Army Life in WWII By: Ben Blackstone CJ Regits

A Soldier’s Food During the war, American soldiers ate what was called an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). Most of the time they were nasty and almost inedible. Bread was the main MRE that was served to all the soldiers.

Foods Continued When the soldiers were comfortable at base, that’s when they got better food. Hot dogs and hamburgers were served with beans and rice. The food was served in large amounts in a sort of cafeteria atmosphere and you had to eat it in 20 minutes maximum.

Food While in Action While the soldiers were in combat, the unit cooks were respnsible for cooking the hot means. Food was found in the nearby dumps most of the time. It consisted of 50 pound bags of beans and flour. If hot food could not be provided, the soldiers had to eat the food cold. But cold was better then nothing at all.

Tools Tools that the soldiers used consisted of a lot of trenching tools. They were shaped like a shovel or a pick mattock used to dig trenches or fox holes for field tasks. And at points, the trenching tool can be used as a weapon when needed.

Entrenching Tools Importance Unlike WWI, the trenches and foxholes built were not only for protection, but also shelter for soldiers. For that reason, the entrenching tools were as important as anything else. The tools were one of the only things they never got rid of.

Friendship A soldier’s friendship was known to be unbreakable. In their platoon they laugh, eat, sleep, and cry with each other. And when one dies, it is just losing your actual brother. Nothing hurts a soldier more than to watch his best friend die.

The Medics When it came to becoming best friends at the base, it did the same on the battlefield. When a soldier was struck down, it was almost impossible for the medic to attend to every single dying person. Any war medic will tell you that when you watch somebody die, you never forget it. The war medics develop an attitude not to get close to anyone during war, ever.

Uniforms A U.S Third Army Jacket. Also known as the Eisenhower Jacket. Introduced in late 1944 only for enlisted officer ranks. The jacket consisted of concealed buttons and an adjustable waistband

Uniforms Throughout the winter of the war, the coldness was what caused a lot of sickness to the soldiers. The uniform here shows the Mackinaw coat to block almost all winds. The wool collar doesn’t come on a lot of coats other than this one either.

In The End In the end when the soldiers returned home, they were not the same as they left. Emotionally and physically they were mostly harmed. Getting back their jobs were even an issue when returning home. But when veterans were asked, most of them did not regret the war one bit.

Bibliography Website - Website-answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid= Book – The Railway Man/ by Eric Lomax/ W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st American ed edition (September 1995)