SMOKEY HALLIGAN
Real Name: Pvt. "Smokey" Halligan (first name
unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Normal human (World War II era)
Occupation: Soldier (Private)
Group Membership: US Army
Affiliations: Captain Drake, fellow US soldier
(including Nisei soldier (name unrevealed))
Enemies: German Nazi soldiers
Known Relatives: younger brother (name
unrevealed, deceased), cousin (name unrevealed, deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in Germany;
formerly USA
First Appearance: War Adventures#1/1 (January,
1952)
Powers/Abilities: Smokey Halligan was trained
as a US infantry soldier for the World War II campaign, but was racist
toward Japanese.
Height: 5'10"
(by approximation)
Weight: 155 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Blond
History:
(War Adventures#1 (fb) - BTS) - Smokey Halligan was
US infantry soldier (Private) engaged in Germany in the last stages of
WWII with battle experience. At some point in the war, his younger
brother had died in a Japanese
prison camp while his cousin had been tortured to death by Japanese
forces, fostering
racially motivated prejudice and distrust of all Japanese and their
immediate descendants.
(War Adventures#1) - Taking a short break from
marching in a ruined German town with his fellow small band of
soldiers, Halligan derided the Nisei troops (Americans of Japanese
descent) marching nearby. Captain Drake ordered Halligan and his
battle-hardened team
to act as escorts for a month. Distrustful, Halligan stayed at the rear
to keep
an eye on the Nisei troops; Drake observed this and ordered him to
cooperate. Despite the Nisei soldiers' considerable courage under fire,
Halligan refused to cover them charging. Instead, Halligan was caught
in a landslide from an exploding shell. Trapped neck-deep in dirt,
three German soldiers menaced him but a Nisei soldier challenged them
in turn.
Halligan watched as the Germans thought the Nisei an ally. Instead the
Nisei soldier tore into the Germans with his bayoneted rifle, but was
raked
with gunfire. Halligan pulled himself free and apologized as he cradled
the dying Nisei, who asked Halligan to take over the continuing fight.
Halligan promised he would, striding angrily in the direction of German
troops.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer and Robert Sale (pencils & inks).
"Smokey" should be considered his nickname as his real first name was unrevealed. Unfortunately, the Nisei was not named in the story; maybe "Hiro" would be appropriate (sounds like "hero").
In the story, the Nisei soldiers' battle cry was "Go for broke!" as they valiantly charged.
In real life, the Nisei regiments saw distinguished service in World War II, notably Europe.
"Nisei" translates from Japanese to English as "second generation" and, in this profile's context, covers Americans born and educated in the USA who were children of Japanese immigrants to the USA.
Racial segregation in the US armed forces officially ended in 1948.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Smokey Halligan has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
War Adventures#1, p5, pan6 (main image)
p4, pan5 (headshot)
Appearances:
War Adventures#1/1 (January, 1952) - uncredited writer, Robert Sale
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 11/11/18
Last updated: 11/11/18
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com.
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix!