U.S. 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division operations at Phu Bai Combat Base near Hue, Vietnam. Entrance to101st Airborne Division headquarters. Civilian and army vehicles travel on road. 101st Airborne Division (Ambl), 2nd Brigade, Camp Hochmuth. At guard post, a large sign is seen with Screaming Eagle image and "Camp Campbell" written above it. (Vietnam War period).
Reconstruction of activities that took place during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident 2-5 August 1964. USS Ticonderoga underway in the Gulf of Tonkin. Pilots in a ready room aboard the ship. They are being briefed by an officer. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Bowling, who is one of the pilots involved in air strike on North Vietnam. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Render Crayton, another pilot involved in the air strike, seated in the ready room during the briefing. Lieutenant Er and Weber also in the ready room during the briefing. The Commanding Officer of the Squadron stands before a map of Vietnam and briefs the pilots.
USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) in the Gulf of Tonkin. U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Roy L. Johnson, Commander 7th Fleet and staff sit around a table. They talk to each other. Vice Admiral Johnson stands in front of a wall map and points to various locations along the coast of Vietnam using a small stick. (Vietnam War period.)
US Navy Destroyer USS Turner Joy (DD-951) in the Gulf of Tonkin during Vietnam War. The bow of the ship while it is in a port turn. A carrier in the background. The stern of USS Turner Joy underway at a high speed, and the ship moving into a starboard turn. US Navy aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CVA-64). (Vietnam War period.)
US Navy aircraft carrier ship USS Constellation (CVA-64) in the Gulf of Tonkin during Vietnam War period. Cockpit area of U.S. F-4B aircraft. The pilot climbs down from a ladder onto the deck. The craft's captain climbs up the ladder to the cockpit. F-4 aircraft taxis on the deck. Three F-4Bs parked in the background. An F-4B moves onto a catapult. A U.S. Navy RF-8A Crusader taxis on the deck. Four aircraft in the background. The F-4B on the catapult, ready for launch. The aircraft carries a sidewinder. F-4Bs being catapulted using after burner. The RF-8A catapults to right. Men leave the area underneath the aircraft. A U.S. Navy A-4B Skyhawk aircraft takes off. A-4E Skyhawk being catapulted from the angled deck. An F-4B aircraft catapulted and a A-1H being catapulted. (Vietnam War period.)
Opening scene shows a message being received on a teletype machine from the U.S. 3rd Air Division. Two Air Force officers are seen seated at desks. One is labeled "Ops-Plans." The on duty operations officer passes on the message to his staff where it goes through operation, operation planning, maintenance, ordinance and armament. Technicians preparing the guns and loading ordnance for the mission, on a B-52 aircraft. Air crew members ate seen assembled in their briefing room, Glimpse of the mission briefing officer at a podium. View of wristwatch as narrator speaks of navigators synchronizing their watches. A B-52 crew stepping from their crew bus as they arrive at their aircraft. As other crew member climb aboard the plane, their aircraft commander reviews the aircraft status, as reflected on its Form 781, with the aircraft crew chief. Crew members then begins a pre-flight walk-around inspection, starting with the landing gear and wheel wells. The last of the crew enter the aircraft via a bottom hatch, which a ground crewman then fastens from the outside. Inside, crew members are seen going through pre-flight check lists at their respective duty stations. Back at the Command Post, the duty controller receives the order via secure telephone, from 3rd Air Division headquarters, to execute the mission. He informs the Aircraft Commander and the B-52 starts its engines. View of throttles being pushed forward in the cockpit, as the aircraft begins takeoff. View from ground as the B-52 takes off and flies overhead. Glimpse of the aircraft commander in the cockpit wearing helmet and oxygen mask. Hand of radar observer is seen as he checks out his equipment. Aerial closeup of a B-52 in flight. View of radar observer placing the aircraft controls in so-called "Second Station," with the autopilot controlled by the bombing navigation computer. Inflight closeup of B-52 opening its bomb bay doors and starting to drop bombs. Glimpse of the aircraft commander in cockpit and of B-52 aircraft in flight, as narrator states they are returning to U-Tapao Airbase,or to Guam. The aircraft in the mission are seen landing back at U-Tapao Airbase, Thailand, where other B-52s are parked on the ramp. They taxi to their parking places and crew members board buses back to operations for a mission debriefing.