This is what the Army’s nasty ’emergency chocolate bars’ tasted like

Who doesn't love a bit of candy to lighten the mood? Today, troops opening up an MRE might find a bag of Skittles or some sweets in there to help boost morale a little bit. This isn't anything new; troops have had some kind of candy in rations since WWII.

While the soldiers who were preparing to jump into the fight on D-Day likely had a few of their favorite chocolate bars on them, they had another specialty chocolate bar, one made exclusively made for the troops. It was called the U.S. Army Field Ration D and it tasted about as appetizing as the name suggests — a little bit better than a boiled potato.

Still better than the Veggie MRE.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt)

The Field Ration D, or "D-Bar," was the brain child of Col. Paul Logan and the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. The idea was to stuff enough calories, vitamins, and nutrients inside of an easy-to-carry chocolate bar so that troops always had an emergency field ration if they needed it. It weighed 4 oz., packed 600 calories, and was mixed with raw oat flour to ensure that it wouldn't melt easily.

The packaging of Field Ration D was made with aluminum wrapper, cardboard dipped in wax, and cellophane. There was no way that bugs, weather, or gas could reach the bar and contaminate it. There was also a safety measure put in place by Col. Logan to ensure troops didn't just eat their emergency ration for a sweet fix — he reportedly asked Hershey to not focus on the taste.

The D-Bar was so full of cacao fat and oat flour that it could survive any condition, but it also made the bar extremely bitter. Since it was made to endure nearly any conditions, it was solid as a rock. Not exactly appetizing.

To make matters worse, if any troop didn't read the tiny warning to eat the bar slowly, over a thirty minute time period, their bowels would suffer. This unfortunate side-effect earned it the nickname, "Hitler's secret weapon."

Word of how awful the D-Bar was (and its unofficial moniker) made it back to Hershey. They offered another chocolate bar instead — the Tropical Bar. Apparently, this was even worse and earned the name "Dysentery Bar," because troops who already had dysentery were the only ones who could tolerate it.

In the end, the top brass at the Pentagon lavished Hershey with numerous awards for their "help" in WWII while the troops exchanged the D-Bars and Tropical Bars to unsuspecting civilians for better food.

To watch the bravest man on YouTube actually eat one of these, check out the video below by Steve1989 at MRE Info.