Sure, but do you REALLY need to get your micronutrients in a whole food source during wartime in vietnam tho? a multivitamin would suffice more then enough. Rice is very rich in carbs and keeps the troops energized for a good amount of time.
@@Aditya-wg3lp yeah i know that, but its important to get the basic nutrients, thats why we spent so much money on getting MRE's right. you can eat all the rice you want but you will still fall to malnutrition. you wont last very long on a rice primary diet if you dont eat enough variety
I assume they had to make do, and since rice is pretty much available in Vietnam, of course they'd make it their primary ration. I don't know if they'd include sides like vegetables or meats to fullfil their needs however...
@@shinka2109 i did some research, not surprisingly they were avid hunters and have a lot of micronutrient rich and high in protein like eel, insects like grubs,and snakes,small mammals to water Buffalo with their rice they also had a lot of cassava which had vitamin c and a buncha other essential vitamins
@@jamesbarnett8832 not saying that you should only eat rice, but rice icould very much be a good chucnk of you caloric intake while you dedicate the rest to nutrients.
The Israeli army still has MREs like that. a box with cans of tuna, beans, chickpeas, rice filled vine leaves, corn, chocolate spread and the best one, halva. served next to a loaf of bread, bonapetite. it is heavy, messy and full of trash as you might think.
Retort pouches and thermostability. And now recently they're developing extra compact rations filled with bars for the most part (like 290 calories in a small cube) while maintaining moisture and flavor (sonic agglomeration)
Had those MCI, C-rations, for my first four years of my Army service. The best MCI was scrambled eggs and ham. My second enlistment I had the first gen MRE. One was Chicken a la King. After 38 years I still cannot eat Chicken a la King.
Much thanks to your grandfather..ask any US Viet Vet and he will tell you how much respect they had for the ROK Troops . To this day , one of our best allies... I still have my "john wayne"..with my dog tags
During the Russo Japanese war in Mongolia during the late 1930's the Japanese had 250,000 troops hospitalized due to Beri-Beri. Which was actually a vitamin deficiency caused by eating only white rice. The Vietnamese foraged and supplement their diet with fruits, wild vegetables and whatever meat they could score.
My Dad served in infantry in Vietnam 66-67, he said lima beans and ham was atrocious. The soldiers would stuff cans in socks, tie them together and wear them around neck, under shirts for noise discipline. Could also make a good melee weapon when SHTF.
Canned goods are more nutritious and generally more delicious than the packed goods of todays rations. However, their weight and space inefficiency is what makes them so undesirable for being carried. If you have a store house or other long term storage, cans are the best option, they last far longer and provide more nutrition. But if you have to walk with your food then cans quickly become the worst option.
My husband would take a pair of socks and put can then a pair of socks then socks then can, it was quiet that way. He changes his socks often so it all worked ouut
sorry, but you forgot we are in jungle, and since the Vietcong mostly are locals, they know that they could find some fruit, or even meat (fish, eels, etc...). But it's still death or victory situation.
Served third Marine div North I core 6869 never saw any MRes in Field A little fish sauce and rice goes a long way when we found the NvA with fish heads we always wondered who got the fillets semper Fi
My pop, Purple Heart vietnam vet, said there was one meal that was AWFUL. It came with what they called, mother fuckers 😂 they were Lima beans. He said no one ate them. They would rather be hungry 😂
I can't remember where i read it but apparently during the Vietnam war there was an experimental ration issued that was freeze dried and gave people stomach aches. Anybody know anything about this?
The Americans were also way bigger and needed way more calories to function, that extra weight made them far stronger and tougher than the average viet cong
Fun fact: rice is so poor in nutrition that it is how vitamins were actually discovered. The Japanese Navy had fed the lower nothing but rice and a substantial percentage of them would die.
I'd still rather lug cans than survive off the blandest food known to man. I don't have to hunt, I don't have to scrounge for bugs, I don't have to have random plants for my vitamins. It's all in a tin can ready to be served.
