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Armor/AFV: Vietnam
All things Vietnam
Hosted by Darren Baker
beer cans on tracks
LogansDad
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: March 30, 2004
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Posted: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 - 01:18 PM UTC
Does my heart good to know the Duty Driver might be half crocked when we start out for Canjues(French Alps) @ zero-dark-thirty...
Hollowpoint
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Kansas, United States
Joined: January 24, 2002
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Posted: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 - 02:26 PM UTC
My old man was at Cu Chi with the 25th ID DIVARTY in 1969. He says all they ever got was mostly warm Schlitz and Black Label -- in garrison, not out in the field.

I was in Germany with the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in the late 70s. We had "bier" in the field -- you could bring it with you, or buy it from the kids who showed up on bikes at every bivouac. Most of my buddies had a couple cases of good German bier and a few bottles of Jack Daniels and Jim Beam stashed in the trailers. After dark, things slowed down and the boys would have a few drinks. As a REMF with an M880 who could run around everywhere, I had access to local as well as Class VI sources ...

I had a theory that if the "balloon" ever went up, I could hold up a bottle of JD or JB from the smoking crater and yell "Nostrovia" and the Ruskies would surrender en masse.
animal
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 03:20 AM UTC
We carried beer on our trucks. We also carried sodas for those that didn't like beer. A lot of times we would have to stay over night (RON) at a fire base and return the next day in the day light. Not a good idea traveling some of the roads at night. We would also carry some extra beer for the out post and bridge security teams stuck out in no mans land. I was stationed at Cu Chi and we made regular trips to Tay Ninh to supply the 25th with water and the beans and bullets and beer to keep them going.

animal
casailor
Joined: June 22, 2007
KitMaker: 165 posts
Armorama: 97 posts
Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 03:50 AM UTC
I was pulled off levy and stuck at Fort Lewis Washington during 1970-71. We "unofficially" took large quantities of 3.2 beer out to the field with us. I would take a 5 ton dump (m51) to the base package store for the beer and then fill the rest of the bed with ice from the base ice plant. It wa the only 5 ton dump with a canvas cover over the bed. The officers didn't "officially" know what was in the bed, but they contributed to the beer fund and never asked why that dump was always covered and dripped water all the time.
A friend that was in Armor in Germany told me that they had an arrangement with the Gasthouses where they would stick the main gun tube in a open window, drop money down the tube on a line and the bartender would send beer up the tube. He said they were not allowed into the Gasthouses- American ingenuity at work again.
Rick Smith
zoomie50
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Texas, United States
Joined: March 20, 2005
KitMaker: 358 posts
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 07:23 AM UTC
Wow
thanks for the trip down memeory lane. We never drank during missions, but did we ever hang it on after,lol.
Zommie
gcdavidson
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Ontario, Canada
Joined: August 05, 2003
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 03:43 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Jason,
So, the Canadain Forces do not consume beer while in the field anymore??? That is one of my best memories from RV 89... Ahh, memories of Wainwright.
John


We still do, just not during the Force-on-Force part of the Ex, which is to say all of the Ex save for the last few days where most sub units have a 'smoker'. At least Wainwright climate at the end of October means the beer will always be cold, if not solid. The 2 x can limit is waived (at least it is this year during MG 0702...a long way from what TTP's were done on RV 89!).
AlexanderK
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Tennessee, United States
Joined: August 01, 2007
KitMaker: 140 posts
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2007 - 03:45 AM UTC
As for modern time..... when I was in during desert storm there was no beer the closest thing was near beer and I only saw that once and most of us tossed it out. there was a lot of guys doing home brew wines using the freeze dried fruits and sugar from our MRE's.
210cav
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Virginia, United States
Joined: February 05, 2002
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2007 - 07:11 AM UTC

Quoted Text

As for modern time..... when I was in during desert storm there was no beer the closest thing was near beer and I only saw that once and most of us tossed it out. there was a lot of guys doing home brew wines using the freeze dried fruits and sugar from our MRE's.


That sound great..how many guys went blind?
trickymissfit
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 06, 2007 - 01:37 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

As for modern time..... when I was in during desert storm there was no beer the closest thing was near beer and I only saw that once and most of us tossed it out. there was a lot of guys doing home brew wines using the freeze dried fruits and sugar from our MRE's.


That sound great..how many guys went blind?


speaking of home brew and going blind (this is begining to sound like an olf Manfred Mann song!); anybody here get to clean all your innerds out with banana leaf wine? I lost ten or twelve pounds over two weeks when I went we did a major short timers party with that stuff. I don't think I ate right for nearly a month.
gary
aussiemodeler
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: May 23, 2007
KitMaker: 266 posts
Armorama: 212 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 06, 2007 - 03:48 PM UTC
hey guys!!! i've been doing a course lately and all of the instructors are SVN vets and its funny how the aussy diggers thought that the US (yank) beer was only good if thirsty! not enough alcohol in them! i think from memery the VB cans that the RAAF would bring in where close to 8% VB or Victoria Bitter and XXXX ( barbed wire to me!!) called 4X and Fosters where normal to see around any aussie. the thing i was suprised about was the cigarets of the day!!! camel was most common but i know they where issued Pall Mall and 2 others which i have been told where bought out by mallbro( mind the spelling) the ting i am intersted in is coloured pictures of these! and yes guys that is the corect way to spell colour!! not your silly way hahahahaah same as the way we used to spel jail! hehe it used to be gaol any way enough of me hanging **** on you guys! cheers
blaster76
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Texas, United States
Joined: September 15, 2002
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Posted: Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 06:33 AM UTC
I remember getting cigarettes in C-Rats in the early 70's. They came in little 4 packs. The standard Marbourough, non filtered Camel and Pall Mall. (Camel in white boxes Pall Mall in red) And I think it was Benson and Hedges menthol and maybe Kool unfiltered. I smoked back then but several of my Brother Rats (fellow VMI classmates) didn't so I collected theirs as well.

Does anybody have box designs to do Viet Nam cases of beer made up. Black Label, Budweiser, Schlitz and the like. It would be nice to get those to add to our collection of soda and water versions to use for diramas or just to super detail a vehicle.
AlexanderK
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Tennessee, United States
Joined: August 01, 2007
KitMaker: 140 posts
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Posted: Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 01:11 PM UTC

Quoted Text

That sound great..how many guys went blind?


I dont know I.. I was to busy worring about keeping stuff working and getting home safe ...
But I will tell you this put in the right situation some of those guys would take a chance going blind to get a drink! lol
peacekeeper
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Florida, United States
Joined: May 07, 2004
KitMaker: 715 posts
Armorama: 297 posts
Posted: Monday, October 08, 2007 - 12:06 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Up until the early 1990's having alcohol on board was completely acceptable in Canadian tanks in both Germany and Canada while on exercise. Crews would commonly have beer, Bailey's, ration rum, or whatever they wanted to drink in their vehicles.

You could even buy beer right out of the Sergeant Major's vehicle during resupplies.

Deployments to the Balkans were either dry or a two beer per man a day limit.


Jason

I recall a reforger ex in the late 70s where our 5/4 ton CP had so much beer inside that our gear was strapped to the outside of the veh. The det commander even called down 2 hours of radio silence on the battalion net so he could go to the local gasthaus for a resupply run.

The american troopers nearby would "just happen by" every night so they could enjoy an adult beverage (or 4) with us. The brits would come by to trade compo rations for our IRPs (AND enjoy a beer or 2). The horse trading that went on put Radar O'Reilly from MASH to shame.

Rum rations while on winter exercise were interesting as well. All you needed was a nominal roll with 20 names and SINs and you got a bottle of rum!!!! even if all the names were smith, jones etc.

It's amazing we didn't ALL turn into alcoholics.

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