Focuses on Korean War (1950-1953). Ships of the UN fleet fire guns at Island of Wolmi. Tracers fired at night. The UN fleet underway at sea. General MacArthur with other officials on ship. Smoke arises from explosions on Wolmi. First landing craft arrives at shore. The UN troops and tanks advance on Island of Wolmi. Dead North Korean soldier. Prisoners march under guard on island.
The Japanese occupation of Manchuria. An animated map showing East Asia- Japan, the Korean peninsula, China, and Manchuria. The Japanese flag flies in Hsinking, Manchuria (present-day Changchun, China). A truck driving on a road in Hsinking. A building under construction. Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking. A Japanese Kwantung Army official (probably Hideki Tojo) stands outside the headquarters. Exterior of headquarter. Helicopter parked on field. Military personnel stand near the helicopter.
Map of North America and the United States, with a white outline for the United States border. Map of the Empire of Japan, including the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, and its borders in white. View of a lake with Mount Fuji. A train on top of Manseibashi bridge (1-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan). Trams, vehicles, and bicycles in downtown Tokyo (likely Ginza or Marunouchi). A white Torii gate inside a Shinto shrine. People visit a Shinto shrine during spring. Japanese performers perform with fans on a Danjiri shrine cart during the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival in Osaka. Smokestacks in an industrial town. A wooden Torii gate. Japanese children flying a kite. A Buddhist monk blows a horn while deer graze in Nara. Spanish conquistadors and Japanese samurais ride horses. 18th century British woodcut showing metal tools and blacksmiths at work. 18th century prints showing European peasants working in a mill and horses in a grinding machine. A Japanese courtier opens and looks at a scroll with illustrations.
Black and white map showing Japan, the Korean peninsula, Manchukuo (Manchuria). Animation traces the borders of Japan. European people ride carriages on rail track. A boat with the United States flag sailing in a bay. A small boat sailing a river with rocky riverside in Japan. Japanese fishermen on the riverside pull the small boat using ropes. A mill wheel in a Japanese village. Farmers with carrying poles and baskets walking on the field. An elderly man wearing a Haori hakama reads a book with a train illustration. A Japanese drawing depicting a locomotive train.
U.S. Army troops moving through an enemy town on foot and in vehicles and tanks. U.S. Army infantry taking prisoners during the Korean War. A sign at Prison camp reads: "POW Camp #1, Utilities, Carpenter Shop." American troops process prisoners of war. Each is registered and given a POW identification to be worn at all times. Korean truce being signed at Panmunjom, in 1953. Amphibious assault forces underway at sea and troops wading ashore. A field headquarters in combat zone, where U.S. Army commanders are being briefed by an Intelligence (G2) officer. U.S. Army troops in camouflaged positions. U.S. tanks firing their guns and moving in a line. U.S. Army atomic cannon or nuclear cannon (e.g., M65 or Atomic Annie) firing tactical nuclear explosive shells. Various sized atomic bomb or nuclear bomb explosions from the shells. Army technician monitoring radiation readings on a tank exposed to tactical nuclear weapon effects. An airman hosing down an airplane exposed to radioactivity.
Major events of 1953. Field ambulances arrive at Freedom village bringing repatriated prisoners at the end of hostilities during the Korean War. General William Harrison of United States and General Nam II of North Korea sign the armistice agreement in Panmunjon bringing the war to a halt. War weary American soldiers return home and receive a warm welcome. Soldiers hug their family and friends as they reunite with them. The Statue of Liberty in New York, United States. (Note: Among those repatriated, seconds 18-21 and 26-28 of the clip show Rifleman George Hobson from Fazakerley, Liverpool, of the Royal Ulster Rifles, who was shot and captured at the Battle of the Imjin River in 1951.)