40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534776,00.html

Vietnam Veteran Keeps Vow, Eats 40-Year-Old Cake
Friday, July 24, 2009

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Staff Sgt. Sun Vega/U.S. Army

Col. Henry A. Moak Jr. digs in to an Army ration pound cake from 1973 at his retirement party.
WASHINGTON � Forty years later, Henry A. Moak, Jr., still loves his pound cake.

The Army colonel popped open an old military 'C' Ration can of pound cake from 1969 at his retirement ceremony, and dug in.

Moak got the drab olive can as a Marine helicopter pilot off the Vietnamese coast in 1973. He vowed to hang on to it until the day he retired, storing it in a box with other mementos.

After a formal retirement ceremony, dozens of friends and relatives joined Moak in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes as he opened the can to cheers. Moak joked earlier this week that he hoped the can wouldn't explode. It let off a whooshing sound as the pressure seal broke.

"It smells good," Moak said as he put a handful in his mouth. He jokingly staggered back a few feet and loudly cleared his throat, while one person yelled out, "Eeww, gross!"

Moak pronounced the cake "good."

"It's even a little moist," he said, wiping his mouth. He dared anybody "gutsy" enough to join him, and retired Lt. Gen. Paul T. Mikolashek, who was the U.S. Army Europe commander when Moak served overseas, took an even bigger piece.

"Tastes just like it always did," Mikolashek mumbled with a mouthful of cake as Moak laughed and clapped.

Moak said he wasn't worried about getting sick from any bacteria that may have gotten into the old can, because it looked sealed. But the military discourages eating from old rations.

"Given the risks ... we do everything possible to ensure that overly aged rations are not consumed," said Lawrence Levine, a spokesman for the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia.

Levine named the threats as mold and deadly botulism if the sealing on the food has been broken, which isn't always visible.

Moat says though he warned his children over the years not to touch his pound cake, he did let them eat some other rations when they were growing up in the 1980s, including
canned spaghetti and crackers.

And how did those taste? "Fine. Well ... not like from our great restaurants."

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

Vietnam issue C-rats were a camping mainstay in the early to mid 80's for us. I remember eating quite a bit of that stuff and thinking it wasn't half bad. I actually liked the cheese spread and the chicken and noddle meal. I got the Chiclet gum and dad got the 4 pack of Lucky Strikes or Chesterfields. Dad still carries one of the can openers on his key ring to this day

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

that was one of the better desserts. the fruit cake was allrite too. beans and meatballs was all time fav main meal. cigs and gum too. why they quit including cigs i'll never know. the soldier is in a combat zone, mortars,artillery,mines,other soldiers shooting at him. the army is concerned he will smoke a cigarette? douchebag lawyer no doubt responsible for this.

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

LOL, Pound cake and Plum pudding were my favorites. What I was seeing was from the 40's. C sometimes K.

The beans weren't bad either once you poured off the 40wt and heated them.:cry1:

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

I remember eating some c-rats back in 85. They tasted better then the MRE's.

Re: 40 year old pound cake ration found edible
 

I would agree with you. I practically lived on C for a few months. Not because we didn't have a small mess haul, but because the C were better. The mess would make you gag.