Combat Kelly #6 (1952)

Combat Kelly is completely surrounded by Chinese soldiers with their commanding officer in a headlock. Kelly orders the communist soldiers to stand back, threatening to blow them all up with a hand grenade. The commanding officer orders his men to surrender and drop their arms. Kelly then grabs a gun and forces the entire troop to follow him back to base as his prisoners. Along the way, a North Korean gorilla fighter spots Kelly and throws a rock at his head knocking him out. When Kelly comes around he finds himself a prisoner of the Chinese soldiers again. The commanding officer informs him that they are going to have a little fun with Combat instead of out right killing him. They have put Kelly in a Chinese army uniform and have blind folded him as they plan to let him loose near his base in the hopes that his own army would confuse Kelly for the enemy and shoot him. Kelly is dumped in the middle of the battlefield and ironically, it is his pal Cookie Novak who spots him running across the field and alerts his fellow soldiers. Kelly manages to dodge the fire from his own allies and dives into a trench where he is able to get his blindfold and the ropes binding his hands. Kelly then strips down to his long underwear and climbs out of the tench calling out to his buddies. The Chinese soldiers on the other side then begin trying to shoot Kelly, but the other American troops lay down cover fire until Combat can get to safety. After bearing some humiliation from his friends now that they know he wears bright red cover-alls, Kelly gets a new uniform and meets with Major Thorn. He tells Thorn that the communists are plotting a massive "Banzai attack" once all their forces are mobilized, but was unable to learn the location before he was captured and sent out into the battle filed to be killed. The only thing Kelly knows is that the Chinese would attack when they hear the next bugle call. Suddenly, Kelly is inspired and digs up a battered bugle horn. That night, Cookie sneaks behind enemy lines and plays the bugle tricking the Chinese to attack before they are ready. The enemy army is quickly decimated but there are also many casualties on the American side. Later, Major Thorn informs Combat that Cookie is missing in action and promises Kelly that his friend will receive a Silver Star for combat. Kelly is not exactly cheered up by this. He then quietly prays that Cookie comes back alive.