Fifty years ago, when I was taking my all-expense-paid-adventure in Southeast Asia, our friend Doug Clark would be working the overnight in the Photo Lab. He sent me the following article that he wrote for a church publication. I had forgotten all about this delectable gastronomical delight until Doug reminded me of it!
I was stationed at a place called Phu Hiep Army Airfield in Vietnam 1969-1970. I worked nights 7pm-7am. Me and the guy I worked nights with would take turns every few weeks (9-12pm) & go to the unit’s Enlisted Men’s Club (EM Club). On my nights I’d go to the EM Club to relax and socialize. They served exotic beer there such as Schlitz, Fallstaff, and Black Label. Beer was 11 cents a can and it was before aluminum cans or pop tops. Almost every time I was there, Aretha Franklin was on the jukebox, and this guy, Mike Worley (one of unit’s cooks), would enlist 10/12 people to help prepare and eat beanie weenies. We would all go to the Mess Hall and take orders from Mike Worley. We would prepare the beanie weenies using all huge Army grade food stuff:
- #10 can of pork & beans (13 cups)
- Chopped onions (probably 3)
- Part of a slab of industrial size butter (probably over 2 sticks)
- Pack of industrial size hotdogs
- Massive amounts of Mustard & Ketchup
Those beanie weenies were heavenly. They were creamy and smooth. They were a silver lining in a dark cloud and they took me far away. I enjoy Phu Hiep Bennie Weenies today, except I prepare and eat them in Decatur, GA.
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