Fightin' Army #25

In a wartime flashback, a young soldier named Sam from New York is injured during a mission, his survival credited to the steel helmet—dubbed a "Steel Halo"—that protected him from a shrapnel wound. The story traces the helmet’s significance from basic training, where it was mocked as a joke, to its crucial role in saving Sam’s life on the battlefield.

Sgt. Dexter and Pfc. Buell, part of a specialized snow troop unit, are tasked with capturing a heavily fortified German command post on a mountain in northern Italy. Amid a blinding snow squall, they navigate a flawed map, accidentally trigger a massive explosion by targeting an ammunition cache, and press forward to seize the enemy stronghold. The story follows their mission as they push through the frozen terrain, relying on their training and teamwork to overcome the mountain's defenses.

Cpl. Opinski's recon squad is pinned down by enemy fire in the Normandy woods, forced to take cover and wait for a barrage to clear the way. With the enemy tanks zeroed in on them, they risk friendly artillery fire to eliminate the deadly Panzer division, relying on precision and timing to survive.

In the freezing ruins of a bombed-out farmhouse on Christmas Eve 1944, three weary American soldiers and a young German prisoner find themselves trapped between minefields and enemy patrols. As they share a meager meal and briefly set aside the war to build a makeshift Christmas tree, the prisoner mysteriously disappears—only to leave behind a map that could be their only way to safety.

Joe Summers, haunted by fragmented memories of the Battle of Saipan, is flown back to the island after years of psychological distress. Guided by a colonel who was his commanding officer, he confronts the past through a firsthand account of the battle, learning that his perceived abandonment was actually a heroic act—his actions saved his unit.