April 18, 1944 — Army finally comes thru with a practical front line stove and candles
April 17, 1944 — Even the dead are not safe on the Anzio beachhead
April 17, 2024
“At First Light” celebrates 2nd anniversary and here’s what’s happened since release
April 19, 2024War correspondent, Ernie Pyle, wrote,
One of the most practical pieces of equipment our Army has got around to is the Little Coleman stove for cooking. It’s about 8 Inches high and burns gasoline. It comes in a round metal can which you can use to heat water in after you take the stove out of it.”[1]
Pyle continued:
The stove has folding legs and folding gridles which you open up to set a can or a canteen cup on. It’s easy to carry and burns without a lot of tinkering.
Almost every group of front-line soldiers has one now. They heat their C-rations on it, make coffee several times a day, heat water for shaving, and if they’re in an enclosed place such as a dugout they even use it for warmth.
You have no idea what a big thing some practical little device like a successful stove is in the life of a man at the front.
Our Army canteen cup is pretty good, but it has one big drawback The rolled-over rim collects so much heat you can’t put it to your lips without burning them. Hence you have to wait till your coffee is lukewarm before you can drink it.
A few soldiers, I’ve noticed, have partly solved the problem by cutting the rim off and filing the top smooth.
Another much-needed item that has at last shown up in good quantity is candles.
It seems to take any nation a year or two to find out through experience all the little things needed at the front, and to produce them and get them there. Last winter we needed candles but they were as scarce as though made of gold. Now at last they have become plentiful.
They are white and about nine inches long. We either drip some tallow on a table and anchor them in it, or set them in empty cognac bottles. Of course if you had a full cognac bottle you wouldn’t need a candle.
[1] Ernie Pyle. In Italy. (By Wireless). Army Finally Comes Thru—A Practical Front Line Stove and Candles. News Clipping.
In case you haven’t read or listened to Dad’s book, you can learn more or order it here.
© Copyright WLL, INC. 2024.
