New Heroic Comics #56

When General Foreman Bill Hallahan of the Edison Company's Service Bureau hears a police radio alert for a getaway car, his quick thinking and composure turn an ordinary drive through Brooklyn into a chance to aid law enforcement. Spotting the matching license plate and radioing in coordinates, Hallahan helps guide officers toward the desperate holdup men—proving that an alert citizen and some cool nerves can make all the difference in catching criminals.

When a four-engine flying boat carrying 69 passengers runs out of fuel over the mid-Atlantic, it sends out a desperate distress call to the Coast Guard cutter *Bibb*—and Ensign J.H. MacDonald finds himself at the center of a harrowing night-time rescue operation in treacherous, storm-tossed waters. As the stricken plane attempts an impossibly dangerous landing and begins to sink, MacDonald and his crew must race against time to pull every passenger to safety. This true account captures the courage and coordination of the Coast Guard in one of the sea's most desperate hours.

When their grandmother's apron catches fire at her gas heater, six-year-old Robert Bott of Milwaukee must think and act faster than any child his age should have to—with only his quick thinking standing between his grandmother and disaster. This 1949 true-life account captures the moment a young boy became a hero to the person he loved most, proving that courage and clear-headedness know no age limit.

When curiosity draws his little sister toward a hot kerosene stove in their St. Louis home, six-year-old Kenneth Britton springs into action with remarkable courage—beating back the flames to save Bertha from a blazing inferno. This true-life account from November 1949 follows a young boy's split-second heroism and the recognition that followed his extraordinary bravery.

In June 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Naval Constructor Richmond P. Hobson devises a bold plan to trap the Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbor: volunteer a small crew to scuttle the collier Merrimac across the harbor entrance, and coxswain Randolph Clausen answers the call as the mission's eighth man. What unfolds is a harrowing account of the crew's attempt to slip past enemy guns, plant their mines, and escape the sinking ship—told in Clausen's own words as the last surviving member of that perilous raid.

When Clarence V. Lewis's car stalls on the railroad tracks in Columbus, Ohio, a speeding train bears down with seemingly no time for escape—forcing him into a desperate race to save both himself and his small daughter from a catastrophic collision. This harrowing true-life drama captures the split-second decision and quick action that meant the difference between tragedy and survival.

When a gasoline truck catches fire at Boston's city airport, Patrolman Joseph J. Cooney of Forest Hills springs into action to prevent disaster—racing through the flames to move the burning vehicles away from a loading platform and nearby structures. His quick thinking and bravery in the face of a spreading inferno put countless lives and valuable property out of harm's way. This true-life account captures the courage of an everyday hero in an extraordinary moment.

When an oil stove explodes in the Ekroos home, Billy's mother loses consciousness while flames sweep through the kitchen—but five-year-old Billy from Salisbury, Vermont refuses to abandon her, shouting desperately until she wakes. In a harrowing act of courage, Billy helps guide his family to safety from the inferno, an unflinching response to catastrophe that earns him recognition from Lou Costello and Bud Abbott's Junior Youth Foundation.

When Engine Company 69 answers an urgent call on Lenox Avenue, Fireman Henry J. Rhiel discovers a 49-year-old woman stranded on a burning tenement, clinging to a chimney pipe as her strength fails. Drawing on almost superhuman determination, the ex-Navy flight engineer devises a daring plan to reach her, enlisting his crew to anchor him as he suspends himself to make the rescue.

When 7-year-old Patrick O'Hare's friend falls into a deep drainage ditch, the boy doesn't hesitate—he springs into action with quick thinking and bravery to attempt a rescue himself. This true-life story from 1949 captures a moment of genuine young courage in the face of danger.

On a steep California grade in 1949, truck driver Robert P. Hale faces a collision when a runaway lumber truck with failed brakes careens into his vehicle, causing a violent crash and igniting his gas tank. As flames engulf the wreckage and threaten to consume everything, Hale hears cries for help from the other driver—and makes a split-second decision that tests his nerve and humanity. This true-life drama captures a moment where one man's courage made all the difference.

Major Kenneth B. Smith, a decorated combat pilot who flew 126 missions and downed six German planes, faces a catastrophic moment when his P-47 Thunderbolt's engine catches fire during a routine flight from Bangor, Maine. With his damaged plane spiraling toward the town of Searsport, Smith makes a split-second decision that will define his legacy—prioritizing the safety of the townspeople below over his own survival.

Born on the Baltic shore, Sacha Siemel sought escape in South America's untamed jungles, eventually becoming a legendary guide and hunter of one of the jungle's most fearsome predators. This true-life account follows his transformation from boxer and wanderer to a man who stalks jaguars with bow and arrow—and later, with nothing but a spear—determined to meet the mighty cat on terms of raw courage and skill.

During a routine parachute jump near Fairbanks, Alaska, P.F.C. Raymond Kenyon of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, finds himself in a life-or-death moment when a cross-wind forces him dangerously close to a fellow paratrooper whose chute has failed. With only seconds and a hundred feet of altitude between his buddy and disaster, Kenyon makes a split-second decision that will test the bonds of military brotherhood.

Telephone man Walter Schubert hears a mother's desperate cry for help when he discovers a child in the throes of a medical emergency on a Bronx street. Acting without hesitation, he races the stricken child and her family to Fordham Hospital, unaware that his act of mercy will later be recognized in an unexpected way. This true-life account captures a moment when quick thinking and compassion made all the difference.

A young man named Martin Smith faces a harrowing moment when his date's brother, Junior, falls into the water during a rowing trip in the park. With the boy apparently lifeless, Martin refuses to abandon his rescue efforts, applying artificial respiration for nearly half an hour until a doctor arrives with emergency equipment. This true story captures an ordinary person's extraordinary determination in the face of tragedy.

When Charles Redner of Pine Hill, New Jersey, lights his oil stove at 3:00 a.m., an explosion sends flames roaring through the house—and he must act fast to save Dorothy and their two children from the inferno. Racing against time and panic, Redner guides his family through smoke and fire toward escape, relying on quick thinking and the help of alert neighbors to get them to safety. This true-life account from 1949 captures one man's nerve and determination when seconds mean the difference between survival and tragedy.