As you were sitting in your foxhole in the rain, snow or blistering sun did you often wonder how those dreaded K - Rations got their name? Who invented this waxed cracker jack box with the words "K-RATION, One Meal " stamped on it?

For those of you who have lost hours of sleep puzzling over this burning question the top secret information has, after 50 plus years, finally been uncovered.

Several months ago while talking to my good friend Jack Davis, who is a Pharmacist in Easton, PA. the subject of K-rations came up. Jack was a medic with the Heavy Weapons Platoon, D Company, 1st Battalion, 10th Regiment. He said he knew who was responsible for the creation of these "gourmet" meals and where he worked at the time they were developed.

They were the work of a Professor of Physiology who was doing research on the link between nutrition, diet and heart disease. This professor was also the Director of the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene.

An inquiry to the university resulted in the receipt of a voluminous stack of documents from Rose Hilk, secretary to the professor, regarding the matter. It was much to much information to be published in the Red Diamond. After hours of reading, high lighting and editing it became apparent that a digest of those documents was not going to be possible.

However, among those documents was his research paper titled "Rations for Air-Borne and Other Mobile Troops". It was undated but presumably was written around 1940. The following is a digest of that paper.

The need for mobility of both troops and supplies during an assault, as well as, defending when isolated, is recognized as a need for a field ration. Ordinary food supplies and field kitchens were out of the question in these conditions. The "new Type C" field rations filled an important need but at four and a half pounds per ration were too heavy and bulky for the fighting line units. The "D" ration was, as it was named, for emergencies only.

A new type of ration is needed for front line combat troops and long distance bomber crews. This special ration for mobile assault troops must sustain them for one to four days for any single operation. The fighting efficiency is greatly impaired in short order without a proper supply of food. An important result of semi-starvation for only a day is that the metabolism of the body is so deranged that subsequent supplies of food are not properly utilized for some time thereafter. The "D" bar may actually aggravate this derangement.

The requirements for a "Blitz" ration may be summarized as:
!. Such a ration should be a fighting ration, not reserved for dire emergencies.
2. It must be compact and light weight so as to be available to the individual troops at all times.
3. There should be a proper balance of nutriments without too high a content of fat and with adequate proteins.
4. It must be adequate in total calories.
5. No cooking or special preparation for its consumption should be required.
6. It should be reasonably adequate in vitamins and minerals, notably vitamins A, C, the B vitamins, phosphorus and potassium.
7. It should be resistant to prolonged exposure to extremes of climatic conditions.
8. It should not disrupt the normal elimination from the bowels or derange the chemistry of the body.
9. It must be palatable and should be relished by the men not only for a single meal but for a succession of meals.

This last point deserves special comment. A ration that will not be eaten is worse than useless. Fighting efficiency is greatly reduced. Variety is essential in these rations, which means varied consistency as well as flavor.

Laboratory and field test showed that a daily ration for combat troops should be at least 3,220 calories.

Various mixtures ( called pemmicans ) were attempted and tested on troops and hired subjects. An example of one of these mixtures is : rendered kidney knobs, prime oleo oil, seedless raisins, peanuts, cerelose, shredded coconut and salt. The biscuits also went through a series of alterations. The inclusion of good concentrated meat products resulted in an increasingly satisfactory biscuit.

The composition of the ration is as follows:

Meal 1 - Special biscuit, veal loaf, malted milk tablets, soluble coffee and sugar.
Meal 2 - Special biscuit, ham preparation, dextrose tablets, lemon powder, and sugar.
Meal 3 - Special biscuit, dry cervelat sausage, bouillon paste, "D" bar.

The report indicated that these rations could safely be recommended for large scale use at once.

Some modification was suggested by substituting a second type of biscuit, and a slight alteration of the spices.

The report then went into detail the method of testing which will not be covered here other than to say that the men on the rations were in better shape at the end of the test than their counter parts who had been on garrison rations. Also the troops used for the testing were from Fort Benning, Georgia and may have been under the command of General Ben " Yoo Hoo " Lear.

The research paper concluded that the ration packed as 3 meals would provide 3,600 calories and the weight of each meal would be 11 ounces. The report did not indicate if the weight included the box.

The packaging was the responsibility of Lt. Col. Roland Isker. The Wrigley Chewing Gum Company in Chicago had a contract to make thousands of the K - Rations.

An interesting side light is a note from the wife of a WW II veteran. She worked on the K-Ration assembly line at Kelloggs. Her job was putting packets of toilet paper into the box. She and the other girls would often include a note with their names and addresses. She never received a reply.

The Professor of Physiology and the Director of the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene at the University of Minnesota who developed these rations was Professor Ancel Keys. And so the name, K for KEYS: K - Rations.

Ancel Keys is Professor Emeritus in the University School of Public Hearth. He is 94 years of age but is still continues his research, together with his wife Margaret, in the link between nutrition, diet, cholesterol and heart disease. He and his wife live and do their research in Italy about six months of the year and the balance of the year at the University of Minnesota.

Keys received his doctorate in biology and oceanography from the University of California in 1930. He worked briefly at the Mayo Clinic before joining the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1937. He held the position as Special Assistant to the Secretary of War for a number of years. Ancel Keys was featured on the cover of the January 13, 1961 issue of Time Magazine. At his retirement in 1971 the dean of the Dartmouth Medical School stated " Ancel Keys work and thought are reaching into lives of Western man probably more than the work and thought of any other contemporary scientist".

So, as Paul Harvey would say, " And now you know the rest of the story ".

Thomas Tucker -1998
B Company, 7th Engineer Battalion
5th Infantry Division

* Born on January 26th, 1904, Ancel Keys passed away on November 20th, 2004, two months before his 101st birthday.