A picture of German leader Adolf Hitler. Footage of Pearl Harbor attack by Japan during World War 2. A reenactment shows landing of Operation Pastorius would-be saboteurs in Long Island, New York and presence of the FBI at the site collecting evidence the Germans had buried. Evidence of their plots to bomb various sites in the United States is collected by the FBI and presented to the United States Military. Views of some of their captured equipment and uniforms. Faces of the Operation Pastorius captured criminals (who included George John Dasch, Ernst Peter Burger, Herbert Haupt, Heinrich Heinck, Eddie Kerling, Herman Otto Neubauer, Richard Quirin, Werner Thiel) during their military tribunal hearing in July - August 1942.
Camera pans across scenes showing masses of Chinese. Narrator cites their large population as a war asset. Lt Gen. Daniel Sultan Commander of US Forces, India–Burma Theater (USFIBT) describes the Allied mission as simply "placing guns in the hands of men in order that they can kill our common enemy." He describes Japan's 1942 strategy of completely isolating China from outside help. Animated map shows Japanese forces attacking China from bases in Thailand and advancing north, driving British forces into India, and leaving Burma in Japanese hands.Glimpse of Japanese troops occupying Burma. Views of American troops evacuated to India. View of Chinese soldiers boarding U.S. Air Transport Command C-46 transport planes for flights from Kunming to Dinjan and Chabua, India. Closeup of some troops inside the cabin of a plane. Chinese soldiers await transport as a C-47 aircraft takes off in the background. Aerial view of two C-47 planes in formation. View from the air of high cloud covered mountains. Storm clouds over the mountains. Downward view from an aircraft flying over the Himalayan Mountains (called flying the "hump" by U.S. pilots). View of Chinese soldiers inside a transport plane. View out the window of a transport plane landing in India. A C-46 airplane taking off. A large formation of Chinese troops seen after more were brought from China to India, later in the war. American soldiers training troops of the Chinese 38th and 22nd Divisions. General Sultan speaks of the need to build up the U.S.Air Transport Command. Two C-47 airplanes on the ground. One named "The Joker." View of sky filled with B-24 Liberator bombers. Sky filled with C-47 transport planes. Chinese soldiers training in Kunming, climbing out of trench in live fire exercise with machine guns firing over their heads and explosive charges detonating near them. Air frame of a P-47 aircraft being loaded and several of Bell P-39 Airacobra aircraft being loaded aboard ship bound to strengthen the U.S. Army 10th and 14th Air Forces in Burma, in 1944. Covered P-47 aircraft without engines being towed by jeeps along a street in Burma. A large airfield with many U.S. fighter planes parked on its ramps. Engines being installed on P-39 aircraft. A flight line filled with P-40 aircraft displaying Chinese roundels. Some fly over a flight line of U.S. Army Air Forces P-39 aircraft. Glimpse of a fighter plane escorting a transport aircraft. A formation of B-24 Liberator bombers dropping bombs and exploding on Japanese ground targets. Workers are seen unloading large amounts of cargo from a B-24 bomber. Workers rolling a large bomb from the plane onto the tailgate of a truck.
USS aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La (CV-38) being launched from Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Mrs. Josephine Doolittle sponsors the USS aircraft carrier. Crowd cheers as the USS Shangri-La is launched. Flashbacks show B-25 aircrafts taking off from the USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo Japan in the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942. The base identified for that attack had been the non-existent "Shangri-La". U.S. President Roosevelt decorates General James Doolittle who was the Commander of Doolittle Raid. USS Shangri-La is christened and slides into the waters at Norfolk. (World War II period).
World-wide wartime activities during 1941 and 1942. President Roosevelt addresses Congress after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Crowd applauds. Citizens and cars stopped in busy New York listening to the news on the radio being broadcast regarding the declaration of war against Japan. Long queues and lines of civilian men get registered in the U.S. army as recruits are called up. Men taking oath of U.S. military service in New York and Washington DC (on U.S. Capitol steps) and other cities in mass recruitment events. New recruits stand in line in a city to register for U.S. Navy or U.S. Army service. New recruits shown include baseball star Joe Dimaggio, boxer Joe Louis, John Aspinwall Roosevelt (who was President Roosevelt's youngest son), Tyrone Power, Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks Junior, and Warren Pershing (son of famed General John Pershing) all seen registering to enter military service. Justice Frank Murphy of the U.S. Supreme Court is seen operating a machine gun during training. Another scene with a mass group of recruits standing and taking an oath of military service.
Japanese Naval officers and civilian broadcasters announce Japanese Naval victories off the Netherlands East Indies and off Malaya. Japanese planes bomb British naval battleships Repulse and Prince of Wales off Malaya. Flashback shows Vessels.1942. (World War II period).
A documentary film depicts psychology and living habits of Japanese people. Scenic views in Japan. A Japanese women walks along a road lined on both the sides by trees. Japanese men, women and children stand under a tree . The tree in blossom. Natives practice 'Shinto' religion. A religious place in Japan.