Star Spangled War Stories #156

Star Spangled War Stories #156 (On Sale: February 23, 1971), has a terrific Unknown Soldier cover by Joe Kubert

We begin this issue with the Unknown Soldier in "Assassination" by Bob Haney and Joe Kubert. The Unknown Soldier meets a British agent who tells him of a meeting on July 20th which Adolf Hitler will attend. Disguised as a German lieutenant, the Unknown Soldier infiltrates the Wolf's Lair and plants a bomb intending to kill Hitler. 

One of Hitler's own advisers, Colonel Von Stauffenberg also carries a bomb to the meeting. He leaves it in the meeting room concealed in a briefcase. However, a soldier returns the briefcase to the colonel outside the room just as it is about to go off. The explosion does not succeed in killing Hitler. The bunker is sealed and the Unknown Soldier's bomb is uncovered. Fortunately, he was able to get outside before the doors were shut. The Soldier, disguised as an old woman, escapes to Switzerland. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents the Unknown Soldier Vol. 1 TPB (2007).

The backup is "A Dream Came True" by Hank Chapman and Irv Novick and is reprinted from Our Army at War #154 (1965). A one-panel cameo of Enemy Ace has been added to introduce this story, with art by Joe Kubert. During World War I, an American pilot named Mike Mason is humiliated because he never shoots down any enemy planes. One day, he lies to his commanding officer and says he shot down five Germans. However, he knows his lie will be exposed when the intelligence officers are unable to confirm the kills. The next day, Mason is sent on a solo mission, and he manages to shoot down two zeppelins and three planes. His dreamed-up tale has become a reality.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Star Spangled War Stories #153

Star Spangled War Stories #153 (On Sale: August 20, 1970) has a nice, dramatic cover by Joe Kubert. By looking you would guess this might be an Unknown Soldier cover, but in reality, this book features, for the most part, reprints and the Unknown Soldier is only a used in a framing sequence. this cover features a new logo and the new round icon in the upper left corner.

"Everybody Dies" is our cover feature, an eight-page reprint from Star Spangled War Stories #36 by Robert Kanigher and Irv Novick, with a new one-page introduction by the Unknown Soldier. As a kid, I remember feeling ripped off by this book.

That reprint is followed by another: "Fokker  Fury," an Enemy Ace story from Our Army at War #155 by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. During a fierce aerial battle, Enemy Ace pursues an English plane and shoots it down. Only too late does he realize that the enemy plane's guns were empty. He returns to base feeling bad for killing an unarmed man.

Later Von Hammer receives a challenge from Alan Iver, a pilot in the RAF. The Englishman wants to duel with Von Hammer because he killed the unarmed pilot. Enemy Ace meets the challenge with his own guns empty. He dodges the English pilot's shots until both are out of ammunition. The Englishman realizes that Enemy Ace is a man to be respected, and the warring pilots depart the scene intact.

The book ends with the only new material, a four-pages U.S.S. Stevens story, "Double Rescue" by Sam Glanzman.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Star Spangled War Stories #152

Star Spangled War Stories #152 (On Sale: June 23, 1970) has an Unknown Soldier cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with the second adventure of the Unknow Solider, "Instant Glory," written and drawn by Joe Kubert. Mid-December, 1944, the Allied armies have attempted to break the Siegfried Line. A group of five American G.I.'s (including the Unknown Soldier) are exploring an abandoned town until they are captured by the SS. 

The Nazis plan to hang the soldiers in the town's square. But everyone is interrupted by the appearance of a escaped internee from a concentration camp, which he claims was left abandoned after news of the Allies advancement, and want to find his family in the town. The Nazi commander has a new idea in which he makes the ex-internee the executioner for the G.I.'s and telling him that it is them that have brought ruin to his hometown. But the ex-internee strikes down the Nazi commander with a large piece of wood. This stunned the Nazis and allowing the Americans to seize the opportunity to attack their handlers.

After the fighting is over, only the Unknown Soldier and two other G.I.'s are left alive. The ex-internee is shot. The survivors hide inside an abandoned café as two German tanks make their away in the streets. Acting on the advice of the ex-internee, the G.I.'s make use of the cafe's abundance of wines and liquor as Molotov cocktails to setting the tanks on fire. The first contingent of the Allies soon arrive into the town. But the ex-internee had died from his wounds. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents the Unknown Soldier Vol. 1 TPB.

We end with Enemy Ace in "Rain Above -- Mud Below" drawn by Russ Heath. Hans Von Hammer is ordered to make a recon mission in stormy weather. He takes two pilots with him after giving them special advice regarding the weather conditions. One of the pilots, Braun, flies too low and is shot down by anti-aircraft fire. The other pilot, Kalter, disobeys orders and engages the enemy by strafing the troops who shot down Braun. He survives the strafing run, but when he regains altitude, he flies too close to a thundercloud. His plane is destroyed by lightning.

Despondent by the loss of his men, the Enemy Ace returns home to report the enemy troop positions and numbers. His commanding officer is pleased and is unconcerned with the loss of two of his pilots. This story has been reprinted in Enemy Ace Archives Vol. 2 HC and Showcase Presents: Enemy Ace Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Kubert.