WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Serving a 36-year-old government-issue cake at an Army retirement ceremony sounds like a classic bureaucratic mistake , but there was no mistake about it . Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak uses a vintage P-38 to break the seal on government cake saved since 1973 . Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak served it up himself -- at his own ceremony . Moak had saved the cake since 1973 , when he got it while serving in Vietnam , and had long-standing plans to open it upon his retirement . Pound cake served in a can was standard fare in military C rations back then . Moak said it was his favorite , and he could not get enough of it . `` I would eat it any chance I could get , but not all of the meals came with pound cake , '' he said before opening it . In front of friends and family who attended his retirement ceremony Friday at the Pentagon , Moak eagerly opened the can . Answering the question of whether the anticipation was the same now as back then , Moak said , `` Yes , even more ! '' `` I wo n't eat it if it 's black and moldy , '' he told onlookers . `` You can hear the pop of the air coming out , '' he said referring to the vacuum seal on the can . To most people 's surprise , the opened can revealed a still-edible yellow cake . The ceremonial sword used to cut Moak 's real retirement cake was also used to dig into the can and cut out the cake . Moak took a bite and put up his thumb , `` It 's good , it 's still kind of moist , '' he declared .
Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak treats himself to pound cake saved from 1973 . Moak says he always liked the cake and `` would eat it any chance I could get '' He saved the C ration goodie to have alongside traditional retirement cake .