425th Regimental Association Dining Out – April 12, 2014
The 425th Regimental Association plans to hold a dining out April 12 2014, In order to do this we need to gauge the participation level, “HEAD COUNT” The cost per individual will be announced once a estimated attendance level is established. The cost of admission once calculated will be for the following, Hall, Open Bar, Food, and Shuttle service to the local Holiday Inn Express.
The event will take place at the VFW 1146 Bruce Post, 28404 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, Michigan. With the date placed well in advance we hope to have a huge turn out.To let the Dining Out team know you are interested in attending go to the Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/243918029098493/?ref=23. If you are not on Facebook, let us know if you are interested in attending by making a comment on this post. Let us know if you will attend and how many guests you might bring.
We also encourage any support for this event from our members, If you have connections to have any Co.F merchandise made such as T-shirts, Mugs, Decals, Etc, please comment to this post.
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425th Regimental Association E-Newsletter Fall, 2013
425th Regimental Association
Newsletter
Fall 2013
REGIMENTAL DINING OUT
The 425th Regimental Association plans to hold a dining out on April 12 2014, In order to do this we need to gauge the participation level, “HEAD COUNT” The cost per individual will be announced once a estimated attendance level is established. The cost of admission once calculated will be for the following, Hall, Open Bar, Food, and Shuttle service to the local Holiday Inn Express.
The event will take place at the VFW 1146 Bruce Post, 28404 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, Michigan. With the date placed well in advance we hope to have a huge turn out. To let the Dining Out team know you are interested in attending go to the Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/243918029098493/?ref=23. If you are not on Facebook, let us know if you are interested in attending by sending me an email at adjutant@425regiment.org. Let us know if you will attend and how many guests you might bring.
FAREWELL TO LTC TERRY KOEHLER
We are sorry to report that LTC (ret) John T. Koehler passed away on October 10th. Terry was injured in a skiing accident many years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down as a result. He has been in poor health for the last few years.
Terry joined Co F as a SP4, was commissioned as a 2LT through MMA, rose through the ranks to Captain and served as the Commander from 1985 through 1988. He was a Jumpmaster and Pathfinder with 125 jumps. He retired from HQ STARC as a LTC after his skiing accident.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ARMY RETIREMENT?
The Army G-1 has a website that provides information and links that should answer most of your questions about retirement. If you click on the Contact Us link on the left side, you can get a list of all of the Retirement Services Officers. For Michigan, they are at Selfridge or Fort McCoy.
Army G-1 Retirement Services – http://www.armyg1.army.mil/rso/default.asp
JOINT 82nd/425th ASSOCIATION PICNIC
We enjoyed our annual picnic with the 82d 
Airborne Division Association on July 27th at the Bruce VFW Post. If you have never attended this event, you don’t know what you have been missing. There was more food than anyone can eat, plenty of beer and soft drinks, and good old Airborne camaraderie. Twenty members of the Association attended the event. One of our new members, Henry Heatley, was a soldier in the Heavy Mortar Company of the original 425th Infantry Regiment!
During the business meeting, new officers were elected for the next year. Your new officers are:
President Richard Anderson president@425regiment.org
Vice-President Mark Evans vicepresident@425regiment.org
Treasurer Tom Neff treasurer@425regiment.org
Secretary Anthony Lopiccolo secretary@425regiment.org
Adjutant Bob Wangen adjutant@425regiment.org
Historian Donald Bugg historian@425regiment.org
CSM Dean Burchill CSM@425regiment.org
These officers will serve from October, 2013 to September 2014.
THUNDER OVER MICHIGAN AIR SHOW
Once again the Association supported 
the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show. We parked cars in the handicapped parking lot. While it was hard work, it was also a lot of fun. While we weren’t on the flight line, we could still see many of the flyovers and other aerial acts. Many of the people parking in this lot were veterans who appreciated our efforts and shared a couple of “war stories” before they went into the show. The weather was great and lunch was provided, what more would an infantryman want, right? This is a fund raiser for the Association. Watch for the announcement for next year and join the fun.
ARMY KNOWLEDGE ONLINE (AKO) & EMAIL ADDRESSES
If you are retired and are using your us.army.mil email address, please be advised that use of this email address will end on December 31, 2013 if you have not made a password change within 90 days. ALL retiree accounts will be terminated on March 31, 2014. This will affect access to your DFAS MyPay account, your Official military Personnel File (OMPF), and other services. Go to http://www.eis.army.mil/ako for more information on the AKO transition and how to get a DOD Self-Service Logon to replace your AKO logon. Because of this transition and leaving/changing jobs will cause your email address to change, I also recommend that any members using their work email for Association contact info, change to a personal account such as Google, Yahoo, etc.
THE EXCHANGE LAUNCHES NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE
Online shopping with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service is easier than ever thanks to a refresh of the organization’s official website, www.shopmyexchange.com, in preparation for the key holiday selling season.
Improvements include a new homepage layout design, complete with an updated visual look and industry-standard navigation; more product categories; easy-to-find links to specialty stores and online mall vendors; improved product pages; and easier checkout.
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Taps for SSG Phil Metevia
Services for our comrade SSG Phil Metevia will be on 9 August at 1400 at the Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Rd, Holly, MI. The phone number is (248) 328-0386.
Driving Directions:
From Detroit Metro Airport and points south of Detroit: Take I-94 West to I-275 North, about 18 miles to I-96 West toward Lansing about 18 miles. Take U.S.23 North to Flint. Take Thompson Road Exit 84, turn right on Thompson Road, go to Fenton Road, turn left on Fenton Road, go to Baldwin Road, turn right on Baldwin Road, go to Holly Road, turn right on Holly Road, go to Belford Road, turn left on Belford Road cross the railroad tracks. The cemetery is on the right after crossing the railroad tracks.
From Ann Arbor and points South: Take U.S. 23 North toward Flint. Take Thompson Road Exit 84, and follow the directions from that point above.
From points East of Detroit: Take I-75 N to Holly Road (exit 108). Turn left onto Holly Road then turn left onto Belford Road.
From Lansing and points West: Take I-69 E toward Flint, merge onto I-75 S (exit 133) toward Ann Arbor/Detroit. Take Holly Road (exit 108). Turn right onto Holly Road, turn left onto Belford Road.
From Bishop Airport, Flint: Merge onto I-75 S (exit 133) toward Ann Arbor/Detroit. Stay on I-75 to Detroit. Take Holly Road (exit 108). Turn right onto Holly Road, turn left onto Belford Road.
From Saginaw, Bay City, and points North: Take I-75 S toward Flint and follow the directions from Flint.
Anyone who wishes to sign the virtual guestbook may do so by going to this web address:
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425th Regimental Association Newsletter – Spring 2013
425th Regimental Association
Newsletter
Spring 2013
Company F Unit History Project.
If you deployed to Iraq with Co F, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
As you probably know, the 425 Regimental Association Historian COL. Don Bugg is in the process of writing the units history. It is done up to the point of Co F’s combat deployments. From that point in time he has received little information from our combat vets. COL Bugg has contributed a great deal of time and work into this project that is of benefit to us all. He would like to finish the book so we can put it to print but is still reluctant to do so until we have our combat history recorded. However, he will have to do so soon, so we hope you guys will either send an email or call him and relate your war experiences to him. It doesn’t have to be fancy or in any type of format. We don’t even care about spelling. We just need your story in your own words. But he needs it as soon as you can get it to him.
He currently has all the dry info such as places and dates but he is looking for personal experiences to add color to the history. We would like to hear about some of your specific missions or other incidents of interest such has the big gun battle or the patrol the guys captured the high value target etc. He is also interested in types of missions you went on, whether LRRP, CAV unit scouting or even wall guard duty.
We hope you will please cooperate and pass this along to the other guys that were there but not members of the 425th Regimental Association. You can email Don at flyflogger2@att.net or call him at (248) 852-3879
Association Sick Call
Our Secretary, Ben Walker, has just recently been released from the hospital after going through major surgery to take care of some internal bleeding. It sounds like it was a close call. Ben is resting at home, but while he still has a long to go, it appears the worst is over and he is in the recovery stage.
Joint Picnic with 82nd Airborne Association
WHAT: 425th Regimental Association Annual Picnic
Call all your Co F buddies and make a day of it. The more the better.
WHEN: Saturday. 27 July 2013 / Family Picnic starts at 1100 hrs / Business meeting
will be held at 1500 hrs in the Bruce Post Bar Room. Be sure to sign roster
WHERE: Bruce VFW Post / 28404 E. Jefferson Ave, St. Clair Shores, MI. (Located between 11 & 12 mile Roads)
As in the past, the 82nd Association will be supplying hot dogs, hamburgers, (Burned to order) condiments, paper plates, utensils, and beer. (please put a generous donation in the can to cover these and other costs)
Dinner is pot luck and those attending are encouraged to bring a dish to pass. The grill opens around noon.
There will be games for the kids, so you are also encouraged to bring a prize to donate (possibly something from the dollar store) for kids up to age 12.
At present there will be a skydive demo jump between 1300 and 1400 hours. The 82nd will be running a closest to the pin raffle where for $5 you can buy a measurement (in increments of two inches). (Time subject to change). If you pick the closest skydiver to the target you will win 50% of the money taken in. The skydivers volunteer their jump to help the 82nd Association but the Jump A/C and fuel are not free so this pays for their expenses. Make as many guesses at 5 bucks per as you wish. One of our own, CPT McKalpain may be one of the jumpers
David Lincicome will be at the picnic selling our new line of EMBROIDERED hats, shirts, and license plates. (All proceeds go to the 425 Assn fund)
425th Regimental Association challenge coins and will be available to buy at the meeting only. (Don’t got one? Better buy one or be prepared to do a lot of pushups) (All proceeds for coins also go into our 425 assn fund.)
Additional events planned are, DJ Music, and maybe some re-enactors, or other static displays.
The 425th Regimental Association will have their business meeting at 1500 hrs inside the Bruce Post Bar Room as we did last year.
This is our biggest event of the year and we are looking forward to a large turnout and a lot of fun for everyone. As usual please leave all explosives, claymores, grenades, bayonets, machine guns and brass knuckles at home.
MEETING AGENDA
Call to order………………………………………………………………………….Lincicome
Sign In Roster Notification……………………………………………………..Walker
Pledge of Allegiance……………………………………………………………….Lincicome
Airborne Prayer……………………………………………………………………..Walker
Reading of the Minutes…………………………………………………………..Walker
Treasurers Report…………………………………………………………………..Neff
Historians Report……………………………………………………………………Bugg
Membership Report………………………………………………………………..Wangen
Web Site Report……………………………………………………………………..Wangen
Old Business………………………………………………………………………….Lincicome
Airshow Parking Committee Report………………………………………….Lincicome
CO F Memorabilia Committee Report……………………………………….Anderson
FT Custer Historical Society Update………………………………………… Bugg / Wangen / Walker
NCO Club Ceiling Tile Disposition (Previously tabled)……………….Burchill
Proposed Party………………………………………………………………………..Lincicome / Neff
New Business………………………………………………………………………….Lincicome
Wounded Warrior donation………………………………………………………Lincicome
Election of Officers………………………………………………………………….Lincicome
Any further New Business to be Presented?……………………………… Lincicome
Adjournment………………………………………………………………………….Lincicome
NOTE: There will be an election of officers at this meeting.
Article V Election By Laws
– No member shall be elected to office without the members consent. In case a member is nominated to office and the member is not present at the meeting, the sponsor must have written consent to place the members name before the Association for election.
– Elections for Officers will take place at the annual meeting of the Association. Term of office will begin 1 October current year until 30 September of the following year.
Ben Walker, Assn Sec.
Thunder Over Michigan Air Show
Once again David Lincicome will be leading the charge for our parking project at the Willow Run Airport. The date is SOON, It will be the weekend of 11-12 August. As in the past the Association will receive funds for our coffers in accordance to the number of volunteers we have working the parking concession. We have done well the past several years. Let’s make this another banner year. You can work both days or just one and get to see the air show free. Workers will receive their choice of a free logo hat / T-shirt or license plate. For more details or to volunteer contact David Lincicome. Contact info below.
National 82nd Airborne Association Convention
The National Convention will be hosted by the Tillman E. Beikes, Indianapolis All Airborne on August 14-17, 2013. Registration Fee: $82.00 (per person attending Convention) (After July 15th $92.00 (Includes Hospitality Room, Memorial Lunch Friday and Saturday evening Banquet. Please call the Marriott Indianapolis East Hotel below and make Your room reservation (state Handicap needs) No later than July 18, 2013 for the 82nd Airborne Division Association Group Rate listed below.(Mention code: AIRAIRA) The hotel is Marriot East Hotel at 7202 E. 21st St, Indianapolis, IN 46219 (317) 322-3716. Rates are $89.00 Tax/night ($103.24).
Association Resources
Our Association website has a wealth of information, including an archive of newsletters. Go to http://www.425regiment.org and check it out. The latest post is about the “Virtual Vietnam Wall” and has a link to Co F’s own 1LT Ralph Miller.
The Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs has some good information as well. http://www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,4569,7-126-2362—,00.htm
Military Star Card
Consider applying for the Military Star Card and get a 10% discount at Exchange food courts and $.05 discount at the Exchange gas station. http://www.shopmyexchange.com/exchangecredit/
425 Regimental Association Board Of Directors, Contact Information
President: David Lincicome – president@425regiment.org
Vice President: Richard Anderson – vicepresident@425regiment.org
Secretary: Ben Walker – secretary@425regiment.org
Treasurer: Tom Neff – treasurer@425regiment.org
Historian: Don Bugg – historian@425regiment.org
RCSM: Dean Burchill – csm@425regiment.org
Adjutant : Bob Wangen – adjutant@425regiment.org
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Who Signed the Declaration of Independence?
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free!
I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. It’s time we get the word out that patriotism
is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.
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One of our fellow Rangers has fallen
SGT Bob Nanni recently passed away in a car accident. The details on the funeral as we know them are-
Saturday, 29 Jun, 10 AM – Visitation is at the Creek Center Banquet Hall 72025 North Ave Armada, MI the service will start at 11 then we will go to the West Berlin cemetery in Allenton (near the intersection of Almont and Capac Roads, east of Almont). After the service at the cemetery we will return to the Creek Center Banquet Hall for a luncheon.
Normal attire for funerals is the Class A uniform. Retired personnel are authorized to wear the Class A uniform for such functions. Informal Association policy is to wear slacks with a dark (Navy Blue, etc) sport coat with beret if an appropriate uniform is not available. Retired personnel are authorized to wear decorations on the sport coat in lieu of a uniform.
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D-Day – June 6, 1944
It was in January of 1944, when GEN Omar Bradley gave LTC James Rudder, commander of the 2nd Ranger Bn the mission of capturing Pointe-du-Hoc. Bradley finished by saying, “It is the most dangerous mission of D-Day. LTC Rudder, replied, My Rangers can do the job.”
The Provisional Ranger Force (2nd and 5th Ranger Bn), under the overall command of LTC Rudder was divided into two elements. Task Force A (Companies D, E, and F, 2nd Ranger Bn, under LTC Rudder) and Task Force B (Companies A and B, 2nd Ranger Bn and the 5th Ranger Bn, under the command of LTC Max Schneider).
The plan was for Task Force A to assault the cliffs at Pointe-du-Hoc, and once successful send a message to Task Force B to follow on as the second wave. If Task Force B did not receive the signal by 0700 they were to land after the 29th Infantry Division on Omaha Beach and move overland to Pointe-du-Hoc to reinforce the 2nd Bn.
The 2nd Bn ran into more opposition than expected and took longer to take the cliffs and consolidate their position. By the time the signal was sent to Task Force B, LTC Schneider has already shifted the force to land on Omaha Beach. This meant LTC Rudder and Task Force A had to “hold until relieved” with a bare minimum force.
Task Force B landed in the middle of “Bloody Omaha” where assault waves of soldiers were stacking up against the seawall and the tide was coming in. It was during this point in the assault when BG Norman Cota, Assistant Division Commander of the 29th Infantry Division said to the troops on the beach, “Don’t die on the beaches, die up on the bluff if you have to die, but get off the beaches or you’re sure to die” Cota turned to LTC Schneider, telling him, “I’m expecting the Rangers to lead the way.” That was the beginning of the motto, “Rangers lead the way!”
We, the 425th Regimental Association, carry on the heritage of these and other Rangers who have “led the way!”
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The Wall – Lest We Forget
Memorial Day will be upon us soon. As we enjoy our time with family, friends and former comrades, let us pause and remember those who gave the last great act of devotion so many years ago.
A little history most people will never know. Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall
There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.
1LT Ralph P. Miller, a former member of Co F (Ranger) 425th Infantry, is memorialized on the Wall – http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/MillerRP01a.htm.
Miller Drop Zone at Camp Grayling was named in his honor.
- There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
- 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
- 8,283 were just 19 years old.
- The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
- 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
- 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
- One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
- 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam ..
- 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam ..
- 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
- Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.
- 54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . Why so many from one school.
- 8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
- 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.
- Beallsville , Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
- West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
- The Marines of Morenci – They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
- The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
- The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.
- The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 – 2,415 casualties were incurred.
For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those among us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.
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The Final Inspection
The Final Inspection
The soldier stood and faced his God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass
“Step foward now you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek,
And to my church have you been true?”
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
“No Lord, I guess I ain’t,
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be saints
“I’ve had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough
And sometimes I’ve been violent
Because the streets were awfully rough”
But I never took a penny,
That was’nt mine to keep
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills just got to steep,
And I never passed a cry for help
Although, at times I shook with fear
And sometimes, God forgive
I’ve wept unmanly tears
I know I don’t deserve a place
Among the people here
That never wanted me around
Except to calm there fears
If you have a place for me here O’ Lord
It needn’t be so grand
I’ve never expected, or had so much
But if you don’t I’ll understand”
There was a silence all around the throne
Where the Saints had often trod
As this soldier waited quietly
For the judgment from his God
“Step foward now you soldier,
You’ve borne your
burdens well
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell”
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Don’t Like MRE’s?
Veterans have always complained about the rations they were issued in the field. Many of us didn’t know how well we had it. How would you like to have served during the Civil War?
Hardtack
This simple four and water biscuit was the staple of US soldiers and sailors for most of the nineteenth century. During the Civil War, nine hardtack crackers a day constituted the campaign ration for soldiers, North and South. If kept dry, hardtack lasts indefinably – it just gets harder and harder. Soldiers generally dunked, boiled, or crumbled the crackers, which could only be chewed by the hardiest souls. Many chose to fry bits in salt pork fat making a mess called “skillgallee.” While soldiers generally despised hardtack, weevils loved it. The crackers were often issued riddle with worm holes. Veterans considered the worms a supplement to the meager meat ration, but new recruits would dunk and skim or just eat with their eyes closed.
Hardtack Recipe –
- 5 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp. salt
Mix ingredients into a big dough blob. Sprinkle with flour so it doesn’t stick to everything. Knead well and roll 1/4″ thick. Cut into 1 1/2″ squares. Use a nail to pierce each square with 16 evenly spaced holes. Bake at 340 degrees for one hour or until golden brown and hard as a rock. Enjoy!
_________________________________________________End of 2013 Posts