Oficers liquor rations in ww 2

[Walt's Daughter]

This was taken from Ross Hoagland's interview:

 

http://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/transcript...gland_R_259.pdf

 

I didn’t like the idea that officers had a liquor ration, enlisted men didn’t, didn’t like that idea at all. And here I was in addition to other duties was a liquor officer for the battalion. And believe it or not, I’d collect the money and five companies, about five officers probably around 25 officers would get a liquor ration each month. They got a bottle of rum, they got a bottle of bourbon, they got a bottle of brandy they’d buy. I’d have to buy it, get their money first, then take itback to them. Well one company had five officers in there, there was only one officer that orders liquor rations, which meant that there was four that I could buy for, so I sold it to my enlisted men at cost. And I said, Now here’s what you have to do. Just be quiet about this. Don't overdo it and I can buy it for you as long as they don’t buy it. Well, finally being right next door to the other.. the company that weren’t…. these non-coms.. where you gettin’ this. You see, and it finally got out, so these officers started buying it then, you see. But that was well controlled thing. There was no monkey business at all. It was well regulated. You could buy a ration each month while we weren’t in combat, you see. But I had my non-coms I furnished them liquor. So I got to be quite a nice fellow to my non-coms, you see.