For those asking, these rations were not specific to the Pacific Theater. Rations with these labels were actually issued in all theaters late in WWII. Of course, troops in Western Europe typically didn’t have to worry about malaria, but there were plenty of regions outside of the Pacific where malaria was a serious risk (North Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, etc.)
3 days ago | 41
Finally living in a tropical country experience helped in these questions. Also wear pants and use repellent on all exposed skin where mosquitos are expected.
3 days ago | 28
They were also told “flies spread disease so keep yours up boys” gotta love George Lutz
1 day ago (edited) | 3
That was easy, I remember it from my army days, we had some rules in place we were expected to follow, mainly to prevent disease. During war disease kills more people than the actual conflict, war creates perfect conditions for nasty things to spread. Supply chains are broken down, which means infections and sickness greatly increase.
1 day ago | 1
Fun question! Had to think about it for a second but once i did i was able to figure it out pretty quick :)
1 day ago | 0
Soldiers were also strongly encouraged to use mosquito nets, G.I. repellent and take Atabrine tablets to prevent malaria
3 days ago | 3
@TheFederalRepublicOfValinstan
I live in a tropical country and let me tell you, this will save you from those itches and bites. Or use repellent.
3 days ago (edited) | 1
Happy i got it right, I'm a bit of a survival nerd with extra interest in various plagues/diseases. And I remembered hearing alot about how much of a pain malaria could be
3 days ago | 0
Honestly, I only got that right because I keep my sleeves rolled down to avoid mosquito bites too 😅
3 days ago | 3
Seriously, we were told to keep our tops on and sleeves down because it makes us look professional and the bad guys are less likely to attack professional looking soldiers unlike the not so professional looking soldiers who are only wearing t-shirts and full battle rattle.
1 day ago | 0
In June 2007, we had a couple people in my battalion pass out from the heat on Iraq. Our battalion PA said we should remove our tops on guard and just wear a t-shirt and IBA (body armor). CSM Knowles came out to COP Ford and saw us wearing t-shirts on guard and ripped our 1SG a new one. I got relieved to go put my top back on and then back up to the roof. This POS just wanted uniform standards. Its been 20 years and I still have not heard a single good thing said about CSM Knowles.
1 day ago | 0
Ah yes uniformity is already covered, WW2 US uniforms don't really camouflage you that much, and chemical weapons don't really get stopped by a bit of cloth if it can pierce your skin
2 days ago | 1
Depends on the theater. On Germany, I believe the Germans routinely rolled theirs up. Otherwise, it's for skeeters and such.
3 days ago (edited) | 0
If I’ve learned anything from history, it’s that fighting mosquitoes is always the deadliest war
2 days ago | 0
World War Wisdom
During WWII, a message printed on some ration boxes instructed troops to keep their uniform sleeves rolled down. What was the reason for this?
3 days ago | [YT] | 1,045