Beleaguered American Troops Request Ammunition, Receive Candy Instead
The first half of the Korean War (1950 – 1953) was a seesaw affair. It began with the North Koreans launching a surprise attack that routed their opponents. Within weeks, the North Koreans had overrun most of the Korean Peninsula, and all that was left under the control of South Korean and US forces was a small corner around the port city of Pusan.
Then American general Douglas MacArthur outflanked the North Koreans with a brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon, which led to the invasion’s collapse. MacArthur then chased the routed North Koreans up the Peninsula. Despite warnings that China would intervene if his forces reached the Chinese border, MacArthur insisted that they would not dare, and his forces pushed up to the Sino-Korean border. Unfortunately for MacArthur, the Chinese dared. In a sudden attack, they caught MacArthur off guard, routed his forces, and chased them down the Peninsula even faster than they had raced up it a few weeks earlier.
In the desperate fighting following the Chinese intervention, American troops in the Chosin Reservoir found themselves in dire straits. They numbered only 15,000, while the Chinese attacked them with around 120,000 men. Supplies were running low, temperatures plummeted to minus 25 degrees, and what food they did have was almost impossible to warm up. And to top it off, they were running low on mortar shells – which were particularly effective in the mountainous terrain. So they called for an immediate airdrop of mortar shells, using a code name they had established for the munitions: Tootsie Rolls.
Quartermasters in the rear jumped into action, and the Air Force swiftly organized an airlift and airdropped their cargo within US positions in the Chosin Reservoir. The beleaguered troops eagerly rushed to recover the precious mortar shells. However, when they cracked open the crates, they were horrified to discover that instead of life-saving munitions, they were packed with actual Tootsie Rolls.
Fortunately, the troops soon discovered that Tootsie Rolls were among the few food items that were actually edible when frozen, and the sugar boost gave the weary fighters a needed jolt. Additionally, innovation being a major component of the American national character, the troops soon found other innovative uses for the candy. Chewed up Tootsie Rolls became like putty in the mouth, but froze solid when exposed in the frigid conditions of the Chosin Reservoir. So using Tootsie Rolls as improvised epoxy, the troops patched up bullet holes in equipment, and repaired broken tools. Then, on a sugar high and with their equipment fixed, the American forces broke out of the Chosin Reservoir, and fought their way to safety.