Our Army At War #175

Here's a cover that gives only a hint as to the innards.  As I have discussed in the past, Sgt. Rock scorned thoughts of romance as interfering with the business of killing Germans. This is not atypical in heroes for adolescent boys; Sherlock Holmes and Doc Savage, for instance, were notably uncomfortable in the presence of the fairer sex.

Well, in this story we learn that Rock had indeed been a red-blooded American boy before his induction into the armed forces:

They made plans to marry after his service was over.  But, no particular surprise, after insiring him through several battles, Mary sent him a "Dear Rock" letter:

So he goes off to ponder the cruelties of fate when:

They take him off in a German jeep, where Rock rebels, giving us the cover image.  He kayos two of the Germans but the third one shoots him in the back as he flees.  Fortunately he makes it to a cabin, and passes out.  When he comes to:

You've gotta love that last panel.  Around this time, the comics used to advertise these posters of sad-eyed kittens:

The resemblance is unmistakable.  Well, as you can probably guess, Rock finds it impossible to shake little Mignon.  And she turns out to be quite brave:

So Rock goes charging towards the nearest Germans, not to seek revenge, but to get help for the youngster. Of course, they don't see it his way, so he's got to fight his way through to the medical supplies:

After getting back to the allied lines, he turns her over to a medic.  But she has one last request:

Yes, you can say that it seems a little creepy, but Rock's no molester.  It's just a sweet little story about how Rock found something to fight for once Mary left him.  When I was a much younger man, there were a couple of younger sisters of girlfriends who quite obviously had crushes on me.  And I always tried to treat them as special, not out of some nefarious intent but because I could remember what it was like to be a kid and have a crush on an adult.

The backup story is an interesting tale about a young American who had tried on several occasions to swim the English Channel, but each time he was forced to abandon his quest due to the elements. A year later he is a volunteer fighter in the RAF, when he is shot down on a return flight from France.  So the story is about him fighting his way back across the channel:

When he makes it back to England, he gains the confidence that the invasion of Normandy will succeed.

Overall, I loved this comic.