World War II P-47 aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) take off and land at Chievres Airfield (A-84) in Chièvres Belgium. Airplanes take off from the muddy air base. Trees in the background. Second plane landing has nose art that is difficult to read, but the aircraft serial number 42-76114 (which was piloted by George Swink of the 396th Squadron. Swink's aircraft was downed by flak on 25 December, 1944 and his status after was POW). Various scenes of P-47 Thunderbolts taking off and landing.
War damage in Pervyse, Belgium (sometimes also spelled Pervijze or Pervyse). Destroyed railroad station and damaged buildings from battles near the Yser Front. Smoke coming from an underground kitchen. 'Pervyse' written on a board on the top of a building. A man walks through the rubble. Ruins of Pervyse Cathedral. Slate indicates it was the site where General Grosetti "stood for two hours amid falling masonry, urging his men forward." Interior of the damaged cathedral and men sifting through the rubble.
Teams of horses transport German 21cm morsers (heavy siege morters) along a road leading toward the front during World War 1. Gunners walk along beside them. Battery of the mortars being set up in a field by some houses near Mechelen (also called Malines) Belgium. The gun crews load and fire their mortars. Supplies are brought by horse-drawn wagon. Officers, soldiers, and some medical corpsmen (with red crosses on their sleeves) stand nearby as the battery of mortars fires. . (Note: The church shown, beginning TC: 1:28 is reportedly St. Joseph's, of the St. Joseph-Coloma parish on the southern outskirts of Mechelen/Malines, a city midway between Brussels and Antwerp. The church survived the war and still stands in 2014, although it is also reportedly in a bad state of repair.)
Sabena Flight 548 crashes while circling to land at Brussels Airport, Belgium. Fire fighters hose up the crashed Boeing 707-329 jet liner plane (OO-SJB) at Kampenhout, near Brussels Airport. Various views of the wreckage of the plane. Dead bodies are removed from the wreckage on stretchers.
German Atrocities in Stavelot, Belgium. Four coffins. View of dead Belgian women and children murdered by retreating Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans had thrown hand grenades into basements where the civilians had sought refuge. U.S. soldier looks at the dead bodies. Weeping women, young and old, stand in streets. (World War II period).
An American sailor buys flowers from a woman in a flower market operated by widows from World War I, at Place Charles Rogier in front of the Grand Hotel Cosmopolite, in Brussels, Belgium. Men lined up in background. Because of the devastating loss of men during the World War, Belgian women perform many tasks themselves. One woman shines shoes.
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