THE
UNKNOWN
SOLDIER
CHRONOLOGYby The Time Trust
The Chronology is far from complete, but is being updated as information comes in, especially concerning the Unknown Soldiers' numerous World War II exploits. This timeline does however present here every known post-war activity of the Soldiers. There are large gaps of time in which nothing is known of the Soldiers' activities, and no information is yet forthcoming.
LEGEND:
US-1: The first Unknown Soldier.
US-2: The second Unknown Soldier.
Earth-2 stories appearing in dark red do not take place in the regular U.S. continuity.
Earth-1 stories appearing in dark blue do not take place in the regular U.S. continuity.
Stories appearing in purple are too inconsistent with the regular U.S. continuity to have happened and are wholly fictional.
All other stories appearing in black take place in the regular U.S. continuity.
1922
The man who would become US-2 is born. US-1 claims to have been born in this year as well, but this cannot be confirmed, as it may be just a ploy to lead anyone to the conclusion that there is only one Unknown Soldier.
1940June 20-22: Forest of Compeigne, outside of Rethondes, France:
US-1 meets Miss Doolittle, a travel agent in London, who becomes a cover for his activities. He also meets an American agent, known only as Sparrow, with whom he and his successor would often work. US-1 makes an attempt on Adolf Hitler's life at the signing of the surrender of France, but is discovered by Von Stauffen, the Black Knight, and escapes with the help of Sparrow. "Doorway of Destiny" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #249, March 1981]
1942March - April -- The Phillippines:
US-2, the second man who would later take the name Unknown Soldier is injured and deformed in a grenade explosion in the Phillippines, which kills his brother Harry, during the invasion of the Japanese army. The hospital at which he is interred is bombed and he and the other patients are taken prisoner by the Japanese forces. A Japanese scientist who nicknames him "Fred" injects him with a one-of-a-kind serum that promotes cellular regneration, which effectively makes him immortal, as a part of an experiment. He builds up his muscles and trains in the martial arts which the Japanese scientist teaches him. "Looking For Charlie" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #1, Winter 1988], "Jack and Fred Go to the Airport" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #2, Holiday 1988-1989]Spring -- The Phillippines; Washington, DC, USA, & Paris, France:
A team of American commandos attack the Japanese hospital in which US-2 is kept, killing the Japanese scientist who befriended him in the process, and bring him back to the U.S. In Washington, Captain Winifred Roth realizes that the young man is the sole survivor of the cellular regeneration experiment, and proposes that he could be an Army Intelligence agent, particularly because he could be disguised to look like almost anybody. He is given an assignment to kill a double-agent in the French Resistance (actually US-1) and refuses. He escapes and has a woman named Charlotte, Army Intelligence's top disguise artist, teach him how to disguise himself. He then disguises himself as Roth and spends the evening with Roth's wife, in a ploy to get promoted to Captain, to pick out his own assignments, and to get Roth's house, since he was up until then treated with no respect. He meets Sgt. "Chat Noir" (the Black Cat) at this time, who becomes an ally. After this, he takes the assignment in Paris, in which he discovers that the so-called "double agent" was really an Army Intelligence agent; upon confronting him, he shoots US-1 and tells him that he was the first "Unknown Soldier" and to not let anger and cynicism eat him up and destroy him, and to do this job better than he did. The first Soldier then kills himself, or so it is believed. US-2 now becomes the Army Intelligence agent, Codename "Unknown Soldier." "Jack and Fred Go to the Airport" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #2, Holiday 1988-1989], "The Replacement" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #6, May 1989]Late June - July 1 -- Cairo, Egypt & El Alamein, Egypt:
The Soldier is given an assignment to kill Field Marshal Gen. Erwin Rommel, "The Desert Fox." Rommel escapes, but the German advance is stopped at El Alamein. "Get the Desert Fox" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #229, July 1979]Early November -- Cairo, Egypt & El Alamein, Egypt:
After the master plan for the British attack in the Battle of El Alamein is stolen, the Soldier is given an assignment to retrieve it before it reaches Rommel. The Soldier is captured by Rommel and discovers that the plans were planted on him, but makes Rommel believe he had them changed, thus making them useless to him. The British defeat Rommel this time. "Only the Desert Wins" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #246, December 1980]Late Winter -- Libya:
When Gen. "Bull" Bannion is murdered, the Soldier discovers the apparent guilt of Maj. Morgan Miller, and sentences him to execution at dawn. Rommel attacks at this time, however, and they're forced into a battle which reveals Lt. Ed Jenkins as a Nazi agent and the true murderer. "Saint in a Tin Pot" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #265, July 1982], "Marauder or Murderer?" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #266, August 1982]
1943January -- Switzerland; Bavarian Forest, Germanyy;; Paris, France; Baltic Sea, north of East Prussia; Wolfschanze, East Prussia:
The Soldier apparently turns traitor and begins to work for Adolf Hitler. Among the agents attempting to stop him are Lt. Jeb Stuart and his "Haunted Tank" crew, French Resistance fighter Mademoiselle Marie, a detached service task force codenamed "The Losers" (PT boat commander Capt. William Storm, two Marines nicknamed "Gunner" and "Sarge," and Army Air Force pilot Lt. Johnny Storm), and Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. The Soldier's innocence is revealed, however, when he gains his objective: "The Hell Fog," a terrible biological weapon which would have allowed the Nazis to win the war within a matter of weeks. The Soldier destroys it rather than turning it over to the Allies for misuse. "The Traitor Without a Face" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #250, April 1981]January -- North Africa:
The Soldier is given an assignment to make sure that Col. "Bloody" Barton's tank squadron is ready to fight. Barton dies in battle and the Soldier impersonates him to give his men their final orders. "Man of War" [STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #159, October-November, 1971]. "Shall Heroes Prevail?" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #241, July 1980]
. "The Henschel Gambit" [STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #197, March 1976]
. "Death Sub, U.S.N." [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #263, May 1982]
. "We Who Are About to Die" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #259, January 1982]
1944. "The Secret That Saved a World" [THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (first series) #146, January 1979]
. "Dictators Never Sleep" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #217, July 1978], "The Unknown Soldier Must Die" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #218, August 1978]
. "The War Below the War" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #256, October 1981]
. "Canvas Battlefield" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #262, April 1982], " 'Til Armageddon Do Us Part" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #257, November 1981]
. "Operation: Pied Piper" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #238, April 1980]
. "The Subway War" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #253, July 1981]
. "No God in St. Just" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #237, March 1980]
1945. "Hell is a Cold Place" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #264, June 1982]
April -- Winterthor, Switzerland:
"The General" whom US-1 answered to in the later days of World War II meets with a group of Nazis and make a deal with them to receive invaluable knowledge on rockets, bombs, spacecraft, biological weapons, etc. in exchange for secretly relocating them and Adolf Hitler himself to South America. The deal is moot when the Nazi group is shot down by British planes on attempting to return to Berlin. "Unknown Soldier: Book Four" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #4, July 1997]April -- Germany:
US-2 in disguise becomes Easy Company's new medic.April 28 - 30 -- Berlin, Germany:
US-1 is sent into Berlin, where he helplessly witnesses the execution of Sparrow by a Nazi firing squad, but reaches him in time to hear of a Nazi plan codenamed "Nosferatu." Chat Noir saves the Soldier's life after the Nazis come after him, but is himself killed. In disguise as S.S. Officer Kessler, the Soldier enters the Chancellery and learns from Adolf Hitler himself of "Nosferatu" before he assassinates him. In disguise as Hitler, he orders the Nazis in charge of it not to deploy it. He is then believed killed while trying to save the life of a young girl during the bombing of Berlin, but is in fact alive and is seen at this same spot a few days later, now believed to be dead for sure. "A Farewell to War" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (first series) #268, October 1982]May 2 -- Germany:
US-2, in disguise as Easy Company's medic, helps Sgt. Frank Rock on a mission to destroy a meat-packing plant run by Anton Arcane. "Brothers In Arms, Part Two" [SWAMP THING (second series) #82, January 1989]May -- Germany:
Germany unconditionally surrenders, ending World War II. US-2 plans on retiring. "House, Dog, Chevy" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #11, November 1989]May -- Dachau, Germany:
US-1, horrified at the slaughter at the concentration camp in Dachau, shoots down in a rage all the German prisoners who had been guards. The experience there radicalizes him, and he now believes that compared to the utter evil of the enemy, whatever the American government has him do now must be right, no matter how vile his tasks may seem, since he must be on the right side. A young soldier named Joshua Markewicz witnesses this act. "Unknown Soldier: Book One" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #1, April 1997]
1947The Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) is formed to unify all government intelligence agencies. US-1 begins working for them (inferred).
1940sUS-2 defeats the Russians' top agent in the field, as part of a "game" Roth and his Russian counterpart, Provansk play during the international arms conference, and continue to play every ten years or so for the next 40 years.
1950(late) -- North Korea:
US-2, in disguise as a Chinese soldier, infiltrates a Chinese army platoon in North Korea during the Korean War.
1951April -- North Korea:
US-2's cover is blown by America soldiers after Gen. Douglas MacArthur was fired, and he is shot and believed killed by Chinese soldiers. A young Korean girl named Tsu Na brings him back to her house and cares for him, discovering his identity as an American. "Across the Line" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #9, September 1989]August -- South Korea:
US-2 leaves Korea for good. Tsu Na claims to Roth that she bears the Soldier's child. "Across the Line" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #9, September 1989]
1953Iran:
US-1 is brought into Iran to order the Shah to order Mohammed Mossadegh to step down, and is witnessed by Martin Fuchs, part of the C.I.A. team trying to get Mossadegh out of office. US-1 is rumored to have ridden one of the tanks when the pro-Shah movement fought Mossadegh's people in the streets of Tehran. "Unknown Soldier: Book Two" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #2, May 1997]
1950sUS-2 defeats the Russians' top agent in the field, as part of a "game" Roth and his Russian counterpart, Provansk play every ten years or so during the international arms conferences.
1950s or 1960s(late 1950s or early 1960s) -- Cuba:
US-1 is somehow involved in the events happening in Cuba, and is witnessed by Roberto Santos.
1960sUS-2 defeats the Russians' top agent in the field, as part of a "game" Roth and his Russian counterpart, Provansk play every ten years or so during the international arms conferences.
1969(late) -- Queens, NY, USA:
Claudia Simmons, daughter of Roger Simmons, born.
1970Cambodia:
US-1, impersonating General Westmoreland, orders the liquidation of a couple of villages, and is later witnessed out of his disguise by soldier Marcus Bradley, who is threatened not to say a word of it to anyone. "Unknown Soldier: Book Two" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #2, May 1997]May -- Cambodia & Vietnam:
US-2 meets P.F.C. Roger "The Saigon Kid" Simmons, who becomes an unofficial assistant. "Looking For Charlie" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #1, Winter 1988]
1970sUS-2 defeats the Russians' top agent in the field, as part of a "game" Roth and his Russian counterpart, Provansk play every ten years or so during the international arms conferences.
1976August -- Iran:
US-2 arrives in Iran for an 18 month stay.
1977Iran:
US-2 meets C.I.A. operative Barry.
1978January -- Iran:
US-2 escorts General Omar Ibn-Sabe Hassar, a "real heavyweight in the Shah's army," out of Tehran. He then resigns from Army Intelligence, and begins working as a mercenary-for-hire. "Jack and Fred Go to the Airport" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #2, Holiday 1988-1989]
1981August-November -- Afghanistan:
US-2 begins mercenary work for the C.I.A. training Afghan rebels for three months.November -- Metropolis, USA, Washington, DC, USA,, Canadian Tundra:
US-2 discovers a plan by a renegade Army officer to cause a nuclear holocaust, and clandestinely tips off Superman, who helps him to stop it. "The Specter of War" [DC COMICS PRESENTS #42, February 1982]
1982March -- Afghanistan:
US-2 confronts Barry about his as-yet-unpaid C.I.A. work "Barry's Deal" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #3, January 1989]
1984Nicaragua:
US-1, disguised as Delta Force Col. Garrison meets Major Boothe in the course of disrupting the Sandinista government's reforms in Nicaragua. Boothe is then assigned US-1's command. "Unknown Soldier: Book Three" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #3, June 1997]
1985December -- Honduras:
US-2 begins running guns out of El Salvador to Costa Rica, supplying the Contras in Nicaragua.
1986June -- Honduras:
US-2 masquerades as Soto, a mercenary working with two partners, Lewis and Becker. Barry stops him and takes him captive, keeping him doped up and imprisoned in El Salvador for the next 10 months. "Libertador" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #4, March 1989]
1987April -- El Salvador:
Lt. Col. Roth has US-2 freed from imprisonment. US-2 begins working for Army Intelligence once more, now with more freedom. "Brother Leader Bites the Dust" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #5, April 1989]June -- Libya & Algeria:
US-2 impersonates Libyan President Muamar Qadhafi's security chief in an effort to protect his life, thereby protecting the American mainland from a terrorist threat. He then impersonates Qadhafi himself to deliver a speech which prevents a Libyan operative from detonating an thermonuclear explosive in the skies over New York. "Brother Leader Bites the Dust" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #5, April 1989], "The Replacement" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #6, May 1989], "Gobbledegook" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #7, July 1989]November -- Siberia, USSR & New York, NY, USA:
US-2 and Barry are set up to fight the Russians' top agent in the field, as part of a "game" Roth and his Russian counterpart, Col. Provansk play every ten years or so during the international arms conferences. US-2 convinces the Russian not to play their little game, but is forced to shoot him when he pulls a gun at his back in New York, after which he is arrested. "The Fifth Man" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #8, August 1989]November -- New York, NY, USA:
US-2 meets the daughter of Tsu Na, who claims to be his daughter and is named Denice Wilson. "Across the Line" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #9, September 1989]December -- South Korea:
US-2 is reunited with Tsu Na, who is now Chairman of Teldron Inc, a multinational conglomerate which the C.I.A. wants a part of. Tsu Na manipulates US-2 into trying to keep them from any controlling interest, but fails. Denice Wilson attempts to kill US-2 but is killed herself. "Secret Dinner" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #10, October 1989]
1989May -- Queens, NY, USA, Washington, DC, USA & Kansas, USA:
General Wintley Roth becomes the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and has Sgt. Roger Simmons killed (and in turn Simmons' family in constant threat of being killed), his dog killed, and his house blown up, all in order to keep US-2 under his power after US-2 attempts to quit Army Intelligence once more. "House, Dog, Chevy" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #11, November 1989]November -- Egypt:
Gen. Roth has US-2 complete a mission in Egypt. "Blood Cold" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #12, December 1989]December -- New York, NY, USA:
US-2 goes AWOL and has Gen. Roth tied up, then impersonates him for a speech as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Barry, now working for Army Intelligence, realizes this, and when Army Security find Roth tied up, they believe it is US-2 and shoot him, killing him. US-2 himself escapes. "Blood Cold" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #12, December 1989]
1990January -- Milwaukee, WN, USA:
Barry meets with US-2 one last time. "Blood Cold" [THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (second series) #12, December 1989]
1991(late) -- Washington, DC:
"The General," for whom US-1 worked in WWII and intermittently afterwards, reveals to him what happened at Winterthor, Switzerland in April, 1945. US-1, horrified and disillusioned, kills him.
1990sBarry is killed in the course of duty (inferred).
1996The agent who accompanied "The General" to Winterthor contacts C.I.A. agent Andersen to protect him from US-1. US-1 kills both the agent and then Andersen, who was to have been his chosen replacement.
1997(early) -- Washington, DC:
C.I.A. agent William Clyde is given a list of names of people who have seen US-1 at work, all of which are assassinated. Joshua Markewicz is killed. Martin Fuchs is killed. Roberto Santos is killed. Marcus Bradley is killed. Col. Boothe is killed. Clyde meets US-1 himself and he is told that he was chosen by him to become his replacement. US-1 reveals what happened at Winterthor and wants Clyde to succeed him as "the Unknown Soldier." Clyde instead kills himself, leaving the disillusioned US-1 with no existing ties. "Unknown Soldier: Book One" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #1, April 1997], "Unknown Soldier: Book Two" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #2, May 1997], "Unknown Soldier: Book Three" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #3, June 1997], "Unknown Soldier: Book Four" [UNKNOWN SOLDIER (third series) #4, July 1997]