--- title: "Marines were once saved by candy from the sky" description: "Over the course of 17 days, Marines fighting at North Korea's Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War put out a call for \"Tootsie Rolls,\" their code for 60mm mortar rounds. When supplies were finally airdropped to them on the ground, they opened the crates to find... candy." date: "2021-03-01" modified: "2021-03-03" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/marines-saved-candy-sky/" categories: - "History" - "Marine Corps" - "War History" --- # Marines were once saved by candy from the sky ![]() Over the course of 17 days, Marines fighting at North Korea's Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War put out a call for "Tootsie Rolls," their code for 60mm mortar rounds. When supplies were finally airdropped to them on the ground, they opened the crates to find... candy. Thousands of actual Tootsie Rolls. --- ![]() The Marines were surrounded and outnumbered by Chinese and North Korean troops as much as 10-to-1. Temperatures fell as low as 30 to 40 degrees below zero; Jeep batteries cracked, weapons wouldn't cycle, and foul weather inhibited resupply missions. You might imagine how pissed off the Marines were to find candy where their mortar rounds should have been... and you'd be wrong. Since the bitter cold also froze the Marines' C-rations, Tootsie Rolls became an easy source of calories. The small chocolates were also easy to warm up and reform, so the Marines would use them to plug bullet holes in Jeeps, barrels, and other materials. The candies would quickly freeze solid again, and the materiel was ready for use. ![]() The Tootsie Rolls absolutely reinvigorated the 1st Marine Division. Marines are known for their ability to "make do" and the Tootsie Roll airdrop was no exception. Chairman Mao ordered the complete annihilation of the Marines at Chosin, but like Popeye the Sailor and his spinach, United States Marines fueled by small candies wiped the frozen Siberian tundra with 120,000 Chinese Communists. To this day, when the Chosin Few have reunions, the [Tootsie Roll Company]() sends boxes to them, wherever they are. See the full story below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8emP0_xDP2Q ### NOW: ["Anyone trying to kill me, I'm going to kill them" ]() ### OR: [39 Awesome photos of life in the Marine Corps infantry ]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()