C-Rats
Dublin Core
Title
C-Rats
Subject
Standard C-Rations given to troops and nurses during World War II
Description
The food you see in these photographs represents the kind of "chow" that all military personnel, including nurses, had to eat in the field during World War II. Some nurses' most prominent memories of everyday life during their service involved opening C-Rat, or c-ration cans, and having "chow" time with each other.
Some of the most common meals offered to army troops and consequently nurses, were simple stews, meat and spaghetti in tomato sauce, chopped ham, eggs and potatoes, meat and noodles, pork and beans, ham and lima beans (not a crowd favorite), and chicken with vegetables. These meals commonly came in 12 oz cans, and were eaten in the plain metal dishes that can be seen in the top left corner of one of the photos.
These rations were developed in 1938 to replace reserve rations from World War I, and provided about 3700 calories if eaten three times in a day. Of course, not all of these foods were favorites of troops and other personnel, but complaints about them were not always readily listened to by those in charge.
Often, soldiers and the nurses helping care for them were forced to accept what they could not change and eat something they didn't like, and just be happy to have a meal at all.
Some of the most common meals offered to army troops and consequently nurses, were simple stews, meat and spaghetti in tomato sauce, chopped ham, eggs and potatoes, meat and noodles, pork and beans, ham and lima beans (not a crowd favorite), and chicken with vegetables. These meals commonly came in 12 oz cans, and were eaten in the plain metal dishes that can be seen in the top left corner of one of the photos.
These rations were developed in 1938 to replace reserve rations from World War I, and provided about 3700 calories if eaten three times in a day. Of course, not all of these foods were favorites of troops and other personnel, but complaints about them were not always readily listened to by those in charge.
Often, soldiers and the nurses helping care for them were forced to accept what they could not change and eat something they didn't like, and just be happy to have a meal at all.
Creator
United States Military Quartermaster Subsistence Research and Development Laboratory
Source
US Department of Defense Website: "C-Rats Fueled Troops During and After World War II," by David Vergun, August 13, 2019: file:///C:/Users/Elizabeth/Zotero/storage/AVMY52GA/c-rats-fueled-troops-during-and-after-world-war-ii.html
Publisher
US Department of Defense
Date
Accessed April 24, 2020
Format
Photographs (jpg)
Language
English
Type
Still Images
Identifier
C-Rations of World War II
Coverage
Military Food in World War II, Nurse Rations in World War II, C-Rations
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
black and white photographs
Collection
Citation
United States Military Quartermaster Subsistence Research and Development Laboratory , “C-Rats,” US Nurses in World War II, accessed May 2, 2024, https://usnursesww2.omeka.net/items/show/41.