratroops was mentioned earlier. But not US. IIRC There was perhaps another thread on drug use in WWII.

 

LOL I found it. And you had even posted in it .

http://www.ww2f.com/information-requests/26639-drugs-use-ww2.html

 

German Prisoners of War Having Some Food, ca. 1944 Original caption: The War Is Over For Them. Grinning broadly, captured German soldiers on the beach of France find that the US Army 'K' rations are not as bad as the GI's say. The war over for them now, they are awaiting shipment from the beach head to England where they will be interned.

 

POWs eating in the mess hall with decorated walls.
Location:Breckenridge, KY, USDate taken:October 1944

 

This thread has served its purpose and will be closed. Thank you.

 

Paratroper Rations:

Our basic combat rations were K Rations. They were catogored by the meat,egg or cheese content. On the D Day jump we carried threday of K Rations and a Day of D Rations( These were an enriched chocalate bar that would not melt in very hot weather) Four consumed in one day would yield about 1000 calories each.

For normal sustainment they had a combat ration called 10 in One. This had all of the food elemnts for 10 men for one day and were OK. In Holland we ran out American Rations and XXX Corp supplied us with Bully Beef and Canned Coco.
We obtained fresh Eggs and Tomatoes from the locals for US Cigaretts. This was OK for my men as we were issued a carton per week and must of my people were not smokers.

As Ever,

Walter L. Marlowe

( Airborne all the Way)

 

Thanks for posting that, Walter. I'm curious though, how often or when did you get a break from K-rations, other than finding food from the locals? I'm sure during active combat those are what sustained you, but I'm curious if during lulls in the action you actually got to eat a hot field-cooked meal?

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p.s. - Thanks Slipdigit for re-opening the thread!