History
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Sergeant Byrd just prior to the Crazy S.U.E.S.' first action in Guadalcanal
Byrd was assigned as drill sergeant to the new unit when it was formed. He was also second in command to Captain America, and would act as leader at times when the Captain was deployed elsewhere. Within hours of the unit's formation, Byrd had to break up a fight between the African-American Slow-Motion Jones and the racist Captain Strong, but otherwise had no other incidents during the heroes basic training.[2]
Byrd acted as second-in-command on the group's first mission, parachuting into the Japanese-held island of Guadalcanal. When they landed, the unit was pinned down as a result of bad intel and Sergeant Byrd ordered Slo-Mo to climb a nearby ridge to take out the machinegun nest at the top, which he did. As Sergeant Byrd tried to order more men up the hill, however, they were attacked by Japanese Zero fighters and a contingent of soldiers, again pinning the SUES down. Byrd ordered Cortez, codenamed Captain Flame, to open fire, but Cortez had completely frozen up. Understanding his ability to absorb and redirect energy, Byrd threw a live grenade at Cortez in order to snap him out of it. It worked as Cortez absorbed the explosion and redirected it back up the hill at the Japanese soldiers, incinerating them instantly. When Captain America later asked Byrd about Cortez, he responded "Needed a little push, Cap."[2] After a week on the island, Byrd was still ordering men to clear out the underground bunkers and trenches of hostile soldiers when they were ambushed. Cortez tried to absorb the energy of their attack, but it was too much. The unit recognized that he was going to blow and fell back and most, including Byrd, survived the incident.[3] Sometime after this, Captain America was redeployed elsewhere, leaving Sergeant Byrd as the leader of the squadron. They spent almost the next two years fighting on the Pacific Islands before themselves being redeployed to Normandy for the D-Day invasion.[4]
The SUES were to be airdropped into a small French village called Sainte Mere Eglise with orders to secure it from the Germans. They succeeded in their mission and soon celebrated with Captain America and the Invaders.[4] Captain America, though, would again be deployed elsewhere with orders to meet up with the unit later in Paris, again leaving Byrd as the de facto leader of the group as they marched deeper into the French countryside. When they reached Paris, the unit experienced the hardest street fighting that they had yet experienced, but they eventually liberated the city. Sergeant Byrd got to wave the American flag during the parade down the Champs Elysees during the ensuing celebration.[5] Captain America again resumed command of the unit as they left Paris, and they came under heavy fire in a French town on their way to Belgium. The whole unit, Byrd included was pinned down with little hope for survival until Cortez reluctantly saved them all.[5] On December 6th, 1944, the SUES had gotten as far as Saarlautern, Germany. Here they again encountered heavy resistance, though the majority of the unit again survived thanks to Captain Flame.[1]
The rest of Sergeant Byrd's wartime experiences have yet to be recorded. All that is known is that he survived the war and presumably had to sign a contract forbidding him of ever speaking of certain events that he witnessed in the war as the other surviving members had to do. Now an old man and confined to a wheelchair, Byrd was seen at the funeral of the Young Avenger, being pushed by none other than Steve Rogers.[3]