The U.S. military and Coca-Cola go way back

Far out in the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, is the Kwajalein atoll. Part of the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein is home to an important U.S. military base where missiles are tested.

For the latest season of Marketplace’s climate solutions podcast, “How We Survive,” host Kai Ryssdal trekked across the Pacific to understand how climate change is impacting this vulnerable part of the world as well as U.S. national security.

In their reporting, the team visited with Susan Underbrink, senior archeologist on Kwajalein. Underbrink has uncovered everything from human remains from World War II to hundreds of Coca-Cola bottles.

“The president or CEO of Coca-Cola, he was a smart man,” Underbrink said. “He made a deal with [President Franklin Roosevelt], said if you don’t ration my sugar, I will guarantee that soldiers anywhere in the world can get a Coke for 5 cents.”

Underbrink said that during construction on a pier two years ago, more Coke bottles were uncovered. “I found 150 Coke bottles and one Pepsi,” she said. “That just shows you how Coke got to be so popular.”

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