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"Haunted Tank: "Return of the Ghost Tank!"": Out on patrol one day, General Stuart warns Jeb that they're in for a surprise. just then, the Haunted Tank comes under attack from a Luftwaffe plane. Slim steps on the gas to get under cover, but unfortunately rams into a tree and jams the little tan

Quote1 Imagine! The fortunes of war brought together in this tank -- the four sons of four men who disappeared in action in a tank in the first World War! Quote2
Slim Stryker

G.I. Combat #100 is an issue of the series G.I. Combat (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1963.

Synopsis for Haunted Tank: "Return of the Ghost Tank!"

Out on patrol one day, General Stuart warns Jeb that they're in for a surprise. just then, the Haunted Tank comes under attack from a Luftwaffe plane. Slim steps on the gas to get under cover, but unfortunately rams into a tree and jams the little tank out in the open. The Plane takes another pass, firing into the tree line and toppling the trees down onto the tank. Rick is able to get the turret around, and as the plan comes around for a final pass he fires destroying the plane. As they free themselves from the downed trees, the General appears once again. Jeb thanks him for the heads up but Stuart corrects him that this was not the surprise he was talking about.

Dusk falls before they can make it back to rendezvous, so Jeb and the others park their tank under a tree to avoid detection from enemy aircraft. Slim asks Jeb what made him join the tank corps, and Jeb pulls out a faded snapshot from World War 1 and shows the others. It is of his father, Lt. Jeb Stuart, who commanded one of the first tanks that ever rolled into action during the First World War, along with the three other members of his tank crew. Slim is shocked to see the photo and pulls out of his pocket an exact duplicate of the photo. His father is also in the photo, standing next to Jeb's father. Both Rick and Arch pull out duplicates as well, pointing out their fathers in the photo. They are shocked to find out that their fathers had served together in the same tank, just like they are now. They see it as fate that has brought them together, but their fathers were listed as "missing in action" and never returned from the war. Is the same fate to happen to them?

Jeb relays the story how he heard it told many times over. The four fathers had their photograph taken just before their first mission together in the Renault. Their position was being shelled, but Lt. Stuart rode the tank out against orders towards the enemy. The men on the line watched as the tank disappeared into the distance in the midst of an eruption of earth and flame. They had always assumed that their fathers were killed in action, and now they believe that fate may have brought the sons together towards a similar end. Jeb tells them to stop being superstitious, and the next morning they gather their things and head off towards the rendezvous.

At the rendezvous, the Infantry wait on the outskirts of a small French town, Jeb is briefed by the infantry lieutenant in charge. He tells him that there are Panzer tanks hidden within the town and that there's no cover in any direction. The infantry has been beaten back five times and hopes the Haunted Tank can engage them and keep them busy so that the infantry can outflank them. Before Jeb and the others can take off, the Lieutenant realizes that he recognizes Jeb from somewhere. He pulls out a photo, just like the ones that Jeb and his crew have of their fathers, but the Lieutenant's photo is different. It shows the four men and their tank, but also shows the man who snapped the original photo - the Lieutenant's father. He explains that after his father photographed them, he had to report the tank crew missing in action and sent copies of the snapshot back to their families. As Jeb and the others pull out towards the town, he can't help but notice the similarities in their situations.

As the Haunted Tank nears the town, they are bombarded with shells. A wall of fire envelopes around the tank, and then the ground suddenly gives away and the tank falls down into the gaping hole. They land in a huge tunnel that runs under the fields and into the center of town and use it to their advantage. They emerge right in the middle of the town square, coming out from an entrance next to the First World War monument of a tank. They are surrounded by four Panzers, but none of them have noticed the American tank. Rick quickly lines up one of the Panzers and destroys it, but then the other three move together before he can destroy another one. Their luck seems to have run out, but just then the World War 1 tank comes alive and rolls off its platform and begins to attack the Panzers. It manages to destroy two of the enemy tanks, and Rick is able to get a clear shot on the final one. With the battle over and the town in American hands, Jeb and the others try to make sense of what happened. Their only reason could be that their fathers had returned to help them. While Rick, Slim, and Arch have trouble believing it, Jeb knows that it's possible - they've had ghosts helping them all along!

Appearing in Haunted Tank: "Return of the Ghost Tank!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • General J.E.B. Stuart (As a spirit)
  • First World War Renault crew
    • Lieutenant Jeb Stuart Sr. (Flashback only)
    • Sergeant Stryker (Flashback only)
    • Private Rawlins (Flashback only)
    • Private Asher (Flashback only)

Other Characters:

  • Unnamed Infantry Lieutenant

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • The Haunted Tank
  • Panzerkampfwagen IV
  • Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter plane
  • American Renault FT tank


Synopsis for "The Glory Box of Charlie Company!"

A Private, newly arrived at Charlie Company as a replacement, watches as a wounded member of their company receives his bronze star for heroism. The Private is shocked when the wounded man places the medal into a small box that their sergeant carries with him. He finds it odd that everyone refers to each other by the name "Charlie", and swears that if he ever earns a medal for bravery, he's keeping it.

The next day the company is sent out on patrol. As they move towards a bridge through the thickening snow, they hear the clanging of a Panzer tank heading their way. They take cover, hugging the ground so that they can't be seen. The Private, determined to earn his own medal, leaps up to take on the tank by himself. The others yell for "Charlie" to come back, but the Private tells them that his name's not "Charlie" and continues on. Two others jump up to give him a hand, the first lobbing a grenade into an MG nest to take down enemy fire, and the second rushes up to the tank and plants a grenade that rips one of the treads off the Panzer. The Private ducks the enemy fire to jump on top of the tank and pours smoking slugs inside to ignite the gas and ammo within the tank. The tank explodes, sending it off the side of the bridge and into the freezing river. The Private dives alongside and into the water, and is quickly pulled out by his comrades. After he is fished out of the river, he watches as the others bury the bodies of the two men who helped him defeat the tank. He then realizes that he's alive to receive a medal because the others gave their lives to save him. The Sergeant opens the box, and the Private drops his medal inside with the rest of them. He's a full-fledged "Charlie" now.

Appearing in "The Glory Box of Charlie Company!"

Featured Characters:

  • Private "Charlie" (Real name unknown)

Supporting Characters:

  • Sergeant "Charlie" (Real name unknown)

Antagonists:

  • Unnamed German soldiers

Other Characters:

  • Private "Charlie" (Real name unknown, dies)
  • Private "Charlie" (Real name unknown, dies)
  • Other unspecified "Charlies" (Real name unknown)

Locations:

Items:

  • Bronze Star Medal

Vehicles:

  • Panzerkampfwagen IV

Synopsis for "The Big Jump!"

Private Mickey wakes up sweating after having a horrible nightmare where his parachute refuses to open during their first jump. He had been training for months, through lectures and exercises, but he continued to have the same nightmare night after night. Mickey was worried that it was an omen, that he wouldn't survive his first jump.

Then the day came. He was trained to tackle anything he would meet on the ground, but a paratrooper's no good in the air. Will he reach the ground in one piece? Their transports droned across the English Channel towards the enemy-held coast, and it was just like the dream. The jumpmaster gives the order, and Mickey jumps! At first, he is worried, but his chute opens without a problem. Suddenly, and without warning, his chute snags the tail of a Globemaster plane, tangling around. Mickey manages to land himself upright onto the rear tail wing of the plane, but they quickly come under fire from a German 109. While the Globetrotter doesn't have a tail-gunner, he is happy to fill in and fires his rifle at the oncoming enemy plane, destroying it. But the blast rips him loose from his parachute and he tumbles off the wing into a free-fall. He as able to let loose his emergency chute, but floats right into the path of an attacking enemy 109. One shot hits him in the arm, but he manages to bring up his rifle and fire at the plane as it makes another pass. The 109 is destroyed.

Mickey finally floats safely down to the ground, making a soft landing as he falls unconscious. He is found by his lieutenant, and Mickey apologizes to him. They wasted all that training on him, and he didn't get to hit a single ground target! Oh, well. Maybe he'll get a medal for trying!

Appearing in "The Big Jump!"

Featured Characters:

  • Private Mickey

Supporting Characters:

  • Unnamed Paratrooper Lieutenant

Antagonists:

  • German Fighter pilots

Other Characters:

  • Unnamed American Paratroopers

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • Douglas C-47 Skytrain
  • Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
  • Messerschmitt Bf 109

Notes

  • This issue contains a one-page reference article on Regimental Shields, including the 59th Infantry, the 65th Infantry, the 85th Infantry, and the 130th Infantry Regiments, with diagrams of the shields by Joe Kubert.



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