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WWII Military Cooks Question


USAF29thINFvet
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USAF29thINFvet

Did WWII cooks (USMC / Army especially) see combat as part of their duty or were they solely cooks ?  Did they come ashore with the first waves or later?

 

Thanks

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I guess it depends on which unit they were in and the circumstances. If you were a cook in a front line infantry unit, they were often in the thick of it. Sometimes, such as during the Battle of the Bulge, they would be called upon to grab a rifle, as they needed every man they had. Some cooks would make the extra effort to get food right up to the troops near their foxholes, at least some of the time. Many guys though had to live only on boxed rations. In terms of beach landings, they wouldn't have been in the first wave, but probably would have been later after a beachhead was established and the invasion forces started to advance. 

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USAF29thINFvet

How about Marine Corps?  I assume on some of the smaller islands they too were always near the action.  How much did they actually "cook" say on Iwo, Tarawa, or Saipan?

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Depends on many different circumstances. I know a bit from talking to my father, 86th Div. My understanding is unit structure. Most divisions had 3 or 4 Infantry Regiments, artillery, signal, etc.....then there was headquarters, cooks were usually assigned to support and headquarters which of course were not on the line. The 86th was trucked quickly across France into Germany. They rarely ( as seen in the " movies" ) humped it , camps ( assembly / supply areas)were set up were they could eat hot food, laundry, get mail, etc until they moved out to the front, food was brought up to them, either cooked or rats, they manned the line then rotated back out. Reading detailed unit reports, units of the 340, 341st, 342nd often rotated and one unit usually held back in reserve and relieved each other, especially after a big push. This was late war. Obviously in situations were the front was over run or the line crumbles and the " rear" becomes the " front", cooks, clerks, mechanics, would of course be called upon to defend, or retreat to another assembly/ resupplying camp.

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I will add, my father was an infantryman also tasked with regiment payroll duties. He occasionally spent some time behind the "front" performing payroll , but when big pushes were made, like advancing to the Bigge River, he went back to his company for the movement forward...a few days moving forward ( they were always moving forward- this time humping it on foot through mountainous terrain) his company was told to turn west ( they were heading north cutting the Ruhr pocket in half) and capture the Bonzel Crossroads, that's were he was machine gunned,  in fact " I" company was tasked with the crossroads, and they were chewed up, largest single day loss in Division. 

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There was a USMC Good Conduct Medal for sale a while back to a Marine that was wounded on Iwo Jima. (should have offered more for it and maybe I would have won it, darn) Anyway, he was shot in the neck and hind end during the fighting. I don't remember the name but he was listed in a book about the battle of Iwo Jima. It either said it there or in the muster rolls that he was a cook. So that is an example of how every Marine, no matter his MOS, was also a rifleman and in some cases did see front line action. While that is probably an exception, there were a number of engagements where all men were needed, so cooks also had to fight. Just think about the Chosin Reservoir where every Marine capable had to fight off the Chinese.

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I've no information on cooks in ww2.  But served with the Seabees as a cook.  We were trained via the USMS on field ranges, etc.  I don't think the Seabee Battalions of the early 80's were that much different then 35 years earlier.      As cooks in the battalion we trained in all aspects of the field training.  - I had to qualify with the M16 and .45 cal.  We had to assign cooks to mortar platoon, crew served weapons, etc.  The core cooks, set up the field kitchen once a location was selected by the Head Shed.   Until then, we were assigned as camp security, etc. placed as needed.   We were rotated into patrols along with the line companies.  For the most part we remained near the CP or ACP until we were setting up - cooking, etc.  We had to dig our own fox holes.  Then in case of an attack on the camp, we'd report to our camp security locations near the CP/ACP for last line of protection.     So, in the case of the USMC in WW2, I can see how cooks ended up wounded/killed.     Not sure, but hope this helped some. 

 

Jon B.

Newaygo MI

 

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In WWII, cooks were integral to the company- infantry, artillery, etc. it did not matter. All units had to eat and a each company had a mess. These soldiers were branched according to their unit of assignment. In most cases, cooks would be sent to Cooks and Bakers School for training. The senior cook would be the Mess Sergeant. In most cases, he would have two helpers a "second cook," usually holding a corporal's stripes, and a "third cook." Before WWII The Private First Class rank was known as the Third Cook's rank because being a cook entitled the soldier to extra pay. The rest of the company helped out in turn in the mess  hall by serving as KPs. Even in combat, the cooks were their primary duty first and cooks second. These men would serve in the Company Headquarters. These soldiers were shot at just like their peers. They would have been expected to roll in at the same time as the supply sergeant, company clerk, the bugler and other soldiers in the HQ.

 

In many cases, an infantry company would have two vehicles assigned to it. One would be a jeep for the commander and then a deuce and a half or a 6 x 6 for the company supply and the company mess to share. As the war progressed, there would be an additional truck in the MTO&E and supply and mess would be split out. Cooks were responsible for getting their troops fed in the field and their equipment was minimal. When units moved off the line and into reserves, often times, the Service Of Supply would have established mess operations going where the individual unit cooks did not have to worry about feeding soldiers. Also, Corps assets included units like field bakeries to be able to supply bread to forward units because company cooks were not capable of baking bread in the field.

 

I hope this gives you a better understanding of mess operations in WWII.

 

Allan

 

 

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