Military chocolate has been a part of standard US armed forces rations since 1937, and is issued to troops as part of basic field rations and sundry packs. Chocolate rations served two purposes: as a morale boost, and as a high-energy, pocket-sized emergency ration. Military chocolate rations are often made in special lots to military specifications for weight, size and endurance. A majority of chocolate issued to military personnel is produced by the Hershey Company.When provided as a morale boost or care package, military chocolate is often no different from normal store bought bars in taste and composition. However, they are frequently packaged or molded differently. The World War II K-ration included a bar of Hershey's sweet chocolate. But instead of being the typical flat thin bar, the K-ration chocolate was a thick rectangular bar that was square at each end.
When provided as an emergency field ration, military chocolate was very different from normal bars. Since it was provided as a quick emergency food source, officials initially outlined that it should not be a tempting treat that troops might eat before they needed it. But even as attempts to improve the flavor were made, the heat-resistant chocolate bars never received rave reviews. Emergency ration chocolate bars were made to be high in energy value, be easy to carry and to withstand high temperatures. Withstanding high temperatures was extremely important, since infantrymen would be outdoors, sometimes in tropical or desert conditions, with the bars in their pockets against their bodies. These conditions would make any normal chocolate bar melt within minutes.
The first emergency chocolate ration bar commissioned by the United States Army was the Ration D Bar. Army Quartermaster Captain Paul Logan approached Hershey's Chocolate in April 1937, and met with William Murrie, the company president, and Sam Hinkle, the chief chemist. Milton Hershey was extremely interested in the project when he was informed of the proposal, and the meeting began the first experimental production of the Ration D bar.
Captain Logan had four requirements for the Ration D Bar. It had to:
1. weigh 4 ounces
2. be high in food energy value
3. be able to withstand high temperatures
4. taste "little better than a boiled potato."
Logan believed if the chocolate bar tasted good, troops would eat them casually instead of waiting until they needed them for an emergency meal.
Chief chemist Hinkle was forced to develop entirely new production methods to produce the bars. Chocolate manufacturing equipment was built to move flowing liquid chocolate into preset molds. However, the temperature-resistant formula of chocolate became a gooey paste that would not flow at any temperature. To produce the bars, each four ounce portion had to be kneaded, weighed and pressed into a mold by hand. The end result was a hard block of dark brown chocolate that would crumble with some effort.
Captain Logan was pleased with the first small batch of samples. In June 1937, the United States Army ordered 90,000 "Logan Bars" and field tested them at bases in the Philippines, Panama, on the Texas border, and at other bases throughout the United States. Some of the bars even found their way into the supplies for Admiral Byrd's third Antarctic expedition. These field tests were successful, and the Army began making irregular orders for the bars.
With the onset of America's involvement in World War II after Pearl Harbor, the bars were ordered to be packaged to make them poison gas proof. Numerous changes in the packaging were made to reflect shortages and Army requests from 1941 to 1945.
In 1943, the Procurement Division of the Army approached Hershey about producing a confectionery style chocolate bar with improved flavor that would still withstand extreme heat. After a short period of experimentation, the Hershey company began producing Hershey's Tropical Bar. This bar was more similar to normal chocolate bars in shape and flavor than the Ration D Bar. The bar exceeded all tonnage for any other item produced by the wartime Hershey factory, including the Ration D Bar. While attempts to retain the sweetened flavor were somewhat successful, many troops found the chocolate tough and unappetizing. Nonetheless, it was perfect as a quick snack in the field, or as barter material.
It is estimated that between 1940 to 1945, over 3 billion of the Ration D Bars and Tropical Bars were produced and distributed to soldiers throughout the world. In 1939, the Hershey plant was capable of producing 100,000 ration bars a day. By the end of World War II, the entire Hershey plant was producing ration bars at a rate of 24 million a week. For their service throughout World War II, the Hershey Chocolate Company was issued 5 Army-Navy 'E' Production Awards for exceeding expectations for quality and quantity in the production of the Ration D Bar and Tropical Bar.
