Scenes of Rome and American Army officers on leave there during World War 2. Views including St Angelo Bridge and castle (Castel Sant'Angelo) at the Tiber River. People riding bicycles over the bridge. Statue of an angel, by sculptor Pieter Verschaffelt. St Peters Basilica and Square. Sign proclaiming neutral territory of the Vatican (in Italian and English). The sign reads ' Neutral state of Vatican. Admission of military vehicles not allowed.' A sign reads '322 service group'. U.S. Army officers, in uniform, pose as they smoke cigarettes, wearing overseas caps and smiling. An officer pretends to count money, posing in front of a sign in the background reading ' Finance office 322nd service group.' Unidentified U.S. Army officers smoking cigarettes and posing for photographs in front of flowering shrubs in Rome.
General Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area) steps from the wood and palm structure, serving as Headquarters of the 6th Army, on Goodenough Island, New Guinea, during World War 2. He poses with Lieutenant General Walter Kreuger, Commander of the Sixth Army in the South West Pacific Area. Members of Kreuger's staff pose with them. After the picture-taking, MacArthur shakes hands with one of the staff officers, as the group make their way to jeeps. Next, MacArthur is seen posing with several armed soldiers wearing steel combat helmets. They salute MacArthur as he walks away. General Kreuger stands in front of the headquarters hooch conversing with two of his staff. He and one of his staff hurry to a jeep, with two stars on the front plate. They drive away. . Generals MacArthur and Kreuger are seen sitiing in back seat of a jeep with modified roof cover. MacArthur converses with staff officers. They are next seen walking through a grove of trees, with staff officers behind them. Later, MacArthur leads the entourage along a pathway, with tents visible in background. As they walk, he converses with Major General Edwin F.Harding, Commander of the 32nd Infantry Division. An official photographer lingers in background. MacArthur and Kreuger lead the group past a large mess tent. (At this point the footage repeats starting back with their entry into the grove of trees and ending as they pass the mess tent.) After that MacArthur is seen speaking to two bareheaded officers. He then speaks with several soldiers, individually, as Generals Kreuger and Harding stand nearby. MacArthur converses with a Field Grade officer. He visits an infirmary tent and speaks to a patient and to members of the medical staff, including a woman Lieutenant nurse. He and General Kreuger are seen inspecting various areas in the camp.
United States Marine Corps in Hawaii. Entrance of Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor. Marine drives a jeep out of yard. Jeep moves along a dirt road. Ocean in the background. Marines stand on edge of a cliff. View of surrounding area. A Marine on a beach area as he carries a camera. Marine photographs a woman on beachside. Marine enters University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Overhead sign reads 'Hawaii Hall'. Sign reads '2nd Semester Debate Tryouts'. Marine looks into a store window. Marine puts on causal cloths and leaves the store. Marine walks with a girl to beach area. Group of people have picnic at the beach. A couple runs towards water at beach.
U.S. 8th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in England during World War 2. B-17 parked on an airfield shows damage caused during missions in Europe. The airplane is painted with image of Bugs Bunny and the name: "What's Cookin Doc?" Flak damage to the B-17. Damaged rudder. Flak demolished tail gun. A large flak hole on the airplane. Camera pans over several other B-17s. The first damaged B-17 shown, 41-24525, "What's Cookin Doc?" is from the 547th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, at RAF Station Grafton Underwood. The rest of these battle-damaged aircraft are from the 91st Bomb Group, Bassingbourn, England, including: B-17: 42-3031, "Nitemare" of the 324th Bomb Squadron; B-17: 41-24524, "The Eagle's Wrath,"of the 323rd Bomb Squadron; and B-17: 42-2990, "Dame Satan" of the 322nd Bomb Squadron. (Note: Subsequent to this clip, two of the aircraft shown, "What's Cookin Doc?" and "Dame Satan" were shot down with all aboard KIA, one shortly after this was filmed.)
Gun camera footage from USAAF P-47 of the 378th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group, operating from Verdun Airfield, France, during World War 2. The aircraft flown by pilot named Bullock, on March 31, 1945, strafes lines of communication, striking vehicles on roads and trains moving on rail lines. In second sequence, the same pilot, now identified on slate, with the 377th Fighter Squadron, on April 4th, attacks a lone German Me-109 seen flying in thin cloud below him.
March and April, 1945. Near the end of World War 2, P-47s of the U.S. 9th and 8th Air Forces attacking ground targets in Germany. They strafe various ground targets virtually at will. One chases a German Me-109. Rapid succession of identifying slates and fragments of gun camera footage. The first involves P-47 of the 100th Fighter Wing, 362nd Fighter Group, 378th Fighter Squadron, operating out of Frankfurt, Rhein Main Airbase (Y-73) Germany. Others involve the 8th Air Force, P-51s of the 338th Fighter Squadron and possibly other units.
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