Fightin' Marines #60

On Iwo Jima, Captain David K. Bayliss leads Charley Company in brutal combat against Japanese fortifications while half-blinded and struggling with his own judgment—a costly charge that earns him a Distinguished Service Cross, though he knows the real cost. Years later, haunted by the medal and the men he lost, Bayliss has left the Marines for civilian life, but a chance encounter with an old comrade from that terrible day forces him to reckon with what the medal really means. This raw war story explores the gap between heroism and guilt, asking whether a soldier can live with honor when he believes his own actions don't deserve it.

When body armor was reintroduced to the battlefield during the Korean War, it revolutionized soldier survival—lightweight vests made of nylon and glass cloth filaments proved devastatingly effective at stopping bullets that would've been fatal. This story traces how the innovation of these protective vests not only dramatically reduced casualties among Marines and G.I.'s, but gave troops the confidence boost that transformed them into far more effective fighting forces against their Communist adversaries.

Lt. Runt Lowery, a Marine pilot flying the rugged F4U Corsair fighter-bomber, discovers just how punishing Japanese anti-aircraft fire can be when his aircraft takes severe damage during a run on the enemy fleet and he's forced to land at a hastily-built airstrip. Years later, as the Korean War unfolds and the Marines dust off mothballed Corsairs for a new conflict, Lowery finds himself back in the cockpit of the same reliable workhorse, ready to prove the old warbird still has plenty of fight left in it.