Service Food Menus
Different units often create service menus for special occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year’s. These are some examples
Camp Lejeune Signal Battalion Christmas Dinner Menu 1943 – Christmas Menu for Marines
2nd Mess Group Christmas Greetings, Keesler Field, Mississippi, Dec 25th 1944 – Christmas Menu
Images courtesy of Joanne Krasselt, whose Uncle, Clarence Jepperson, saved them. Clarence would go on to partake in Operation Ivory Soap. The training for the operation was held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, where they treated the hotel as a naval ship. He saved the rate sheet from the hotel as well, with rates effective October 20, 1943, and underlined that he was in a Suite for 4 occupants.
This has a bit more about the selection and training of the operation: https://sikorskyarchives.com/operation-ivory-soap-and-the-largest-helicopter-rescue-of-wwii/
6th Cavalry troop holiday menus, 1925-1940
The library of the University of Georgia has a digitized collection of 6th Cavalry Troop menus. The 6th Cavalry was out of Fort Oglethorpe.
35th Replacement Battalion
The 35th Replacement Battalion is a unit that replacement soldiers would be assigned to before heading to their actual unit. The copy is from January 1946.
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
443rd Fighter Squadron Menu
The menu below is from the 443rd Fighter Squadron of the 327th Fighter Group out of Richmond, VA (the base is where the Richmond Airport currently is). This unit was a training unit and provided mid-Atlantic defense.
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
67th Signal Battalion Company A Victory Party
This is a service menu for Division School No. 2, New Area at Camp Bowie, Texas, on October 17th, 1944. It’s hard to find much information about the unit, but according to the US Army Lineage, it was in Europe and presumably came home before being transferred to the Pacific. I guess that this Victory Party is the result of them coming home from Europe.
Travel Base Brochure
Below is the base brochure handed out to personnel when they arrive at base and are expecting to stay awhile. This one is from Harmon Field in Stephenville, Newfoundland. Dated Feb 1945
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
From the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN
Civilian Menus
Thalhimers Basement Luncheonette – A civilian menu probably from the 1930s. It was a diner in Richmond, VA.
People’s Drug Stores, Nov 1943 – Includes a flyer for Specials
John E Fahed Menu 1943 – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 602 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now home to a Rite Aid.
Sol Scher’s Restaurant, Dec 1943. – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 827 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now a parking garage.
The Nook Restaurant Sept, 1943 – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 111 North Second Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now a parking garage. Now it’s advertised as being “air conditioned,” but the individual room ones, as well as any portable ones, were brand new technology at the time and costly. It’s unlikely the business had that but used some other tool or technology to condition the air.
