I just came across this WWII period ad with a paratrooper in it. It has been years since I’ve seen one that wasn’t already in my overview of all ads with paratroopers.

This one is from Monsanto Chemicals, a company that still exists today. The ad promotes Monsanto’s vanilla flavoring ingredient for the army’s Field Ration D, which in fact does not come from actual vanilla seeds, nor from oil of cloves, but from an ingenious US made synthetic flavoring called Vanillin.

The first sergeant enjoying his tasty D-ration in the ad is wearing the M1942 jump suit and M2 helmet, with a Thompson M1928A1 by his side