What Troops Ate On D-Day - World War 2 Meals & Rations

For more on recipes from the World Wars and other military cuisine, I got a whole playlist right here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIkaZtzr9JDkzso7Ip6ShAy…

My grandfather was crew member of a landing craft during WWII. He said before his first invasion, at North Africa, they were given a huge breakfast. Which he happily ate up. It was not long after the invasion started, that his breakfast come back up. After that, he did not eat much for breakfast before invasions.

I knew a Marine who made several combat landings in the Pacific. They were usually fed steak and eggs and fried potatoes for breakfast on an assault day. He told me that the first time he ate like a horse, and lost it all halfway in over the side of the Higgins Boat. He said that later he ate the eggs and kept the steak in a waterproof bag for later on. He said that steak was like a reward for surviving the landing.

My father served in the US Navy in WW2. He took part in the Normandy invasion. He was badly injured when a nearby shell's impact threw him through the air, feet first into a pile of sandbags. Both his legs were fractured. This I learned from my Mom, as he would never talk to us kids about any of his battle experiences. How long he laid on that beach in pain before he was found and taken to a hospital, no one will ever know now (he died in 1967 when I was not quite 16). But he would talk about his time in London before being deployed across the Channel. He said he liked Londoners and admired their spirit. He appreciated the way they all sang together in the pubs. He had a beautiful singing voice, so he would have been popular. He had eyes of a peculiar light yellowish green, which he said spooked a London barmaid so much she wouldn't serve him. "'E's got cat's eyes, 'e does!" He also told us how intensely green and beautiful the coast of Scotland was, where his overseas transport landed. He said it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. Bless them all, those who made it and those who didn't.

I had K-rations in grade school. My 5th grade teacher gave us a sample and a lesson on Army life in WWII. He was a veteran of the European theater. I later became a soldier and lived on C-rations; the upgrade(?) of K-rations. Everything you needed were included, (even cigarettes for awhile). The Chocolate had a laxative, coffee had vitamins etc. I was happy when we got MRE's (meals ready to eat).

"I decided I was unlikely to outlive my rations, so I saw no point in going hungry" Christ, that's dark. Glad he got the opportunity to write about it.

My grandfather was a paratrooper in the 101st airborne, got dropped in a very wealthy couples back garden and was treated to beef stew, potatoes and bread within 10 minutes of landing and was found in the morning having wine, eggs french bread ham and cheese. He gave them a pack of candy he had brought to give children. His fellow paratroopers would send him forward to farm houses as he knew French and often could score hams and anything else the grateful French, Belgians or Dutch could spare. He said once "it wasn't strange to enter a French village and be shot and while you're in cover for some crazy old lady or young girl to run across the street from where you took fire from to hand you a bottle of wine"

Had a moment of panic in the split second between "the last episode of Tasting History..." and "...that will be filmed in this kitchen"

I really appreciate the way you describe things! My brother is blind and he likes this sort of stuff but it's hard for him to enjoy videos since he lost his vision because most people don't do a good job with their descriptions of food or color and that sort of thing. You do! So thank you from the both of us!

"Utensil suitable for mixing eggs" sounds like the grandpa to the modern MRE's "Rock Or Something." Gotta love how vague you have to write when you have no clue where folks'll be when they read it.

Years ago I saw a parody of Doctor Suess that starts: I do not like powdered eggs and ham. I do not like them Uncle Sam.

I've been reading through the comments of people sharing stories of their family members serving in the War, and im overwhelmed with gratitude of what these brave men accomplished. Thank you for sharing a part of our history ❤️

It is crazy to me that you can research, source all the ingredients, get the recipe down pat and produce a video every single week. “Ok, it’s Tuesday so by the end of the day I need to learn and be able to remember everything about food in WW2”

"Tilt your utensil while stirring" is the most Army instruction I have ever seen.

At 15:50 the picture shown is of a man who was a great friend of mine in the later years of his life. That is Richard L. Barber originally from Worcester, MA and passed away in Oviedo, FL. Center of picture. A true hero who eventually rose to Sergeant and won 2 Purple Hearts in WWII and a 3rd in Korea where he lost a leg. Walked on a prosthetic leg for 65 years. RIP Richard

My grandfather was a radio man in the Canadian army, he was among those thousands of brave men that landed on those beaches. He never spoke of that day. He had other war stories he would tell, but never that day in particular. I can’t even imagine what he must have seen that he wouldn’t even talk about it. I have his full uniform now, it’s my most prized possession. I miss you grandpa John. Great episode Max 👌

My grandfather was a Navy chef in the Pacific during WWII. There's a wonderful photo of him up on a ladder stirring an enormous bowl of pancake batter. This makes me feel close to him 🙂

And for thousands of these men, it was literally their last meal.

Respect to all , especially the cooks that kept the soldiers fed

I really do hope you understand how much people love this stuff. It’s a history lesson with cooking included. If you don’t love this wealth of knowledge then I don’t understand where you’re coming from. I’ve watched many of your videos and I have never been bored. Goes to show that when you put true effort into your content people appreciate it and I know I’m not alone. Thank you for making these videos max I know I really appreciate that your someone I get to watch on YouTube that isn’t wasting my time with pointless crap. You’re a legend in your own right. Please keep making videos with efforts and preparation because the quality really reflects the amount of thought you put into every video. I wish you well and hope you’re enjoying life. Have a good day y’all. I know this helps me have a good day myself.