Scenes from the first International Civil Aviation Conference (ICAO) in the city of Chicago, Illinois. At the invitation of the United States, delegates from 51 nations arrive to begin drafting and concluding the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), including discussion on freedom of aircraft traffic in the world's aviation routes. Opening scene shows the Stevens Hotel at 720 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, United States, with automobile traffic driving past it on the street. Delegates from 51 nations are seen entering the hotel Grand ballroom, being monitored by U.S. Army Military police, as they enter. View from inside the ballroom as delegates enter. Some are seen standing around a globe of the world, discussing the transfer of military air routes back to civilian operations, in the future after the end of World War 2. View from a balcony of the delegates gathered below. Closeups of delegates from: Belgium; a military aviator in uniform, representing Haiti; delegates from Iraq, India, Australia, and Norway. Assistant Secretary of State, Adolf A. Berle Jr., Head of the U.S. delegation, delivers a brief welcoming speech, on behalf of President Roosevelt, from a podium behind which flags of participating nations are displayed. He speaks of the importance of freedom of air space, noting that closed air space can lead to war. He says that the air which God gave to everyone, should not become the means of domination over anyone.
Opens showing views of the U.S. Pavilion at the Expo 58 in Brussels, Belgium. An array of international flags and artistic fountains grace the Pavilion. Glimpse of the Exhibition Hall of the Soviet Union with hammer and sickle symbol on front. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser shakes hand with Nikita Khrushchev, 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Nasser speaking to the 600-member assembly of the new United Arab Republic (encompassing Egypt and Syria). Arabs marching with banners. King Faisal II of Iraq and his uncle, Abdul Ilah, step to a podium. Faisal II riding in a horse-drawn carriage. View of seaport in Lebanon. A U.S. Naval task force is visible, arriving in response to a request for aid from Lebanon. U.S. marines in an amphibious landing near Beirut. They establish a beachhead as local Lebanese watch and applaud. The marines load artillery and ammunition on the beach. The scene changes to the island of Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait, where entrenched KMT Nationalist Chinese troops of Chiang Kai-Shek, are seen scrambling as they undergo constant shelling from Mainland China. The American Destroyer, USS Ammen (DD-527) is seen underway on patrol in the Taiwan Strait. U.S. Navy vessels provide relief supplies to the bombarded Islands in the Taiwan Strait. Landing craft are loaded with essential supplies for delivery. Sailors are seen throwing sacks of food over their ship railing into a landing craft below. A line of laden landing craft follows in the wake of a Navy ship. High rise apartments in West Berlin, Germany. West Berlin citizens are seen going about their daily activities. A large sign in German warns “Achtung! Sie verlassen jetzt West-Berlin” (“Warning! You are leaving West-Berlin”). Views of damaged buildings left untouched in East Berlin. Militia in black uniforms perform close order drills in East Berlin. Street sign identifies Unter Den Linden. The formerly elegant avenue is seen virtually deserted. A horse-drawn carriage moves along, and men push a cart full of supplies. Bicyclists ride along the side of the street. Headquarters of the 4-powers administration building is seen without a Soviet flag. French, American, and British soldiers stand guard. (Soviets are absent.)
Highlights the role of United States Coast Guard in Operation Desert Storm against Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in Arabian Peninsula. Helicopters in flight. Ships underway in sea. American President George H. W. Bush orders the embargo of merchant ships of Iraq. Maritime Interception Forces check merchant ships. United States Coast Guard train men of multinational forces for embargo of ship. Lieutenant Bob Atkin explains the role played by coast guard in inspection of ships during the operation. American flag on a ship and men on the flight deck. United States Navy Captain Dick Reass appreciates the efforts of coast guard during the Gulf War.
Highlights the role of United States Coast Guard in Operation Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia. Various support units do their work to help the men fight the war against Iraq. Highlights the importance of team work. BM3 Roger Kramer talks about the team spirit among the Coast Guards. Men repair weapons at armament issue and repair unit. Men and women of support staff do office work, a doctor examines a patient, peel vegetables. Lieutenant Ken Feilen explains the importance of support staff in the success of a mission.
Camera pans across welcoming delegation of local officials lined up in front of the railroad train of the so-called American Military Mission to Armenia, aka the Harbord Commission. (Some U.S. soldiers can be seen in and near the train.) It was arriving in Mardin, by rail, from Adana and Allepo. (Reportedly, the gentleman in black, standing to the right hand side of the lady, in the welcoming delegation, is Abdurrahman Kavvas, a descendant of the Ortoqid family that ruled Eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.) In a change of scene, the camera pans over a large group of local people who pose standing side-by-side. A contingent of Turkish cavalry ride past, followed by a squad of marching Turkish infantry.
Crisis in the Middle East. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser walking with several officials. President Nasser waving to a crowd. The crowd cheering the President on the 6th anniversary of the overthrow of King Farouk I. The President speaking into several microphones from a podium. A large crowd cheer for President Nasser. United States negotiator Robert Murphy meeting Lebanese President Camille Chamoun in Lebanon. Robert Murphy and President Chamoun with another official as they discuss matters. American evacuees from Iraq arriving at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy. Men, women and children coming down the steps from an Pan American World Airlines (PAA) aircraft. The evacuees at the airport. A street in Jordan. Vehicles moving on a road and people on a street. Buildings on the street. Shop sign reads “CLEOPATRA TRAVELLING SERVICE”. Flags flying at half-mast on several buildings mourning the deathst of King Faisal II and other leaders killed by Iraqi rebels. King Hussein of Jordan addressing a press conference. Several officials at the conference. A United States Air Force C-124 Globemaster cargo aircraft with its front hatch open and ramps open, at an airfield in Jordan. Men unload gas cans from the aircraft. Men standing in a row pass the cans. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during summit talks in the United Nations. Aerial view of the United Nations building in New York, United States.