Soldier Comics #9

A Korean woman consumed by hatred for all soldiers—regardless of uniform—flees war's devastation with her young daughter, only to find herself trapped when combat closes in around their hiding place. When soldiers discover them, the child's terror and innocence force Cho-San to confront a truth her bitterness had denied: that even in war's cruelty, individual humanity endures. This 1953 story from *Soldier Comics* #9 explores whether one small girl's faith in mankind can pierce through the armor of a mother's justified rage.

When Private Harry Bond and his fellow marksman are assigned to hold back a pursuing enemy patrol alone in the mountains of Korea, he discovers that the security of fighting alongside his buddies is gone—replaced by the crushing weight of isolation and self-doubt. As Bond and his partner take their positions in a tree to delay the advancing Red forces for three crucial hours, the initial calm shatters into a desperate firefight where every shot counts and survival means keeping his nerve when everything in him screams to break. With his partner down and the enemy closing in, Bond must find the courage to stand alone against impossible odds.

A young soldier known as Kid Chocolate undertakes a dangerous solo mission deep behind enemy lines to recover an unexploded artillery shell with a mysterious new warhead that's been devastating American forces. Living on chocolate bars and sheer nerve, he must navigate treacherous terrain, avoid detection, and locate the hidden Red gun position before he can bring back the intel his commanding officer desperately needs. Kid Chocolate has survived every ambush thrown at him so far—but this assignment may test even his legendary luck.

Sergeant Sam Stone's premonition about a surprise attack proves correct when American forces encounter unexpectedly fierce resistance—and he suspects the cause is a pagoda the Reds have promised not to use for military purposes. To get the proof his captain needs, Stone takes the reluctant Private Salverson on a dangerous reconnaissance mission to investigate the structure and stop an enemy observation post before it can alert reinforcements. What they discover in that pagoda will test both the mission and Stone's determination to protect his men.