How Spam and Chocolate Became America’s Secret Weapons in WWII

On this episode of Our American Stories, when American troops left for war, they carried reminders of home that came in the simplest form: food. Spam and Hershey’s chocolate became symbols of comfort in a world that had lost its sense of safety. Spam filled mess kits and fueled long marches through mud and heat. Hershey’s chocolate brought a quick burst of sweetness that could steady a soldier’s nerves or break the monotony of rations. Together they fed the body and the spirit, helping to turn familiar tastes into a quiet kind of strength that followed the American army wherever it went.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next to
the story of how spam an Hersey's chocolate became the
most recognizable pieces of the American soldier's diet during World
War Two. You're to tell the story as writer and
school teacher and Claire take it away, Anne.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
They say, in army marches on its stomach, and with
millions of Americans serving in the Second World War, there
were plenty of stomachs to be kept fed. Now, of course,
there were a number of ways the US accomplished this,
but today I'd like to just take a minute and
look at the really interesting history behind two very different staples,

(00:55):
spam and chocolate. So let's start with a little bit
of history of spam. Spam's history goes way back to
nineteen thirty seven, during the later half of the Great Depression.
The Hormal Meat Company of Austin, Minnesota, spearheaded by the

(01:18):
founder's son Jay, was looking for ways to expand their
fresh meat business into canned goods. Now, this took some
trial and error to make something palatable that they could
also can but eventually he successfully produced a moist canned
meat made from pork shoulder. They did a little contest

(01:40):
to try and figure out a good name for this
new product, and the company VP's brother won the honor
and christened the new product Spam. Now, the timing really
couldn't have been better, because, of course nineteen thirty seven

(02:00):
you have the hostilities of the Second World War really
starting to escalate in Europe, and the war officially began
in nineteen thirty nine. Now, around that time, Frank Lindelano
Roosevelt signed the Lend Lease Act, And the Lend Lease
Act was kind of a way for the US to

(02:20):
be involved in the war without really being involved in
the war. FDR promised to support Allied powers by lending
them or leasing them certain supplies for instance food or
shipping and things like that, while still technically remaining neutral. Now,

(02:44):
this meant that there was a lot of food being
shipped overseas, lots of different goods being sent to Britain
and then to the USSR once they became an Allied country,
and it was just it was a lot a lot
to send across that was a challenge. But what better
product to send then easily shipped canned meats like spam.

(03:07):
According to the official Spam website, over one hundred million
pounds were shipped to our troops alone once we officially
joined the conflict. Now, of course, even fans of spam
might say that there is too much of a good thing,
and there were certain spamy jokes that passed around during

(03:29):
that time. But whether you love it or not, the
canned meat helped feed millions, which is not bad for
an underutilized cut of pork mixed with them salt and
some starch and sugar and water. It's still sold in
forty four countries according to the museum site, and in
twenty twelve, when it celebrated its seventy fifth anniversary, the

(03:52):
Spam Company produced its eight million can So served a
purpose and it's still going strong. The other items histria
that I'd like to look at today is one of
my favorite ones. And if I'm going to have sweets chocolates,
the first choice it's about the taste, because why would

(04:15):
you ever want a bad tasting bar of chocolate? Aha?
But going back to nineteen thirty seven, with war looming
on the horizon, that's exactly what Captain Paul Logan wanted
the Hershey Company to create. But he had a good
reason because again, though the US wouldn't officially enter the
Second World War until nineteen forty one. The conflict between

(04:39):
Japan and China was ranchting up in the Pacific and
in Europe, the National Socialist German Workers' Party commonly known
to history as the Nazis, had begun rearming Germany in
direct violation of the Tree of Versailles. The unrest in
the world spurred the Office of the US Army Quartermaster
General into preparation. They wanted to plan ahead and have

(05:02):
a small light, high energy emergency ration ready to go,
just you know, in case, and well, what could be
better than a chocolate bar. The problem was that a
traditional hershey bar wouldn't do, because, well, if you have
kids like me, or you've ever tried to eat a

(05:23):
chocolate bar on a hot day, you know what happens.
It melts immediately and gets over every piece of furniture imaginable.
Standard chocolate's low melting point wouldn't withstand a soldier's pockets,
and if it really tasted good, it might tempt him
to eat the treat before it was strictly necessary. That
wouldn't work great for an emergency ration. So what logan

(05:45):
asked the chemistry. Hershet to do was come up with
a bar that fit certain specifications. It needed to weigh
four ounces, and it needed to be rich in nutrients
and energy, and according to two reports that I've read,
he asked for it to taste about as good as
a boiled potato. So chemist Sam Hinkle rose to the

(06:10):
task and created the d Ration Bar. This thing included oat, flour,
and vitamins. It had reduced sugar and increased cocoa. It
weighed in at six hundred calories and reportedly had a
consistency that could shatter teeth yum. Now this was a

(06:32):
problem for the factory because their traditional chocolate processing wouldn't
really work. The stuff was really thick and viscous, so
the original batches had to be pressed into molds by hands,
and as war became more imminent, the Hershey company had
to come up with specialized automation processes to really get
these things going. From different sources I've read, trip reviews

(06:57):
on the chocolate bars were mixed. Some sources record them
being called Hitler's secret weapon because if you overindulged there
were certain unpleasant gastro intestinal consequences, but others also say
that it really wasn't too bad if they were hungry enough.

(07:19):
And having spoken a little bit with some people who
were alive in Europe during this time, you hear stories
of the gis handing out chocolate bars to locals and
things you know they've said after not having candy for
a long time. It just did wasn't too bad at all.
But I guess as long as you remember not to overindulge,
if it served its purpose. Now, in nineteen forty three,

(07:42):
the Army's Procurrent Division asked Hershey to produce a new bar,
which would also be heat resistant, but they wanted it
to have a little bit of a better flavor, and
from that project came the Hershey's Tropical Chocolate Bar. This
one was around a little longer. I have looked into

(08:03):
the d ration bars just to see if it was
something I could still find because I try it, it's chocolate.
They aren't produced anymore. Neither is the Tropical Bar, but
it did last until nineteen seventy one, at least to
go into space into the Moon with the crew of
Apollo fifteen. Whether people loved it or hated it, the

(08:24):
special ration Great Hershey's Bar did serve its purpose and
estimated three billion units were produced and distributed to troops
around the world from nineteen forty to nineteen forty five.
But as I said, we can't find them nowadays, so
I guess we have to just stick with the tasty stuff.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
And a great job on the editing, production and storytelling
by our own Billy Foster. And a special thanks to
Aunt Claire for sharing this story. And what a story
it is. It's not a big story, but my goodness,
what spam did. The number of units, it's just it's
mind boggling. One hundred million pounds of spam and then

(09:06):
three billion units of Hershey's. Again, the arsenal democracy didn't
just happen with our plain manufacturing. It was our food,
our oil, and so much more. The story of American
production and Heart told her the story of spam and chocolate.
Here on our American story.