Sugar is one of the necessities for human beings to maintain life. About 70% of the energy required for human life activities is maintained by the heat generated after the oxidation and decomposition of sugar. Once a person is short of sugar, he may experience dizziness, palpitation, and vertigo in mild cases, and hypoglycemia in severe cases, and even coma and life-threatening. As an important source of sustaining life, the importance of sugar was even more prominent during the war.
Take, for example, U.S. military rations during World War II. U.S. military rations are divided into five categories: A, B, C, D, and K. A and B are conventional rations and need to be cooked; C and K are wartime rations and are eaten during combat; D is emergency rations. The standard ration of the K ration is mainly a pile of sugar in addition to canned meat and compressed biscuits. The D ration as an emergency food is a military chocolate bar, which has extremely high calories, is easy to carry, and is not easy to melt. In September 1941, the quartermaster in charge of supplying troops added 5 hard candies to the C ration. These sugars can quickly replenish the energy consumed by soldiers, so that soldiers have enough physical strength and energy for long-term high-intensity battles.
Even the rations the U.S. Navy stockpiled on life rafts consisted of sugar—chewing gum, vitamin drops, and fruit-flavored hard candies. The instructions in the box also remind the user that if he happens to catch a fish, he should eat the fish first and save the candy for later. In the event of an emergency, the candy on the life raft will become the main material to maintain the life of the US Navy.
The high calorie content and portability of candy make it an excellent choice for emergency rations. In 1944, the United States conducted a candy rationing test for combat troops. Four American pilots voluntarily stayed on life rafts for five days, eating only rock candy and drinking water. As a result, although all of them lost weight, their bodies quickly returned to normal after a short rest and eating in the hospital. The test reaffirmed the importance of candy in the military, increasing the chances of survival of skydiving pilots if they had it hidden in their pockets.
“Remember, candy is the battle food of our soldiers, the energy food of our workers, and the morale builder of our citizens.” At the end of the broadcast, the host will sum up like this. Philip Gott, president of the American Confectionery Association, even compared candy to bullets: “We are making some very important ‘candy bullets’ for the new army rations.” Things happen from time to time, if the sugar can be replenished in time, it can effectively prevent the soldiers from being uncomfortable due to excessive hunger, thus winning the opportunity and victory.
During World War II, a large amount of sugar in the United States was shipped to the front line. Wherever American soldiers and sailors went, candy was sent to battle along with guns and gasoline. With so much candy being diverted to the front lines, and the U.S. sugar industry relying heavily on foreign suppliers, sugar supply difficulties arose in the United States. As a result, sugar became the first rationed item in the United States during World War II, and it was the only item that was not de-rationed before 1946.
During World War II, sugar was in short supply in Japan. Because the Allied forces blocked Japan’s maritime transportation at that time, there was a substantial shortage of domestic materials in Japan. Among the many materials, the price of sugar has risen the most. The price has increased by more than 300 times, and the price on the black market has even increased by more than 700 times. It is said that American soldiers in Japan after the war could get anything they wanted as long as they had sugar in sufficient quantities.
This also shows that during the war, sugar became a hard currency no less than gold.
