Three GIs - a soldier, a sailor and a marine - tell their World War II combat stories.
Detailed summary for "Hot Corner"
Arnie, a former baseball player, recounts how he was let go in his rookie year for his inability to hold down third base - a "hot corner." Unable to face the embarrassment at home, he enlisted in the Army in the hopes that no one would remember how the "boy wonder" baseball player couldn't handle the big leagues. All through basic, he was teased for his notoriety.
The ridicule continued on arrival in North Africa, where he was ordered to guard an ammo drop. While waiting for 2nd Platoon to retrieve the supplies, he was beset by Nazi infantry. One soldier, probably a scout, attacked Arnie from behind, leaving him dazed. Arnie retaliated, then turned his BAR to the advancing infantry. He fired on a strafing stuka, hallucinating it was a runner. Later, as it was getting dark and after being assaulted by a panzer, he hallucinated the tank was another runner whom he had to tag out. He did so - with a grenade. When 2nd Platoon arrived, he told them he was just "sitting on a hot corner."
Appearing in "Hot Corner"
- Action Soldier
Memorable quotes in "Hot Corner"
- None yet.
Other notes
Errors in "Hot Corner"
- No errors known.
Items of note in "Hot Corner"
- Arnie was probably with either the 1st or 34th Infantry Division landing in Algiers during Operation Torch, with this story taking place as part of the Tunisia Campaign.
Real-world references in "Hot Corner"
- Arnie's baseball team had white uniforms with red trim and hats, as well as a big red CARD on the front, implying he played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
- The only "Arnie" to only play one year of major league baseball was Arnold Robert Moser, a pinch hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in the summer of 1937.
Detailed summary for "Frogman S.O.S."
An American UDT fighter stationed aboard the U.S.S. Swordfish is sent out to scout while his submarine is vulnerable making repairs. He soon spots a Nazi submarine, which has a greater detection range and could destroy the Swordfish without putting itself in any danger. In an effort to both warn the Swordfish and provide a screen between it and the U-boat, the frogman lures a pack of sharks between the two submarines. However, he aborts his plan when he hides amidst the coral to avoid being attacked by the sharks closing in around him.
His plan backfires when the U-boat picks up the sharks on their radar and sends two Nazi frogmen out to investigate. The three men struggle, resulting in the GI's air hose being knocked loose. He fights off the two Nazis and flees toward a sunken freighter, hoping to use a rusting steel bar as a weapon. However he decides a better idea would be to dislodge the rocks supporting the freighter, causing a big enough disturbance for the U-boat to come investigate. It fires, mistaking the freighter for the Swordfish, which is then alerted to the U-boat's presence and fires on it, sinking the Nazi submarine.
Appearing in "Frogman S.O.S."
- Action Sailor
Memorable quotes in "Frogman S.O.S."
- None yet.
Other notes
Errors in "Frogman S.O.S."
- No errors known.
- No special items of note.
Real-world references in "Frogman S.O.S."
- While there was a U.S.S. Swordfish that served in WWII, it was only active in the Pacific and likely never saw Nazi submarines. The real Swordfish (SS-193) was a Sargo-class submarine, and the first American sub to sink a Japanese ship during the war. She was presumed lost on Feb. 15, 1945.
- The only Nazi submarine sunk by an American submarine during the war was U-183, which was sunk by the USS Besugo in the Java Sea on April 23, 1945.
Detailed summary for "Battle Arithmetic"
An apparently new marine in Able Company takes his place as a loader in a .30 cal. machine gun nest as a Japanese banzai charge begins. His gunner explains that the charge is unstoppable; the enemy sends more soldiers than the Americans have bullets - it's simple arithmetic. The marines broke the first wave, but kept firing as a company of a thousand Japanese kept coming. After his gunner was hit and the Japanese broke through their line, the young marine picked up their gun and kept firing. He continued fighting after he was out of ammo, swinging a rifle as a bludgeon and eventually stopping the charge.
When asked how they stopped the banzai charge when Charlie and Easy Company had failed, the marine replied, "The only way of stopping men who want to die is with men who want to live!"
Appearing in "Battle Arithmetic"
- Action Marine
Memorable quotes in "Battle Arithmetic"
- "The only way of stopping men who want to die is with men who want to live!"
Other notes
Errors in "Battle Arithmetic"
- No errors known.
- No special items of note.
Real-world references in "Battle Arithmetic"
- No references.
Footnotes and References
- Included were a text-only article about the first war medals, a comic PSA about honesty, information on crests of the army (specifically the 5th and 7th Infantry Regiments), and (of course) a full-page ad for Hasbro's titular toy.
[[Category:DC Comics issues]]