Loved seeing those old C Ray boxes and remember the foods well! Loved serving there except for 1 bail out an a bullet in my forearm! That hurt! Haha! Thanks for the video!
That brings back a helluva lot of memories, I was a 6 year old dependent, when we landed at Rhine Main AFB in 1967, each family was given 2 cases of C-rations when we hit the ground. I've still got my P-38 54 years later. Before we were issued ID cards we kids were given dog tags and yes I kept my P-38 on them until I got hair on my chest. The variety of the case, cigarettes, toiled paper, the matches, looking at this brings back such strong memories... Thank you.
@@MeAncient & Ace, I loved seeing how excited you got opening up the box and reading all the meals 😄. It mad me super happy watching that😊! Haha Ace sayin “Mmmhm🤔” like he’s thinking umm sure..idk if I’m seeing any purple 😂“ when his dad says “ you can see a little purple left in there.” And stirs the jam. So funny!! We need to have Ace sit down and try another meal with you.
Is this ace from ace videos from RU-vid does anyone know because the camera guy sounds like ace from the guy from ace videos from RU-vid that went fishing in the ocean for Octopus crab and fishAll the time
I ate C-rations in cans @Ft. Bragg, NC that had WW2 dates on them in 1968. My Father sold the first powdered cocoa to mix with water to the US ARMY when he worked for NESTLE in the 1940s. Four of my Uncles served in WW2. I had an Aunt who served in India.
When we were first married we were both in the Army - I was in Special Troops Personnel at Ft. Dix and hubby was on a Nike Base south of Ft. Dix - we had very little money and hubby would bring C rations home from the base - he had learned what things to put together a meal when he was in Nam (66-67) Loved seeing your video - brought back memories.
I have my uncle's can opener from when he served. I love it and still use it when I go camping. I didnt know the hole was for your dog tags. Thank you for the info.
P38 Can Opener my dad did 3 tours in the bush n rice. his fav part was the cigs and chicklets... only thing reminded of him at home, he came home as an E3, 68 to 71, thank you truly for your service, your the last of a man's generation.
I carried a John Wayne on my key ring from when I was inducted in 1978 until the little hole wore through and I lost it about 20 years later. It served well as an emergency screwdriver too. I was kinda surprised at how attached I had grown to that little bit of metal.
@@MeAncient It was pretty much an interchangeable term, at least at my duty station. Older soldiers tended to call them JW's while P-38 was used by younger guys.
@@MeAncient The P-51 is the larger version of the P-38 and was often used by mess hall cooks to open the big trays and large cans of chow. The P-51 is a full 2" long. The added length affords more leverage and doesn't require as much thumb pressure to use. Here's the link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_can_opener Both the Marine & Army used them. The P-38 was the one found in the ration case. The P-51 was mostly provided to the mobile kitchens. Are "deuce gear" (782 gear) and the trousers pockets were the mobile kitchen. And in back of the "deuce and half" was the mess hall. I was caring hot sauce long before they had MRE's, perfect with "green eggs and ham"........rofl. Semper Fi GET SOME!
My favorite C-Rat was the Ham & Eggs chopped as well. Those with a little hot sauce and you were in MCI heaven. I was Army 77-81, so we consumed all C-Rats in the field and when deployed. They got old quick, so you had to find ways to make em tasty. Those fudge rounds tasted medicinal even when fresh, so we saved a lot of them and gave them to the locals to make friends...sort of. Keep up the good work!
OMG whenever I hated what my mom was cooking, I'd go to my grandfather's house for MREs. He was letting me smoke those cigarettes at 7. I loooved them more than any of the ones that came after the 70s. When I had them they were all still within 3-5 years of their date. I can't believe they look somewhat normal now.
Bacon420, I loved every one of those C-Rats. I just wish they were in better shape so I could eat them. Perhaps I'll have to reconstitute whatever meat is in the next one if it's dried out. We'll have to see......tfw!
I would first like to say to all the gentlemen who served in Vietnam: Welcome Home, Second: Thank you for your service and dedication, you all have my Love and Respect..great video sir and although I have never served I have always kept a John Wayne on my keychain since I was a kid..in fact I have a p-38 and a p-51 for larger cans..I love old Military memorabilia so I really dig these videos!! God Bless!
Michael, I don't recall ever seeing a P-51. I'll have to watch out for one. And just to be clear, I did not serve in Viet Nam. That 'conflict' was over about 3 years before I graduated high school. TFW!
@@MeAncient The P-51 is just a slightly larger version of the 38..Thank you for your service none the less! Freedom isn’t free and I appreciate all who have served!
Yup! In 1971 I ate a few cans of pound cake, as my Foster Dad was in the MIL and brought them home once in awhile. I was 8 years old, and Vietnam was still going on. Not sure what ever happened to him though, I went home again in 1972.
Thank you, Moon! It's fun having viewers to share my memories with.....my family is probably tired of hearing some of the stories. I hope I don't start repeating myself with the same memories. I am getting to be that age........ tfw
I just realized that Me Ancient has a channel, and I can't wait for more. Being ex military, MRE reviews bring back memories, good and bad. Good to see you with your own channel, sir.
I was in the Marine Corps until 1969 and never heard to can opener referred to as a John Wayne. It was simply a called P-38 and I still have the same I carried in Vietnam. It's on my key chain right now. When I was in boot camp in 1965 the C-rations we were eating were date 1951.
@@MeAncient well good things come to those who wait. And since you've raised up two fine men with successful channels, im sure yours will be amazing too! Loving it so far!
When I was a kid, my dad brought home K rations from time to time. They weren't bad. When I served, we had C rations. When my artillery unit went on maneuvers, we would pack our cans in every crevice of our deuce and a half's engine. Hot meals every time. Every guy in my unit had a P-38 on their key chain.
I truly admire how much time you spend with your son on your channel and his. My dad never really did much with me. He passed away about 13 years ago. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos and your appearances in Aces videos. Great father and son team. I have my own son now who is 14 and I try to spend every second I can with him doing different things. Times goes by way too fast man.
Time goes by way too fast, for sure. Watch for a livestream with Ace Videos, High Adventure Videos, and MeAncient in October......it will be announced on all our channels. We are planning a S.C. trip. TFW!
Had one of those. Same time & date as the one in the vide3o. P-nut butter did not go bad. The rest swole up and oozed funky stuff. Actually I liked them in the field. Have the P-38 on my key chain. Helped to identify other vets over the years...
When I was in (Army) back in 1981 through about 1986, we were still eating C-RATS until they were exhausted. I got out in '92. We didn't call them (the can openers) "John Waynes", we called them "P-38's". I much more preferred the C-RATS over the MRE's. Maybe the quality of the MRE's got better since but DAMN did they suck back then!! LOL..Turkey Loaf should have filled the can and be white!! I remember how you had to be at the front of the chow line to get the best pickins. Until the mess crew started turning the boxes upside down and you just had to grab and go. Spaghetti & meatballs was my fav! But then again, I was the guy that went back for seconds on the SOS in the chow hall!! Thanks for the memory.....
Timothy, I was right there with you as far as seconds go. I was on ship a few times during my 4 years and I couldn't believe my good fortune when I found out the Navy fed their guys 4 times a day! Breakfast, dinner, supper, and mid-rats (for midnight rations). I know I gained weight for the 2 months I was on ship. Never had a bad meal while on active duty. tfw!
@@MeAncient Yep! Ate a LOT of C-RATS in my time in. Never complained about a meal. Was always grateful when we got back to the base area and were able to enjoy a real, HOT meal in the mess hall. We were spoiled in the Field though, they gave us these blue heat tabs (divided into thirds for each meal) to heat the C-RAT cans. As the years went on, I became a RATT Team Chief and had a towed generator that I would put the cans on between the manifold and muffler that would rotate the can from the vibration. had a hot meal in 10 mikes!!
I didn't see the heat tabs in this particular meal? Imagine cigarettes. I was in the Marines August of 74. They still had cigarettes at that time. Love the video thanks Semper Fi !
I found an old Budweiser can half buried under a deer stand out in East Texas. Being half buried in the pine needles and faded sunny side up, it had a most delish bubbliness and taste to it. Was gonna save it but was thirsty walkin around the woods with my 30-30
Served with the 101st 72 to 74. Ate c rations every week of in the field combat training. We new the can opener as a P38. One thing in the Army that worked. W
We called the can openers, "John Waynes." Don't know why, just what our drill instructors called them in boot camp. TFW and Thank you for your service, Ron.
That can opener is called a P-38. There may be different names for different sizes of them but that's what it is technically called if I'm not mistaken. I grew up using them and still do if I'm at my parents house because they don't have a regular can opener for some reason. My mother seems to do things the hard way. Its probably why she's such an amazing person. But yeah. Never heard them called John Wayne's but thanks for the little story why they call them that. One of the reasons I watch your videos is because of your great stories. Thank you. Keep up the good work guys. God bless you and God bless all that read this comment.
I'm an Army Vietnam combat vet who retired with 25 years of active duty service and I've never heard anyone refer to a P-38 as a John Wayne - it might have been a Marine term, though. To us, a John Wayne was a cookie in a can. Wouldn't I love to have some pound cake and sliced peaches!
The Marine term seems to be the consensus. That pound cake and peaches is spot on! I think there is at least another Vet who remembers those fondly in the comment section. TFW!
The one from Down Under is called a Fred. Field ration eating device. It even has a spoon like on the opposite end of the can opener. It is quite a bit larger than the P 38.... More like the P 50
So, I saw you use the P-38. Really easy to use. Then, read the comments and how many fond remembrances people had. Although I didn't serve, but, was on mandatory selective service, I never got called up. I went online after this video and bought me some John Wayne's. Great vid.
When I turned 18 in 1975, I tried to register for Selective Service. The lady at the office refused to let me, claiming the "Vietnam War is over, military is downsizing!" Strange, I thought signing up was the law!? So I enlisted in the Airforce for four years. My second hitch was Navy for six years.
@@MeAncient God bless you my brother love your MRE Videos I was never in service but thank you for serving our country but they’re my favorite things to try I love them to
My military service was much later than '68, but the openers were called P-38's back then. We had the pleasure of having some C-rations in basic training in the early 80's. The chocolate covered cookies were called John Wayne bars.
In the Army we called the can openers P-38's, never heard the John Wayne reference, must have be a Marine Corps thing. I was in Vietnam 67-68, 4th Infantry Division.
Joe, thanks for your service. Yeah, the only guys with whom I've talked who called them John Waynes were Marines. Even some Marines think I'm making it up. TFW
Always appreciate you on the lad's channels. Didn't realise this channel existed. Good luck with it. Great content, love that you're not afraid to taste things like most
When I was a kid we would buy C-rations from an army surplus store. I always liked the chicken and noodles and Brunswick stew. The peanut butter was also always a favorite. We always called it a "GI Can Opener".
Now that's cool! I don't remember any C-Rats at our Army Surplus Store in Iowa. They may have been there and were just out of my price range so I never paid attention. I was in the $2 club :-) That was back in the late 60s, early 70s. TFW
Love your channel Ancient I was the jeep driver for the mortar platoon of the Ist Battalion 32nd Armored Regiment 3rd Armored Division from 1978-80 It was still the c rat era When we got low on rations in the field it was my job to go get a couple of cases from supply Needless to say I had first dibs of my choice of the rats My favorite was the Beans with Meatballs in Tomato sauce because it tasted decent hot or cold Plus I always made sure to get a pound cake and a tin of jelly I would scoop out the top of the pound cake and fill it with the jelly I noticed you had a Beans with Meatballs in your case and I was hoping to see you check that one out! Thanks for your service Love your vids Chow down!!!
First time I was able to get my hands on a John Wayne can opener was after Desert Storm, we were staged to turn in all of our gear after the ground invasion and raided the temp chow hall that was set up. We found a bunch of squad sized large canned meals, like chili con corn and pound cakes and there were P38's in all the boxes. Funny thing is that our XO somehow found out what we were doing and told us one night to bring him some food or he was turning us into the CO! He was joking, best XO I ever had!
'John Wayne' was a popular nickname in the Marines, back then. I still have my John Wayne from Marine Corps OCS, in 1975 on my keychain. 😎 At the time, we were actually issued M14 rifles, and we were shown how to pop the wire on the cases using the flash hider. Trying this with the M16A1 often resulted in a bent barrel, so one of the reasons given for the heavier front part of the barrel on the M16A2 was to prevent this bending! The 'C ration' nickname was a holdover from the original C ration, issued from WWII through the 1950, when it was replaced by the Meal Combat Individual. Apparently 'C-rat' hung on, because it was easier to say than 'MCI'.
Army 68-71. In Basic and AIT we trained with M14, I believe the M16s were already used in Nam. I was stationed in Germany, and the M14 was replaced with M16s while I was there. John Wayne must have been the Marine Corps nickname for P38, I've never heard that before.
@@GOMEz-rm3cb By the mid-70s, the M16A1 was indeed the commonly issued rifle to Marine Corps combat units, so I was surprised to see the M14 still on the books as the 'standard' Marine Corps rifle. In '77, we were issued M16A1s at OCS (In the Platoon Leaders' Course program, OCS was normally attended in two increments. In my case, I went through the Junior Course in 1975 and the Senior Course in '77).
Where the heck did you get those? We went downrange for a week in 1977, every case of C's was dated 1955 I think, we were told they came from Andrew old stock that the people at Ft. Sam Houston had gone through and determined what we got were all "Fit for Human Consumption", every box in every case for an Armor Battalion for a 5 day FTX was either Beans and Frank's or Beans, yum yum! After 3 days of C's for every meal, we got hot chow from the mess hall, Beans and Polish Sausage! I wonder who dumped the Beans on the CO'S jeep seat?
Edward, were the bean dumped on the CO's jeep seat pre or post digested? That's a great story. The Beans and Franks were no doubt leftovers from many cases of C Rats that no one ever wanted when they opened them. TFW!
Arrived in Vietnam with MCB 74, Charlie Co. in Sept.1970. Sent to the Mekong Delta. First 1-2 weeks were C rations made in 1963-64. Still have my P38 on my dog tag chain. You are a brave man if you like the ham and eggs. LOL.
I served in the US Army in the 70's and 80's. We called the neat can opener that came with a case of C-Rations ( Really Meal Combat Individual ) a P-38. I still have one on my keychain. No Cigs in our meals.
Sounds right, Bill. I'm hearing from the Army veterans that they pretty much all called the can openers P-38s. Only a few Jarheads have commented that they remember them referred to as, "John Waynes." tfw
@@MeAncient Now we did have a round candy bar with toffee in the bottom of some B-1 units ( crackers ) that was so hard to bite through we called it a " John Wayne Bar ". You had to be tough as John Wayne to eat it, haha.
In Viet nam we called a P-38 if I remember correctly. cigarettes is where I learned to smoke for the first time sorry to say .Green eggs and ham .I remember dropping the can in a boiling water and hopefully retrieving the same or something else .our sea rats were from Korea era.the of my choosing was pall mall ❤thank god I quit just a few years later I don’t know why but we never saw were current dater C rats. by the way still have my dogs and my P-38
I would have subscribed anyway, but I did primarily because of Angry Granpa. He was such a fun channel and his wish always was to get to a mil subs. Me including, allot of people never new about his own channel, Grandpas Corner. I just hope you reach whatever goals you have before you leave us.
In the Army, we called the can openers P-38s. I think that we were able to open a can in 2 seconds after a bit of practice. If you had a spare accessory pack, you folded the edges in and put it in the first aid pouch behind the bandage. I remember a disgusting meal that had lima beans. I got stuck with that once. I saved my cigarette packs and after the fourth day in the field, I could trade the butts for better cans. I don't remember the chocolate candy but, I remember a coconut one. Some guys would mix several coffees, sugars and non dairy creamers with a little water. They'd stir it into a candy. We were combat engineers so we could put a hole in the cans and warm them up on our truck engines. They did taste better warmed. Thanks for the presentation. I'll leave my case from 1971 intact. Good Luck, Rick
Rick, is your case in good shape or can you see any leakage? Is it still in a cool or cold place? I would definitely recommend cool storage if you have a case. TFW!
