Army chow...SOS in particular.

[Michael Tompkins]

I've been out now for 30 some years, but I still miss the stuff. I don't care what other people have said about it...that stuff was GOOD! We had 3 cooks in our Mess Hall. Depending on which one made it, it varied in colour. It was either grey, yellowish-grey or green-grey. I ate it every day and had them pour it over everything on my plate at break-fast. I've never had anything in civilian life that has come close in comparison. Anybody else out there a closet SOS lover?

Mike

[Griff Murphey]

SOS is good stuff. Frequently made here in Texas as cream gravy with bits of sausage for buffet lines; church breakfasts etc., usually over biscuits now. But it's not the stuff the mess sergeants or mom made (My mom used creamed chipped beef which was really very thin jerky in a bottle). As an "ossifer" I rarely ate in mess halls after ROTC but I well remember the mess hall at the MAU camp in Subic Bay. We officers gladly anted up the $2 to eat as many lobsters as we could get down when the word was passed! Also, Breakfasts were great. I can remember some of those Marine staff sergeants and gunnies eating breakfast; they must have eaten 8 eggs and I remember seeing piles of bacon must have been 5" tall. And none of them (unlike me) were fat. The only bad thing I ever had was Kool Aid made with that rodramm overchlorinated water at Fort Sill in 1970.

[Donb in Fl]

I still love the stuff,wife makes it ofton.

[dave]

My mother made the chipped beef stuff, hated it! When I had it for the first time in service I was NOT looking forward to it! But with the ground beef chunks I really liked it! Always plenty cause many ate little. Visted brother in law this summer (29 years army, retired CSM) and his wife made it. Brought back memories and even the wife liked it! Don't know why it gets such a bad rap!

[Nick Riviezzo]

Originally it wasmade[in the Army] with dried salted chipped beef because the meat required no refrigeration.[This, all according to one of my mess sergeants]About the mid '50s the Army standard receipe changed to using chopped beef[hamburger]because we weren't cooking in a mess truck in the field anymore and much of the field chow was prepared in the "rear" and brought out to the field in Mermite cans.MSgt. Casey ,my mess NCO in my Armored Cav. Troop, did make me some with dried chipped beef and he was right when he said it was O.K. but the troops wouldn't like it as well a ground beef.It was my fortune to Command 4 Company sized units and even more fortunately, to have fine "old time" Mess Sergeants in all but one. I never saw too many troops turn their nose up at"SOS". New soldiers had pre-concieved notions until the tried "SOS". After that "Cookie" made it by the tub full and darned little was wasted!My wife makes it and I make it [her's is always better]I love the stuff but like most of us "oldsters" I can't eat it all the time. Nick

[steelwarrior26]

it was a very common meal in our home growing up. my dad loved it from his days in korea. my mom made it with chppied beef,hamburger,sausage whatever she had on hand. miss those days Tim

[Rick]

Someone posted the Army recipe card on the old forum for SOS. If I can find I'll post it.

[mike24d20]

While at Ft. Bliss in the early 70's, we had a bunch of nubies in the field with us. The mess sgt. had a great sence of humor, he placed a sock into the mix an the first nebie got the horored sock. Man I sure do miss it.

[Griff Murphey]

Have an old WW2 Navy man in my practice. He said his first day on mess detail he accidentally tossed out the coffee maker filter/strainer. The Mess Chief gave him the FMJ chewing out, then without missing a beat stripped off his sweaty T-shirt and improvised a new filter/strainer for the machine with it.

Also remember the WW2 guys often said toward the end of a deployment all the bakers served up was cinnamon bread. They used that to camoflage the weevils.

[UUURah]

Like Mikey, I LIKED it. A couple times it seemed to be overly salted but mostly very good if not too runny.

Also recall one Sunday morning at Camp Pulgas we were led into an Officer's Mess Hall, lined up and sent back into where they were frying the bacon and eggs. Was a sight to see maybe 25 eggs frying on a huge griddle, we were given as many as we wanted. I think I took 4-5.

Ahhh, the good OLD days.