The P-381 was invented in just 30 days in the summer of 1942 by Maj. Thomas Dennehy at the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago. Never in its more than 60-year history has it ever been known to "break, rust or need sharpening" which is why many soldiers from World War II to present regard the P-38 can opener among the best of Army inventions.
"The P-38 is one of those tools you keep and never want to get rid of," military policeman Sgt. Scott Kiraly said. "I've had my P-38 since joining the Army and kept it because I can use it as a screwdriver, knife, anything!"
"It's a perfect inch-and-a-half making it a great marking tool. Because it's small, it doesn't take up a lot of space and that's essential in Army life. The conveniently drilled hole in the top half means the P-38 can be put on a key ring or dog tags and go anywhere," he said.
According to Col. (Ret.) Paul Baerman, however, the most vital use of the P-38 is the very mission it was designed for.
"When we had C-rations it was your access to food, making it a priority," he said. "Then Soldiers discovered it was an extremely simple, lightweight multi-purpose tool. I think in warfare, the simpler something is and the easier access it has, the more you're going to use it. The P-38 had all of those things going for it." Supposedly, the P-38 acquired its designation from the 38 punctures around the C-ration can required for opening. That hasn’t proven true since the number of punctures is relative to the method of the user.
The P-38 is also used for cleaning boots, fingernails, screwdrivers, whatever. When Pfc. Martin Kuehl stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day over half-a-century ago with the Third Army's 457th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, he not only carried several pounds of equipment but a P-38 as well. "I used it to open cans for dinner after that 'longest day'," said Kuehl. Six years later millions of the miniature can openers were distributed by the Army during the Korean War.
While driving down Route 60, known as the Old Steubenville Pike with older brother Paul, another Vietnam veteran who served with the 7th Air Cavalry, car problems suddenly developed. "There were no tools in the car and almost simultaneously both of us reached for P-38s attached to our key rings," chuckled Paquet. "We used it to adjust the flow valve and the car worked perfectly."
Christmas of 1969 brought a truce in Vietnam. Paul Baerman was then a wounded first lieutenant, whose only desire was to be reunited with his platoon in time for the highly coveted holiday. His wish was granted and it remains one of the most memorable times in his military career. "One of my Soldiers received one of those tacky evergreen foil trees," he said. "It didn't come with anything so we mounted it on top of a 50-caiber machine gun on an armored vehicle and decorated it with brass shells from ammunition, C-ration cans, and of course P-38s. They were a little dull, but that hole made it a perfect hanging ornament. So whenever I see that little can opener, I think of being there with them in 70-to-80 degree weather and singing carols around a P-38 decorated Christmas tree."
It's nostalgic memories such as Baerman's that best depict the sentimental attachment many Soldiers came to feel for the P-38. When John Bandola attached his first P-38 to his key ring it accompanied him to Anzio, Salerno, and northern Italy. It was with him when World War II ended and it's with him now. "This P-38 is a symbol of my life back then," reminisced Bandola. "The Army, the training, my fellow Soldiers, all those incredible times we shared during a world war."
Because the P-38 represents such a significant part of Bandola's life, he plans to leave it to his son and grandson. It's a desire his wife Dorothy understands perfectly. "Every time they look at that P-38, they'll see and remember him," she said quietly. Vietnam veteran John Koehler grinned broadly, proclaiming the P-38 "ranks with your first girl and your first car." Koehler proudly admits he put his first P-38 on his dog tags 25 years ago and it's still there. "The P-38 was part of my youth when I was learning all about discipline, accomplishment, and self-worth as a Soldier with the 101st Airborne Division. And if someone wanted it, well, they'd have a better chance of seeing God!" he said.
Ted Paquet's P-38 is in a special box with his dog tags, a 50-caliber shell from the ship he served on, his Vietnam Service Medal, South Vietnamese money and a surrender leaflet from Desert Storm dutifully supplied by a veteran nephew. No one's allowed to touch the box and his wife has been given clear instructions to dust around it. "It'll be on my dresser until the day I die," swears Paquet.
According to Steve Wilson, attitudes of former veterans aren't hard to understand. "When you see a P-38 you've carried since the day you enlisted, it means a whole lot. It becomes a part of you. You remember field problems, German Reforgers, jumping at 3 a.m. in the morning and moving out in a convoy. A P-38 has you reliving all the adventures that came with soldiering in the Armed Forces. Yes, the P-38 opened cans but it did so much more. Any Soldier will tell you that," he said.
There have been other inventions that Soldiers came to cherish, such as the steel helmet that proved ideal for washing, shaving, and cooking; the faithful, trustworthy jeep, guaranteed to go anywhere in any kind of weather and the TA-50 ammunition pouch for storing those personal items Soldiers just couldn't leave behind.
Thomas Dennehy's P-38, however, remains the Army's finest creation. As one of the "most perfectly designed tools in history," Dennehy counted on Soldier imagination to raise the P-38 to even greater heights than just opening cans.
The P-38 was an item he knew a majority of service members would come to possess and share, and thus promote the kind of camaraderie and bonding all Soldiers need and depend on. Perhaps that is what this patron saint of Army inventions had in mind all along.
I was on leave to Texas between Vietnam tours. Mother Ester was making some crafted quilts sewn together from shirts, dresses and other materials no longer used. She would have my nieces cut the materials into precise squares that she needed and would arrange and sew the pieces into a fashionable and artistic work of art.
Mom used an electric sewing machine which was at times tempermental. She had a set of tools which she used to make adjustments to the sewing machine according to the thickness of the materials. She was trying to make an adjustment but could not find the right screwdriver she needed. I offered her a P-38 which I carried on my keyring. It worked, and she became attached to it asking me if she could keep it. In appreciation she made a quilt for me, a quilt I’d always cherished. Preparing for one of my divorces and fearing I might lose my quilt, I sent Mom’s quilt to my sister, Elvia.
When Mom passed on several years later, my sister was cleaning out Mom’s sewing machine and came across the P-38 which Mom had kept as the main alignment tool for her sewing machine. That P-38 had become a cherished and valuable tool for her. Whenever I would visit her while on military leave, she never failed to show me the P-38 telling me how much it helped her. Mom appreciated even the smaller things in life.
1 The “P” may stand for puncture and “38” for the number of cuts it took to go around the can. The hole in the P-38 was used to dip it in boiling water to sterilize after use. Many consider it the most perfect tool ever designed for combat. It is often called “the Army's Best Invention.”.
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