Fightin' Marines #21

A grizzled sergeant takes his men back to boot camp, recounting how relentless drilling under Sergeant Kellem transformed him and Captain Moller from resentful recruits into seasoned fighters who survived the brutal Korean War—and now understands why he and the Captain push their own Marines so hard at Camp Lejeune. Through flashbacks to the frozen front lines near Inchon and Seoul, he reveals how that punishing training kept his unit alive longer and tougher than any other company, earning Moller his officer's commission and earning the respect of men who once cursed every marching order.

PFC. Sam Harker is a Marine who can't seem to follow orders or stay in formation—but when a rifle is in his hands, he becomes something special. When a Colonel needs firsthand intelligence on enemy terrain, Harker's unorthodox knowledge of the landscape and his deadly accuracy with a gun prove invaluable in ways nobody expected. It's a tale of a born sharpshooter who finally gets his chance to show that sometimes the best soldiers don't fit the mold.

Sergeant Mitsik—known as "Peaceful Mike"—is left alone to hold the strategic city of Kwashin as a supply and communications base while Captain Moretta's company pursues enemy guerillas upriver. When local strongman Wai Shu and his Communist allies try to control the town, Mike takes matters into his own hands, winning over the desperate locals and confronting the threat head-on. As Captain Moretta's return approaches, Mike discovers the enemy has other plans to stop them cold.

A Marine held in a Communist prison camp discovers an unlikely ally when mysterious packages of food begin arriving at his cell—clues that lead him to suspect the camp's most notorious collaborator may be working toward escape. As a tunnel nears completion and notes guide the prisoners toward freedom, Moyer must gamble that his hunch about Pearson is right, or risk everything on a desperate dash for a waiting jeep.

Corporal Joe Bolton draws a tough assignment when he's made ranking NCO of the "Tigers"—a problem squad of misfit soldiers who can't seem to get anything right. When the squad moves into combat in Korea and faces a Red Army attack, Bolton and his bumbling men get their chance to prove they're more than just a liability. Watch these underdogs discover what it takes to be real soldiers when the shooting starts.