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The greatest Army invention ever
A
human interest perspective
By Major Renita Foster
Copyright
© 1986
It was
developed in just 30 days in the summer of 1942 by
the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago. And
never in its 55-year-old history has it ever been
known to break, rust, need sharpening or polishing;
which is why many soldiers past and present, have
come to regard the P-38 C-Ration can opener as one
of the greatest Army Inventions ever.
C-Rations have long been replaced with the more
convenient Meals Ready to Eat, but the phenomenon of
the P-38 continues to rise due to the 1,000 and
other uses stemming from the unique blend of
ingenuity and creativity all soldiers seem to have.
“The
P-38 is on of those tools you keep and never want to
get rid of,” said Sgt. Scott Kiraly of Fort Manmouth,
N.J. “I’ve had my P-38 since joining the Army 11
years ago and kept it because I can use it for a
screwdriver, knife anything!”
Master
Sgt. Steve Wilson, proponent NCOIC, Army Chief of
Chaplains Office in the Pentagon, believes it’s the
size of the P-38 that counts.
“It’s
a perfect inch and a half, making it a great marking
tool, said Wilson, “Because it’s small, it doesn’t
take up a lot of space, and that’s essential in Army
life. The conveniently drilled hole in the top half
means the P-38 can be put on a key ring or dog tags
and go anywhere.”
The
P-38 became a strategic learning tool for West Point
Cadets Rob and Ryan Kay while growing up in Gilroy,
Calif.. Generously supplied with military gear by
their father, the brothers spend many of the
adolescent years decked out in fatigues, camouflage
makeup, combat gear, and P-38s attached to dog tags
to play “Army.”
“I
think the P-38 is as natural to me as my desire to
be in the service,” Rob Kay said.
The
most vital use of the P-38, however, is the very
mission it was designed for, explains retired Army
Col. Paul Baerman, now living in Colorado Springs,
Colo.
“When
we had C-Rations it was your access to food, making
it the hierarchy of needs,” Baerman said. “Then
soldiers discovered it was an extremely simple,
lightweight, multi-purpose tool. I think in
warfare, the simpler something is and the easier
access it has, the more you’re going to use it.”
The
P-38 acquired its infamous nomenclature from the 38
punctures around the C-Ration can required for the
opening, and the boast it performed with the speed
of the World War II P-38 fighter.
“Soldiers just took to the P-38 naturally,” said
John Bandola, a World War II veteran from Fanwood,
N.J. As a master sergeant serving in the 30th
Signal Construction Battalion in North Africa,
Bandola began his acquaintance with the P-38 in
1943.
“The
P-38 was our means of eating 90 per cent of the
time, but the next thing I knew we were using it for
cleaning boots, finger nails, screwdrivers, you name
it, said Bandola. “And we all carried it on our dog
tags or key rings.”
When
Pfc. Martin Kuehl, of Tomah, Wis., stormed Omaha
Beach with the Third Army’s 457th
Anti-Aircraft Battalion, he not only carried several
pounds of equipment, but a P-38 as well.
“I
used it to open cans for dinner on that longest
day,” Kuehl said. Seven years later millions of
these miniature can openers were distributed by the
Army during the Korean War.
“You
weren’t going to eat any other way,” Korean Veteran
Jay Welsh recalled. And while fighting in Korea on
what GIs called “Papauan Mountain” with the 24th
Infantry Division, Welsh discovered another vital
use of the P-38.
“A
clean weapon is your immediate priority, because a
dirty one is not going to work,” said Welsh. “The
P-38 was the ideal tool to field strip and clean the
finer components of the M-1 rifle. So in a way, I
believe that two-piece hinged device saved my life.
It provided me with a rifle I knew would fire.”
DoD
police supervisor Ted Paquet was a 17-year-old
seaman serving aboard the USS New Orleans amphibious
assault ship during the Vietnam War. Its mission
was to retrieve and transport Marines off the coast
of Da Nang. Evenings, soldiers gathered near
Paquet’s duty position in the fantail for simple
pleasures like “cokes, cigarettes, conversation and
C-rations.” It was during one of these nightly
sessions, Paquet came in contact with the P-38, or
“John Wayne” as it’s affectionately referred to in
the Navy.
“I
think the reason I remember this incident so well is
because one of the Marines and I got to talking
about where we were from, and it turned out we’d
gone to high school together and I’d even dated his
sister,” reminisced Paquet.
Paquet
came home to Pennsylvania surviving 12 months of
war, but not future encounters with the P-38. While
driving down Route 60, also known as the Old
Studenville Pike with older brother Paul, another
Vietnam veteran who served with the 7th
Air Calvary, car problems suddenly developed.
“There
were no tools in the car, and almost simultaneously,
both of us reached for P-38s attached to our key
rings,” Paquet chuckled. “We used it to adjust the
flow valve. The car worked perfectly, and we went
on our merry way.”
Christmas of 1969 brought a truce in Vietnam. Bearman was then a wounded first lieutenant whose
only desire was to be reunited with his platoon in
time for this highly coveted holiday. His wish was
granted, and it remains one of the most memorable
times in his military career.
“One
of my soldiers received one of those tacky,
evergreen foil trees,” recalled Bauerman. “It
didn’t come with anything so we mounted it on top of
a .50-caliber machine gun on a armored vehicle, and
decorated it with brass shells from ammunition,
C-ration cans, and of course P-38s. They were a
little dull, but that hole made it a perfect hanging
ornament.
“So
whenever I see that little can opener, I think of
being with them in 70 to 80 degree weather, and
singing carols around a P-38-decorated Christmas
tree.”
It’s
nostalgic memories like Bearman’s that best depict
the sentimental attachment many soldiers care to
feel for the P-38. When John Bandola attached his
first and only P-38 to his key ring that particular
day half a century ago, it accompanied him to Anzlo,
Salerno, and Northern Italy. It was with him when
World War II ended, and it’s with him now.
“This
P-38 is a symbol of my life back then,” Bandola
said. “The Army, the training, my fellow soldiers,
and all those incredible adventures we shared during
a world war.” He plans to leave it to his son and
grandson. It’s a desire his wife, Dorthy,
understands perfectly.
“Every
time they look at that P-38, they’ll see and
remember him,” she explained simply.
Vietnam Veteran Jon Koehler grins broadly when he
proclaims the P-38 “ranks with your first girl and
your first car.” Koehler proudly admits he put his
first P-38 on his dog tags 25 years ago, and it’s
still there.
“The
P-38 was part of my youth when I was learning all
about discipline, accomplishment and self worth as a
soldier with the 101st Airborne
Division,” said Koehler. “And if someone wanted it,
well, they’d have a better chance of seeing God.”
These
attitudes of former veterans aren’t hard to
understand said Wilson.
“When
you see a P-38 you’ve carried since the day you
enlisted, it means a whole lot,” explained Wilson.
“It became a part of you. You remember field
problems, German REFORGERs, jumping at 3 a.m. in the
morning, and moving out in a convoy. A P-38 has you
reliving all the adventures that came with
soldiering in the Armed Forces. Yes, the P-38
opened cans, but it did so much more. Any soldier
will tell you that.”
Information about the actual inventor of the P-38
has faded with the passing of years. So perhaps
it’s best to fantasize about a “Patron Saint of Army
Inventions” who’s been responsible for creating
devices empowering a soldier to survive in war and
peacetime.
There
were steel helmets designed for head protection, but
proved ideal for washing, shaving, and cooking; the
faithful, trustworthy jeep, guaranteed to go
anywhere and in any kind of weather; and the TA-50
ammunition pouch for storing those personal items
soldiers just couldn’t leave behind. The P-38,
however, remains the Saint’s finest work.
# # #
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