U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Field Safe/Strong Box

[BEAR]

I had to smile when reading about this field safe. I too, remember standing in lines for pay but only for a short time before the army started paying with checks.
But this story is not about pay but pay-back.
A friend of mine was assigned to an SF camp in the Central Highlands of South Viet Nam. They had just picked up their morning rations and he got Ham and Eggs (his favorite) and proceeded to sit on the sandbag parapet and open his meal. Having forgotten his tabasco sauce, he jumped down, leaving his opened cans on the sandbags. When he returned, he found that the Team Sergeant's little monkey (I hate monkeys) had turned over all his open cans and was in the process of defecating in his Ham and Eggs. He was furious and grabbed the monkey planning to slash its throat but knew he would be blamed for killing the monkey. So, he took the monkey into the empty CP and put it in the field safe that was empty and standing open. He closed and latched the door (but not locked). He then went and picked up one of his now empty C-Ration cans and inserted a grenade with the spoon locked down by the can's side. He went back into the CP and pulled the pin then opened the safe door and inserted the can with grenade. He then closed and locked the safe. He said that while he was eating another C-rat (not Ham and Eggs) meal he heard a very satisfying muffled "CRUMP". The safe was destroyed and the Team Sergeant came to the conclusion that his curious pet had just got hold of a grenade and climbed inside the safe to examine his prize.
True story.

BEAR