Our... good-luck ghost... deserted us... That's why this happened... That's why we're... we're... finished! 
G.I. Combat #96 is an issue of the series G.I. Combat (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1962.
Synopsis for Haunted Tank: "The Lonesome Tank"
Lieutenant Jeb Stuart and his Haunted Tank has been assigned as a scout for a group of Pershing tanks. The little tank speeds past the big Pershings, as their crews make fun of its size and offer good luck charms to the men within. Once out front, Jeb sees the ghost of General J.E.B. Stuart appear before him. Jeb knows that their real lucky charm is the advice and protection they get from his spirit ancestor. The general directs Jeb's attention to a large boulder along the road a head, and warns him that it has two faces. Only seconds later, the ground around them explodes from shells fired by a Panzer hidden behind it. Rick is ready at the trigger, but their shots only manage to chip the boulder without scratching the tank behind it. The Panzer fires again, nearly knocking the Haunted Tank onto its side. The General's ghost alerts Jeb to an opening in the middle of the boulder that the Panzer is shooting through. Jeb orders Rick to carefully aim his next shot. Rick fires. The shell soars right through the opening and hits the Panzer dead center, destroying it! Jeb thanks the General for his help.
Now back on the road, the crews of the Pershings once again offer the Haunted Tank their own lucky charms. One has a horseshoe, one carries lucky sevens, and another four-leaf clovers. Jeb refuses them all, as he knows they are protected by their own special luck. General J.E.B. Stuart alerts Jeb to a field of haystacks up ahead of them, in case he may need them. Jeb is perplexed about the warning, but then two German planes swoop down out of the sun and begin to attack the Pershings. Jeb orders Slim to drive the tank into one of the haystacks. They take cover and wait for the two planes to swing around for another attack. Then, when the enemy is just overhead, they open fire with all guns. One plane is hit and damaged. Taken by surprise, the German pilots break off their attack from the Pershings and reverse directions. For a few moments the planes are out of sight, and Slim bursts the Haunted Tank out of the first haystack and into another nearby. The planes appear again, their attention now on the attacking enemy. They fire into the haystack from before, unaware that their target has moved. The Haunted Tank open fires with all guns, hitting both planes. But one of the planes seems to be stretching out his dive, heading directly for the Haunted Tank. Jeb quickly climbs inside and orders the others to ready for impact. The damaged plane smashes right into the Haunted Tank in a fireball! Jeb and his men get out safely, but their tank is left a smoking mess. Damaged but not defeated, Jeb wonders why his good luck ghost has abandoned them. Maybe he should have taken the others up on their offers of their own good luck charms.
A radio signal from headquarters alerts the tank squad that the enemy is moving into position near a town not far down in front of them. The Haunted Tank is towed by one of the Pershings and then left in an intersection near the edge of town while the others go ahead towards the enemy. Jeb and his crew sit in their damaged tank all day and all night, into the next day, with no sign of any enemy and no word from the others. Slim gets out of the tank and moves ahead to take a lookout position. Then, he alerts Jeb that a Tiger tank is heading their way. Slim takes cover in one of the buildings. As the Tiger begins to round the corner, Rick open fires with the main cannon and destroys the tank. But another is right behind. The second Tiger rams into the smoking wreckage of the first and uses it as a shield against any fire the Haunted Tank can throw at it. Slim grabs his rifle and jumps on top of the second Tiger. He sprays the inside of the Tiger with automatic fire until his shots reach the ammo. The explosion destroys the Tiger, and sends Slim flying through the air. Jeb was about to go to Slim's help, but then another Tiger appears from around the corner and fires at the Haunted Tank.
Slim to the Rescue!
The blast damages the turret and sends Jeb catapulted to the ground. One of the German soldiers gets out and readies himself with a tank bazooka to make the final blow. Slim jumps up and attacks the soldier from behind, knocking him out with a well-placed punch to the skull. He then grabs the bazooka and dives into a nearby sewer hole. Slim takes aim, and then just as the Tiger is above him fires directly into the enemy at point blank range. The final Tiger tank explodes into a fireball!
Later, the Pershings finally return to the town to find the battle had taken place without them. Lt. Evans in the lead tank asks Jeb what his good luck charm is that protected them so. Jeb just smiles back, as the General's ghost tells him that "a brave man is his own good luck!"
Appearing in Haunted Tank: "The Lonesome Tank"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- General J.E.B. Stuart (As a spirit)
Antagonists:
- Unnamed German Infantry
Other Characters:
- Lieutenant Hal Evans
- Unnamed American Artillery soldiers
Locations:
Items:
- Raketenpanzerbüchse "Panzerschreck" ("Tank terror") bazooka
- Thompson M1928 submachine gun
Vehicles:
- The Haunted Tank
- M26 Pershing tank
- Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B
- German Junkers Ju 87 ground-attack aircraft
Synopsis for "Flying PT Boat"
Two U.S. Naval officers and brothers, Bill and Garry, are captaining two PT boats on the high seas. Their mission is to take out a Japanese cruiser causing trouble for the American forces in the south Pacific. They find their target, but the enemy cruiser turns to ram Garry's boat before he has a chance to strike. He is saved in the nick of time by his brother Bill, whose torpedoes strike the huge ship and knocks Garry's PT boat out of its way. As the Japanese cruiser begins to sink, the two PT boats head back towards home base. Garry congratulates his brother, but is disappointed that he never has had the chance to score a target.
Back at base, Garry is given new orders. Since he is the only skipper and PT boat to not have scored. he has been reassigned to the Admiral as his personal chauffeur and water taxi. Garry is upset that he will now never see action. The next day he watches from the shore as his brother Bill rides off into the dawn to join the fight. Then he heads for the airstrip, where his PT boat is being loaded aboard a giant experimental aircraft to be delivered to the Admiral. They take off, but not long after getting into the air the plane is attacked by a Japanese Zero plane. The plane they're in is not armed, and will be an easy target for the enemy fighters. Garry gets an idea. He and his crew jump on board their PT boat and, opening the cargo ramp at the back of the plane, are able to use the weapons on the boat to take out both Zero planes. However, the American plane is damaged and losing altitude fast. They get the ramp up just as the plane hits the waves. But the plane is sinking fast, and Garry quickly gets the ramp open again and his crew aboard as water rushes in around them. The ramp slams down, revealing a huge Japanese battleship among the waters before them! Garry orders his men to ready the torpedoes as the battleship open fires onto the sinking plane. Before the PT boat is even out of the plane's hull, they fire the torpedoes which hit the ship broadside, destroying it. They have no time to celebrate, as a Japanese submarine, escorting the battleship. appears from out of the deep. Both the PT ship and the sub fire their torpedoes at each other exactly at the same time. The American torpedo side-swipes the Japanese torpedo, causing it to steer off course and miss the plane by a breath. The American torpedo doesn't miss, blasting a hole into the side of the submarine and sending it back down into the depths.
After the PT boat and its crew are rescued, the Admiral tells Garry that he'd never make a good chauffeur and sends him back to join his brother Bill in battle on the high seas.
Appearing in "Flying PT Boat"
Featured Characters:
- Captain Bill
- Captain Garry
Antagonists:
- Japanese Navy sailors
- Japanese pilots
Other Characters:
- American Navy sailors
- American Navy Admiral
Locations:
Items:
- torpedo
Vehicles:
- American PT motor torpedo boat
- Japanese armored cruiser ship
- American experimental cargo carrier plane
- Japanese battlecruiser ship
- Japanese coastal attack submarine
- Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" long-range fighter aircraft
Two helicopter pilots, Marty and Gabby, are in charge of rescuing and bring back in any pilots who are unlucky enough to have their planes brought down into the waters during battle. They never get recognition, never in the thick of battle, and all they ever get is a lot of pats on the back. This time, they are hauling in a lieutenant whose plane was shot down after taking out a couple of enemy Zero planes. They bring the man aboard their helicopter after retrieving him from the water. The lieutenant is thankful for the lift, and pats Marty on the shoulder. Both sigh, wishing they could actually see some action rather than just the aftermath.
Returning to base, they find their aircraft carrier under attack by a squadron of enemy Zero kamikazes. While their boys in the fighter planes take out the attacking Zeros, the crew in the helicopter follow orders and keep their distance, just spectators in the battle from a safe distance. After the fighting is over and they have returned to the carrier, Gabby and Marty are immediately ordered out to pick up the survivors from the battle. It's the same for them every day... every week... every month. One day upon their return, and after the squadron of fighters had left the carrier for another mission, the alarm sounds signaling the approach of enemy aircraft. Quicker than you can say "kamikaze" the Japanese fighters were there and beginning their attack. With the squadron gone and only the Flak guns to return fire, the attack is devastating. One kamikaze plane hits the deck and explodes, knocking out the main gun controls for the whole aircraft carrier. The ship is now a sitting duck! Gabby and Marty leap into action. This is their chance to see some real action and be heroes. Both of them grab as many guns and armaments they can carry and jump aboard their helicopter, taking off into the air. They begin to fire into the whizzing aircraft around them, attracting the attention of the other Zero pilots. The enemy turns their attack towards them, but the little helicopter is more maneuverable than a fighter plane, sending the enemy planes crashing into one another and down into the sea.
The sky is now free of enemy aircraft, but the waters below still holds a deadly surprise. Gabby and Marty spot a Japanese submarine surfacing in the distance and heading straight for the aircraft carrier for the kill. The sub launches a torpedo, and Marty brings the helicopter barreling down towards it. Hovering just above the fast-moving torpedo, Gabby drops a bandolier of grenades atop the missile. The torpedo explodes, but the helicopter is unable to pull up fast enough and is caught in the blast. They are unable to keep the helicopter in the air, so they bring it crashing down atop the submarine itself! As the Japanese sailors inside appear at the hatches to see what hit them, Gabby throws a second bandolier at them and into the hatches. The explosion destroys the sub and sends both Gabby and Marty flying out into the water. A little while later, a rescue helicopter flies overhead ready to pick up the two heroes floating in the water. The pilot thinks they are fighter pilots, and wishes that one day maybe they could see some of the action. Marty and Gabby smile. "Maybe you will, Mother Hen... Maybe you will!"
Featured Characters:
- Gabby
- Marty
Antagonists:
- Japanese pilots
- Japanese Navy sailors
Other Characters:
- American pilot "Lieutenant"
- American Navy captain
- American Navy sailors
Locations:
Items:
- torpedo
- grenades
Vehicles:
- American Sikorsky H-5 rescue helicopter
- American aircraft carrier
- American Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft
- Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" long-range fighter aircraft
- Japanese ocean-going attack submarine
Notes
- The inside front cover contains a 1-page service announcement "Nature's Prize Pupil!", published by DC Comics as a public service in cooperation with the National Social Welfare Assembly. It features how amazing man as a creature is, by observing the animals around him and adapting ourselves and our technology to match their traits.
- Between the 2nd and 3rd stories is a 1/2 page "Body and Wary!" combat profile for the 394th Infantry Regiment, who arrived in France during the German winter offensive in late 1944 and was engaged in a variety of campaigns including the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes Forest, Remagen Bridge, the Rhineland, and the Ruhr.
See Also