13. Paul Noll Cooks for Korean Workers - Page 1
Our Rations
In Korea our Company operated in teams of 5 men and an officer. Our vehicles
consisted of 2 weapons carriers with trailer and a jeep for the Officer. For our
food someone would go to the nearest quartermaster outfit to secure rations.
This was always an interesting exercise.
Getting Rations You reported to the office and stated your unit. In my case "Team E07 of the 581st Radio Relay Company." The man ahead of me was getting rations for a regiment, some 1500 men. He had a semi-truck. They look up the unit in a book marked "Top Secret" which has all units in Korea and their manpower. Then they refer to the menu for the day. If potatoes were on the menu the clerk would fill out a form multiplying the ration for one man by 1500 which might come out to 750 pounds of potatoes. The potatoes came in 100 pound sacks and he could get 7 or 8 sacks for the 1500 men.
Team E07 For my team the number was 6, so we were authorized to get 3 pounds of potatoes. The clerk, a Sergeant, said to me, "it comes in 100 pound sacks, we don't break up the sack take it all or none." Next was chocolate bars, "you get 6, it comes in boxes of 48, take it all or none." Next was cans of cream for our coffee, "you get 1, it comes in cases of 48, we don't break up cases, take all or none." And so on. All is much better than none when it comes to eating so my answer was "all" each time.