Heroic Comics #18 (1943)

In the wake of a devastating Japanese air attack on the U.S.S. Marblehead in February 1942, Coxswain Claude Becker leads a desperate effort to rescue twenty trapped sailors from a flooded magazine below deck, using sheer determination and quick thinking to open a warped hatch under extreme danger. As the crippled cruiser drifts in the Java Sea, Becker’s courage and resourcefulness not only save lives but help keep the ship afloat until it can reach port.

In the midst of a harrowing bombing raid over France, the Flying Fortress named Phyllis—piloted by a young, civilian-turned-soldier crew—endures a brutal assault by forty Nazi fighters, surviving with damaged systems, wounded crew, and dwindling oxygen. As the plane struggles to stay aloft through relentless attacks and critical failures, the crew’s courage and skill keep it flying, even as they face near-certain doom on their return to England.