Evening star., 1951-11-28
Girl Reporter in Korea

I'll III NOI6O
menu is made up in Washington,
Explained an officer at q ration
breakdown where regiments pick
up their daily load of groceries In
u a. ton trucks.
eff the elbows lousy, you car
blame 1t on the company supply
officer or the mess cooks" said a
IGI, who suggested the problem
might be solved If the Army would
import woman chefs to Korea. This
would be highly impractical on
1.-THE line when mess cooks help
carry heavy boxes of C-rations UP
the steep incline Of a mountain
Some Of our more ingenious GIs
carry C-rations In the barrel Of q
tbazooka. One Of the best combat
stories from a mess cook might
have been a snow job" (mularky)
but he claims an iron skillet savec
his life when bullets came his way
When the boys are fighting "or
the line" they eat Creations, ad-
lmittedly a big improvement over
the K-rations of World War II.
The company that sells corne6
beef hash to the Army must be
maxim a fortune!" said one boy
who was plenty fed up with it
Hot dogs. cube steaks, canned
peaches and canned spaghetti are
also items which the GIs no doubt
will strike off the menu wher
they get home. II the soldiers are
fairly close to enemy troops, they
eat their Creations cold, for o fire
would reveal their position. Sol.
diers carry along California
oranges and candy bars up from
and I once saw GI climbing 6
ridge with a salami tied to hi!
knapsack. His nom had sent Il
from home.
"On the line we eat almost any
thing and don't mind too much
But We do like good meals when
we come back to base camp for q
rest" I was told.
I'm so tired Of these pancakes!"
complained q soldier in q break
fast chow line. However, my
mouth watered as I helped myself
to a stack smothered in butter
(grease) and maple sirup. At one
advance camp I saw q small ice
cream factory and nearby was the
division quartermaster bakery
where 1 could smell the aroma of
fresh bread. Inside the bakery
saw mountains Of pies and cakes.
At the base camps fresh car
rots and celery are included in a
soldiers daily diet. Lettuce grown
in Japan is flown up on combat
cargo planes. Candy bars, gum
and packages Of fruit drops are
plentiful, but GIs always welcome
boxes Of chocolates or home
made fudge from families as we'll
as cheese, jam, cookies and other
snack items.
Drive-ins Needed!
How we could use q few drive
ins over here!" walled a young
soldier, who, like every one,
dreams of hamburgers and milk
shakes. The boys also miss fresh
milk and water that doesn't
have the taste of chlorine. In the
summer, lemonade (battery acid
and bottled cola drinks replace
the foul-tasting and chemically
treated water. Although there are
beer rations. most GIs complain
that they don't get enough. Even
on the front lines there's always
steaming hot coffee (mud served
with every meal.
We have the best-fed army In
the world and in the Korean war
food has proved to be valuable
ammunition, too. But it was
rather depressing to see a COM
pany of men slowly moving for
ward in a chow line. The boys
stood outdoors. sometimes in tor
rents of rain. They ate standing
before high wooden planks. or il
the ground wasn't muddy, they
sat on upturned helmets and bal
anced mess gear on their knees
1 heard no small talk among the
hungry soldiers, who eat silently
and with such speed that they
were finished before I had barely
started.
1t was tiresome to stand while
eating and I was grateful to one
GI who thoughtfully brought q
huge trash barrel over for me tt
sit on. The boys wash their mess
gear in large cans of heated water
and I once failed to pass the
inspection test because I had left
traces of lipstick on my canteen
cup.
The food picture is entirely diff
ferent for our enemy troops, which
was evident when I met two young
Chinese prisoners captured at the
foot of Heartbreak Ridge. Ir
their hands they clutched "safe
conduct" passes dropped by oul
planes guaranteeing they woulc
be treated well if they gave them
selves up. They were smiling anc
i, seemed happy about the whole
thing. I noticed that they pulled
out small drawstring sacks from
5Itheir blouses and tossed then
away as they climbed into a jeer
to be taken to a POW camp.
4 They're not so stupid!" ex.
.Iplained CT. They're throwine
! away their dried beans and ric,
because they've heard about tn,
No. l chop-chop on our side!"
! ppyriEht. 1851, King Features
CyndfrafA