G.I. Combat #108 (1964)

The ghost of General J.E.B. Stuart appears in the sky before the Haunted tank, commanded by the General's descendant, Lieutenant Jeb Start. He tells his namesake to keep his eyes open for "a rock that's going to turn steel into ashes". The ghost fades away, replaced by the flickering of lights from artillery fire at the front not far away. Jeb ponders the General's words, but then a Panzer tank appears from the side in the woods and attacks. Jeb orders Rick to set off the smoke pot, and Slim skids around to make it look like they've been hit by enemy fire and skidded off into the woods. They come around behind the enemy Panzer and fire, blowing off its turret and destroying the enemy. Now coming back out of the woods, Jeb believes the General's warning must have been about the tank, and that they were the rock that turned to enemy into ashes. Later that night, under the cover of a tree, the Haunted Tank and its crew stop from some needed rest and rations. Jeb climbs back into the tank to look for some pepper for his meal, when they are attacked from above by an enemy plane. Jeb watches from the porthole while Slim is hit in the back and goes down. Coming back up, he can see that all three of his crew are down, wounded from the rain of bullets. Jeb hops behind the machine gun and fires into the night sky. Just as the enemy plane is overhead, Jeb lets loose with the machine gun and destroys the German plane. Jeb quickly begins to help his men back into the tank, as the fiery pieces of destroyed plane begin to rain down over the area. Jeb begins to think that maybe this is what the General meant with his warning, and begins to drive the tank back towards their lines and the field hospital. As dawn begins to appear in the horizon, the Haunted Tank is struck by the impact of a shell hitting the ground beside them. A German anti-tank gun has spotted them, but there is nothing Jeb can do while he's driving. Then, to Jeb's relief, they are saved by the appearance of Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, who rush the enemy and destroy their machine gun nests. Now out of the line of fire, Sgt. Rock helps Jeb bandage up the wounded from Easy Company and strap them to the side of the Haunted Tank along with the Jeb's own wounded who are inside. Climbing atop the tank, Sgt. Rock keeps guard as Jeb gets inside and drives the tank towards the field hospital. It's a bumpy ride, which makes Rock and his men laugh. Within the hour, the Haunted Tank pulls up to the American field hospital, only to find it under attack from enemy shells. Sgt. Rock jumps off and tells the Major in command about their wounded aboard the Haunted Tank, but the Major has his own problem, and his own wounded, to worry about. Rock holds his ground, and finally the Major relents and tends to the wounded on the tank. He tells the sergeant that the hospital is on the move, and will be pulling out and away from the enemy cannon's range soon. As the hospital trucks begins to line up to roll out, two German fighter planes appear in the sky and attack. Jeb jumps behind the cannon controls and aims just as one German plane enters his sights, destroying it. Sgt. Rock tries to use the tank's machine gun, but can't get the elevation he needs to shoot. With shells bursting all around them, Sgt. Rock unslings his own tommy gun and fires relentlessly at the enemy plane flying directly overhead. The pilot is killed, and the plane bursts into a fireball in the sky. The Major then pulls Sgt. Rock down to the ground with him, and tells him that his men need surgery. He gives the coordinates where they will be setting up the field hospital, and tells Rock and Jeb to get them there as quick as he can before they start to die. As the Major hops into the last truck leaving the site, Sgt. Rock and Jeb climb aboard the Haunted Tank and take off for the coordinates. A ways down the road, Jeb believes he knows a shortcut and steers off the road and into the woods. As the tank reaches the top of the hill, they can now see the site for the new hospital ahead of them. They made it there before the truck convoy. As the Haunted Tank moves out of the woods, they are bombarded by enemy fire, forcing them to retreat back into the woods. The Germans have already occupied the new site, and there is no way the Major and his staff will be able to set up the new hospital and operate on their men before it is too late. Jeb and Rock come to the same decision, they have to take out the enemy before the convoy arrives. Jeb and Rock unload all the wounded from the tank, placing them under the cover of the woods, and then the two climb aboard the tank again and take off towards the enemy's position. As soon as they exit the woods, the tank comes under fire from enemy shells, but they continue to charge towards them. Then, one shell hits the side of the tank, destroying its treads and toppling the Haunted Tank onto its side. As Jeb climbs out of the smoking tank, he's close enough to see the enemy now. It's one German Panzer, dug into the ground so that its turret and cannon are the only thing sticking out, and giving them the perfect cover against attack. The enemy soldiers begin to spray the area around the Haunted Tank with bullets. Then, from behind help comes in the form of the wounded! The Germans spot the men coming from the trees, and they start to move their Panzer from its hole to get a better shot. Jeb and Rock take advantage of this, and charge the tank. The wounded join them, and a few well-placed grenades destroy the Panzer and its German occupants inside. The men sit in the grass and wait until the truck convoy arrives and pulls up alongside them. The Major gets out, and sees the wounded waiting there, along with the now wounded Sgt. Rock and Jeb Stuart and the smoking enemy tank. Sgt. Rock tells the Major that "Now he knows what Easy Company's fight is like". And Jeb finally realizes exactly what the General meant by "a rock turning steel into ashes". He meant Sgt. Rock and Easy Company!