Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 141:
Description
Factory-Sealed U.S. Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) Master Case, Packed March 1977, Containing 12 Individual Meal Cartons – Late Cold War-Era Successor to the C-Ration Offered here is a complete, unopened master shipping case of the U.S. Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI), identified by its exterior stenciling and stamped date codes as packed in March 1977 under Defense Personnel Support Center (DPSC) contract, containing the full complement of twelve individual meal cartons as originally packed. No separate published history attaches to this particular case; its story rests entirely in the surviving packing marks and the well-documented service record of the ration type itself. Adopted in 1958 as the successor to the WWII- and Korean War-era C-Ration, the MCI served as the standard combat field ration of the U.S. Armed Forces through the Vietnam War and into the final years before its phase-out beginning in 1980-1981 in favor of the flexible-pouch Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE). Each master case was configured to hold twelve individual meal cartons, ordinarily assembled from canned meat, bread or cracker units, and fruit or dessert components, together with accessory packets of instant beverages, matches, chewing gum, toilet paper, and spoons – cigarettes having been discontinued from the ration by the early 1970s. Packed in March 1977, this case belongs to one of the last full production runs of the MCI before its retirement, standing as a tangible bridge between the Vietnam-era combat ration and its modern successor. The lot comprises one factory-sealed cardboard master shipping carton retaining its original military stenciling and packing stamps, reported as fully legible and confirming the March 1977 pack date. The twelve individual meal boxes remain sealed within as packed at the factory and have not been opened or inventoried; the canned and dry components inside are understood to remain intact but are offered strictly for historical display, being decades past any safe consumption date. Condition is consistent with age: the exterior carton shows typical shelf wear, minor edge rubbing, and overall toning, with no evidence of prior opening or tampering, and the case appears to retain its original factory seal. A well-preserved, late-production sealed MCI case that captures the final chapter of America’s combat ration program on the eve of the MRE era.
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