Operation Little Switch in which released U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force POW (Prisoners Of War) are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Tachikawa, Tokyo as part of repatriation effort late in the Korean War. Medical staff carry a number of sick or injured US military personnel (former prisoners) on stretcher. The first one seen is A/2C Robert L. Weinbrandt of El Cajon, California, a B-29 "Super Fortress tail gunner captured after his plane was shot down the night of January 28-29, 1953. He is seen being transported with his luggage out of annex ward. Several views of the released, former POW including several taken on stretchers out of the ward, and others that walk out on foot, smiling. Soldiers grab packs of Lucky Strike cigarettes from a basket. A car parked in the background. Officers and nurses in the hospital. General Shambora shakes hands with a released U.S. Army soldier.
Focuses on Korean War (1950-1953). U.S. tanks and troops cross Han River to capture Seoul, Korea. Tanks moves across the river. River village is taken over by the U.S. forces. Tanks and troops advance on muddy field. Words written on tank read 'We Three My Driver, My gunner, And Me. Enjoy Yourself It's Later Than You Think'.
Focuses on Korean War (1950-1953). USS Missouri off the coast of Korea. Guns mounted on USS Missouri. The UN flag is raised on battleship. Admiral Allan Smith and other officer salute. Gun barrels swing. Gun crewmen handle bombs aboard USS Missouri. Bombs are transferred by elevator. Officer looks into periscope. Guns on USS Missouri fire coastal targets. Bursts in water. Explosions on coast.
U.S. infantrymen wading across a flooded region during the Korean War. They emerge on a sandy beach near a mountain. Next, they are seen heading up a hillside. A soldier arranges mortar shells in a bunker. He then begins firing them in rapid succession at an enemy held hill. Scene shifts to U.S. Army General Mark Clark announcing the armistice ending hostilities, in July, 1953. He speaks in a hall packed with military personnel.
The armistice ending the Korean War is signed July 27, 1953. South Korean refugees walking down train tracks at the end of the Korean War. Heavily damaged buildings in Seoul, South Korea. Residents of Seoul picking through trash looking for food. 1960s a bulldozer is seen in front of a new high rise building in Seoul. Construction supplies carried by laborers to construction site from water. Pedestrians on Seoul street wearing traditional Hanbok robes. Market place in Seoul, picking crabs at market stall. Women with Korean children. Korean children in front of temple. Children eating on street with balloons nearby. Korean children playing volleyball. Korean children in school uniforms. Korean women looking in store front in Seoul. Streets in Seoul show bicycles and carts overloaded with supplies.
Scenes inside U.S. Army hospital in Japan. Surgeons scrub. Patients are moved about and treated. Nurse tending bedridden patient. Several soldiers seen leaving to return to duty in Korea. Others are transported to Haneda Air Base, near Tokyo, where the Military Air Transport Command operates long range aircraft in the so-called "Pacific Air Shuttle." A wounded soldier is taken from an ambulance and placed aboard a transport aircraft. Interior of aircraft is shown, with litters. The aircraft lands at Hawaii where wounded are cared for at Tripler Army Hospital until ready to continue journey to Travis Air Force Base in California. View from cockpit of aircraft landing at Travis Air Force Base. Wounded patients being moved through rear cargo doors of C-97 aircraft. View of Walter Reed U.S. Army General Hospital in Washington, DC. Captain Zimmerman introduces Lt. Col. S.J. Newsome, who was a surgeon in Korea with the 7th Division. Dr. Newsome emphasizes "speed" as the most important factor in recovery of wounded soldiers. He also mentions the problem of disease affecting soldiers in foreign places like Korea. Scenes of Army doctors examining soldier patients. Wounded being placed aboard jeep in Korea. Soldier firing rifle. Soldiers slogging through mud and water. Soldiers firing artillery in the snow, and evacuating wounded on inflated litter in snow. Combat in jungle. View of people at river in India. Civilian dead in streets.