Mmmm ..Chipped Beef on Toast!

Includes a yummy recipe!

 When I joined the Army Reserves, I was assigned to the 374th Convalescent Center on the southeast side of Chicago. After being sworn in,they  offered me the choice of two specialties: field lineman or cook. . Being a lineman meant climbing tall  trees and telephone  poles and stringing heavy  lines under enemy fire. How much trouble could I get into in the kitchen? Without a second thought, I became a  cook.

After eight  challenging weeks of Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood, everyone was more than ready for a change. Finally, things  seemed to be looking up. Our drill sergeants were gradually morphing from merciless monsters into human beings. On the night  before we graduated Basic Training,, they surprised us with a party, complete with all the beer we could drink. When Taps was played , we staggered to bed.,expecting to be woken at the break of dawn. Instead, we were allowed to sleep  undisturbed until 8:00 the next morning,probably because the sergeants had as much beer as we did.


The next day, slightly  hung over, but  in full dress uniform with our newly earned rank sewn our sleeves, we marched in the graduation parade. With heads held  mostly high, we strode past the reviewing stand. The platoon leaders gave the order ,"Present arms!" Up came our hands in perfect unison.  Just like that, the toughest eight weeks of my life were over. Things were bound to improve.

That afternoon, everyone packed their bags and climbed aboard buses for advanced  training as drivers , engineers, infantry, mechanics, medics and cooks. Reserve and National Guard soldiers would train only for  eight more weeks  and then return home. Those men who had enlisted or had been drafted into the Regular Army faced the strong certainty of a thirteen month tour of duty Viet Nam. Some of these soldiers would never see  home again.

The  ride to cook school took all of ten minutes. We were all prepared for the same  harassment that we had experienced in Basic, but, to our delight, no one met us when we got off the bus. Wandering around the company area, we saw  large, wooden  two story  building  shaded by tall pine trees. In truth, the place looked more like a campground than an Army compound. After a bit, we found the orderly room and reported in for duty.

Inside, with his feet propped up on a desk, sat  the company commander. He looked up, took our salutes, then offered each  us a glass of cold orange juice. Was this a trick? Thumbing through the blue
folders that contained our records, the major glanced up at my name tag.
 "Says here you're a college grad, Marder. That true?"
By now, I was tired of answering the same question that gotten me in trouble too many times.
"Truthfully, sir, I am," I said, bracing myself for the inevitable consequences.
"So you want to learn to cook, do you?" he demanded.
 "Yes, sir, I do," I answered..
"Well , soldier, you've a little bit of grunge on your belt buckle, but other than that, you'll do fine."
I stood there, dumbstruck.
"That's all," the major said. "Go get yourselves settled. Chow is at 1200 hours You'll find it's better here than in Basic."
We saluted, did a quick about face, and beat a hasty retreat.

 After drawing  clean cook's whites, sheets, pillows and blankets  from the supply sergeant , we walked over to our new barracks. It was a veritable  five star hotel compared to the ones we had just left. The squad bay was wide and airy. A number of ceiling fans were doing a decent job of dealing with the Missouri heat. The washrooms were down the hall, rather than down the block. And, wonder of wonders, the toilets were in private stalls and the showers had curtains. Wow! What did we do to deserve this?

Soon the room  began to fill up with new arrivals .  After a while, out the corner of my eye, I saw a  drill sergeant standing in the doorway. He had a smile on his face and his hands on his hips. Someone yelled "Attention!" and we froze into the position.
Now, I thought, we're in for it.

The drill sergeant looked us over, put us at ease and said," For the last eight weeks, you learned how to
be a soldier, now we're going to teach you how to cook. You'll go to classes every day. After six weeks, we'll  assign you to work in  a company mess hall somewhere on the base. There's a lot to learn, but you'll have the best instructors. They're all civilians, retired Army mess sergeants . Pay attention to what they have to teach you.
 From now on, we expect you to keep yourselves clean. You'll have plenty of  time to shower and shave every morning. You'll draw fresh whites every day. Get a haircut once a week and keep your hands clean and nails clipped. You will need to pass my inspection before you set foot into the classroom or kitchen. And by the way, you can talk to me, I promise I don't bite."

The next morning, we awoke at 6:30 AM, and were told to report outside in fatigues. For the next fifteen or so minutes, we jogged around the area, singing at the top of our lungs. Everyone was amazed at how easy this was. After being dismissed, we ran to the showers, then changed into our cook's whites. Our drill sergeant inspected us carefully, then said, "You've got a half hour before chow."  He left the barracks and in two seconds we were all asleep.

For three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon, we attended classes.There we learned how to read and follow recipes that had been in the Army since World War II. We were lectured about sanitation, safety and fire prevention. After every class session, we went into the kitchen and were split into groups of four. Each group prepared the same dish. Our instructors judged how closely we followed the recipe and how we prepared it and how we presented the final product. Everything we made we ate. .The chipped beef on toast, or S**t on a Shingle was the most unappetizing dish we had to prepare and swallow. .Undoubtedly, you'll want to read more about this delicacy. Only the very bravest soldier would dare eat it.


 Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast
   
Special Nostalgia Recipe