NECCO Wafers have accompanied American service members through more than one chapter of military history. First produced in New England in 1847, early versions of the sugar wafers were distributed to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Their compact rolls, long shelf life and resistance to melting made them particularly well suited for transportation and life in the field.

The wafers returned to military service during World War II. The United States government directed NECCO to produce wafers for troops overseas, where the candy served as a durable treat and morale booster. Returning service members already familiar with the distinctive rolls helped carry their popularity into the postwar years.

NECCO’s original company closed in 2018, temporarily taking the wafers off store shelves. Spangler Candy later acquired the brand and returned NECCO Wafers to production in 2020. Today’s rolls preserve the familiar assortment and wax-paper presentation, allowing customers to taste a candy connected to both Civil War soldiers and the GIs of World War II.

Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews began with a purpose far removed from the neighborhood candy counter. Developed by the Goldenberg family in Philadelphia in 1917, the original Peanut Chew was used by the U.S. military as a ration bar during World War I.

After the war, Peanut Chews made the journey from military rations to civilian candy counters, becoming a lasting favorite throughout Philadelphia and the Northeast. The familiar combination of roasted peanuts, molasses and a chocolatey coating carried the candy into a new generation without separating it from its wartime beginning.

Today, Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews are made by Just Born at the Philadelphia factory associated with the brand since its acquisition in 2003. Few candies in our collection connect the front lines, Philadelphia manufacturing and the American candy counter as directly as Peanut Chews.

M&Ms began their American story in Newark, New Jersey. Mars records that the first plain chocolate candies were made for the U.S. military in 1941 and that the brand reached the general public in 1945. The modern candy carries that brand history into the present; today’s retail package is not a reproduction of a wartime ration.

carried it into military service. The U.S. military reportedly accounted for approximately 80% of Mounds purchases during the war, making its dark chocolate and coconut combination a familiar treat among American service members.

Full Wartime Story: Mounds was not created as a military ration, but World War II gave the candy an extraordinary connection to American service members. According to The Hershey Company, the U.S. military made approximately 80% of all Mounds purchases during the war because the coconut-filled chocolate bar was so popular among soldiers.

Unlike specially formulated emergency rations, Mounds was a familiar civilian candy that traveled into military life. Its popularity offered service members something recognizable—a small taste of the candy counters, corner stores and everyday routines they had left behind.

Mounds survived the disruptions of wartime production and remains available today, still pairing sweet coconut with a dark chocolate coating. Its story shows that candy served more than one purpose during World War II: some confections were designed for survival, while others provided comfort and a welcome connection to home.

The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum’s history of operational rations identifies Charms hard candy in flight lunches discussed during the Second World War. The candies belonged to the practical work of feeding aircrews away from a regular mess hall. This is a specific documented connection; it does not mean Charms appeared in every ration or that the modern retail pack matches military specifications. The timeline uses 1943 as a wartime sorting anchor, not a claimed first contract date.

Sugar rationing affected sweets on the American home front. A Life Savers advertisement in Life magazine on February 22, 1943, told consumers that the armed services had priority for the candy. The National Park Service uses that advertisement to illustrate the connection between sugar supplies, military demand, and civilian shopping. This is a brand-level history; it does not establish that the exact modern variety or package was issued to troops.

Wartime shortages changed what Americans could buy at the candy counter. In 1944, Wrigley withdrew Doublemint, Spearmint, and Juicy Fruit from civilian sale and reserved their output for the U.S. Armed Forces. Doublemint’s wartime connection is a documented production decision, remembered today through a familiar gum brand.