Gerry Taloc's art was always good; but, Haney was not the writer for war comics.  The other Soldier stories tend to be of higher quality.  His masks are about the only recurring sci-fi element.

Unknown Soldier #251

Thou Shalt Not Kill! by Bob Haney, art by Dick Ayers and Gerry Talaoc

Risking the dangers (both natural and human) of the Pyrenees, the Soldier arrives at an isolated monastery. His quest - to seek out a priest there, a German who, though he strongly opposes Hitler's regime, escaped to this solitude because he's a pacifist at heart and cannot condone the taking of a life regardless of the need or cause. However, the priest's brother joined the local underground and has since risen to a prominent role. The Nazis are closing in on him though, forcing his brother into hiding. For if they get him to talk, the local underground may be undone. Thus, the Soldier is tasked with getting the priest's help in finding his brother and getting him out of Germany before all is lost.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, Haney throws in the usual twists and action such as disguises being undone, presumed deaths, an elaborate Gestapo trap, and double crosses (by both sides). The local criminal elements chime in to help the Soldier when the Nazis start closing in and ultimately, the priest must decide if committing such a cardinal sin is worth saving one person's life. Ayers and Talaoc do a good job on the art, I'm growing to like their style. (Also, the scene on the cover does in fact occur within the story, kudos!)

Hell in the Heavens: Part One  I, the Executioner by Kanigher, art by John Severin

At a party held in his home, even the beauty of a famous German woman cannot dissuade the feelings of death that Von Hammer experienced just that morning. He recounts to her of how his Jagdstaffel encountered a squadron of British RAF planes over Cambrai. Combat ensues, as the Baron downs enemy planes, grateful that his bursts kill the pilots as their planes crash earthward, sparing them the agony of being burned alive, a release that Von Hammer hopes for himself when his time is up. As the fight continues, a British pilot streaks by Von Hammer without attacking, the Baron realizing that the pilot's guns were jammed. Von Hammer can only watch as one of his fellow pilots attacks this helpless British plane. Angered by this lack of honor, Von Hammer follows his wounded enemy, landing behind him as the British pilot somehow manages to land his damaged craft. It's too late though, as Von Hammer drags the boy from the plane as it explodes, he dies but not before asking Von Hammer to fulfill a dying request - return a family heirloom necklace to his sister. Von Hammer gives his word that he will do so but is at a loss over how to keep his promise since he knows neither the pilot's name or his sister's name.

Kanigher maintains the the great level of tension and honor of this concept, as Von Hammer metes out what merciful death he can in the skies. Severin's art is just a joy to behold, the most haunting panel being a shot of Von Hammer in his cockpit behind his Spandaus, the only dialogue that of a British pilot hauntingly begging the Baron to shoot him before he burns in his damaged plane. A very strong start here.

Eternal Sentinel by Kanigher , art by Tenny Henson

A two page story where a Japanese and an American pilot shoot both of themselves down over the Pacific. Splashing down in the water, the two combatants continue their fight unaware of the natural predator swimming towards them, a shark that prefers no side in this man-made conflict.

The letters page was interesting. Seeing as this issue was released in '81, I'm not surprised at all to find the lone letter printed here is from TM Maple. He compliments editor Len Wein on the expanded pages of the title now (roughly 17 pages for the Soldier from the former 11 pages). The extra pages allow for more variety as possible back-up, for which fans are asked to send in who all they would want to see spotlighted at a future date. More perplexing is the asst. editor's response over what seems to be a reduction in the amount of fan letters the title is receiving, a loss they hope to offset by offering unique prizes to those writers whose letters they do print. (If I read this response right, Maple received an original cover stat to an issue of UNK just like the one sent to the printer. Free art as a reward for printing a fan letter you send in? How about that!)

  

Wow, that's an incredible pencil job and done just too darn perfect! ... This made my day of how well he drew that Tiger Tank and did it just flawlessly with a dash of realism into it.

I was stunned seeing it today and thanks for posting this gem!

Ed Marks turns up again, later, as a journalist.  Don't think he worked quite as well, in that role.

Later issues are pretty decent, though it struggled for a POV, for a while.  Vansant does fine work on the series.  Don Lomax takes over the writing, at one point; but, it is not as compelling as Vietnam Journal, due to the Code and editorial restraints.

Superheroes are teased early on, but it is a soldier reading some Marvel comics musing about if they existed.  Punisher does turn up later and it is a horribly unrealistic story and pretty much signaled the end of the series.  he shows up in 52-53, by Roger Salick.  Don't know much about his background, other than he also wrote for Black Belt magazine and some of his comics work was martial arts related (as is his site).  He wrote some Punisher; but, didn't seem to know jack about Vietnam, the military or combat.  Second appearance was #67-69, by Chuck Dixon, who is definitely NOT a veteran, though he at least (usually) does his research.  His wasn't much better, as I recall.  It undermined the previous stuff.  It is symptomatic of what a mess Marvel was in '91-92.

Don Lomax's Vietnam Journal is a vastly more compelling read, since it lacked Code restrictions and it had a greater variety to things.  Journal gets around a bit and we get a taste of the grunts in the bush, AirCav, Navy Seals, USMC (the Khe Sanh mini), Green Beret (High Shining Brass, which was a CIA-run recon program, with Special Forces and groups like the Nungs, an ethnic group of Chinese descent).  He also gets a bit into back home.  It doesn't sugarcoat things, apologize for things or condemn things.  It is a pretty even-handed (though veteran POV) series, with little or no BS and a much rawer tone and look.

The Nam was still pretty good for at least the first 3 years; then it varies a bit.  Semper Fi never really found its footing and suffers from some bad to mediocre writing, though Sam Glanzman has some good stuff in there and John Severin contributed a story or two (art).

Sound's like Haney is confusing the "Slot", the channels that the Japanese ran through the Solomon Island chain, to try and reinforce their soldiers during the Solomons Campaign (Guadalcanal onward) with the US. For the most part, Japanese subs didn't inflict as much damage on US supply shipping as the Germans. For one thing, the Germans used the wolf pack strategy to attack convoys in groups. Japanese subs tended to operate independently. They also weren't as advanced as the germans in this realm, though they did have a few interesting variants, including one model with a retractable hangar, for a plane to launch an aerial attack.

Kanigher was far better at this stuff.

Tiger Tanks made for better visuals than other German tanks; so, of course they got used. Especially if Russ heath was drawing them. Look at WW2 films of the 60s and later; it's always a Tiger Tank.

You got all kinds of inconsistencies in the war books, from incorrect uniform elements (almost no one was seen wearing the standard gaiters) to the webbing, to even weapons (either using the wrong version, poorly drawn, or using them before they were introduced). Seems like every German had an MP-40, not a Mauser carbine. Officers always had Lugers, not P-38s or PPKs (or Mauser pistols). Still, DC's war comic were way better at this stuff than anyone else's, for years. Atlas was all gung ho nonsense, with whatever weapon the artist could draw, and Charlton varied wildly, depending on the artist. Guys like Sam Glanzman did their research or drew on personal experience (Sam had both, doing research on the Army and experience for the USS Stevens stories). Still, even the worst war comics artists were way more accurate than 90% of the people who drew the Punisher and his ilk. My favorite was someone who had a laser aiming sight on a grenade launcher. They fire in an arc; the laser doesn't help. A laser range finder is a different story. Of course, these are the same guys who draw a silencer/noise suppressor on a shotgun. File that under Hollywood westerns, where a six-shooter fires 8 rounds, without reloading.

During this era and beyond, a lot of frequent (and articulate) letter writers would be sent advanced review copies, to have a response to a new series early on (like in the 2nd issue, sometimes in the first!). TM Maple was on just about everyone's comp list and even got an obituary when he passed away.