Scenes from the life of U.S. General John J. Pershing. View of a low adobe style building backyard or courtyard area, possibly Fort Bliss near El Paso Texas. U.S. Army 8th Brigade troops under Pershing's leadership, moving out on horseback and on foot during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in search of Pancho Villa. Tanks rolling by during World War I and scenes of a military graveyard. Troops in formation marching down New York City streets on the way to war. The 1918 armistice celebrations with jubilant people celebrating. General John J Pershing presenting an award to a soldier and in conversation with the soldier. General Pershing reviews the AEF cavalry troops. General Pershing passes in an open car surrounded by a large crowd. General Pershing mounted on horse back moves by in a parade. People gathered along the roadside watch. General Pershing dressed in a suit, poses for the camera inside.
Hogs at a farm in Ohio. Farmer loads pigs into truck in order to transport them to the market. The truck gets stuck in a muddy road and the farmer is unable to free his truck. The hogs get tired and jump out of the truck adding to the farmer's complications. Demonstrates problems with low quality road system for farmers getting from farm to market. Federally financed road construction shows workers during the Great Depression as they reconstruct and level rugged roads under the Farm to Market Roads Program. Various machines used for the purpose of building new roads. A farm truck drives across a smooth road. A school bus approaches a new consolidated school building using the developed roads. View of an older rural school house in Ohio that is no longer used as a school due to school consolidation under the Works Progress Administration or WPA program. Two boys play on a see-saw in front of the school building. Children wearing shorts get off the school bus. View of main entrance of OYO Boy Scout Camp in West Portsmouth, Ohio. Boy Scouts view a knot tying demonstration as they sit outside the newly constructed Block House log cabin, built with federal funds under the Civil Works Administration, at the camp located in the Roosevelt Game Preserve. Views of the camp Headquarters building at Camp OYO. View of buildings of Old Fort Recovery, built by General 'Mad' Anthony Wayne, and restored by WPA.
Major General Henry C Pratt, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during World War 2. Two motorcyclists move in front of the caravan of official cars. Major General Henry C Pratt, Lt. General George H Brett and Vice Admiral John H Hoover standing. General Pratt reviews Guard of honor. Lt. General George H Brett, Commanding General of the Caribbean Defense Command, pins the Distinguished Service Medal (Army) medal on General Pratt. Troops march in front of the historic El Morro at Fort Brooke.
Opening scene shows U.S. Army Brigadier General Charles H. Bonesteel, Commander of the VI Corps Area, seated in a new jeep with Ford Motor Company President, Edsel Ford, at the wheel in a Ford Motor Company factory in during World War 2. This jeep is the first in an order for 1500 jeeps being delivered by Ford to the U.S. Army. Ford Company executives in business suits, covered by white lab coats are in the background, along with regular factory workers. One executive signals for the jeep to be moved ahead, out of the factory. Next, the film shows jeeps being demonstrated at the Ford Motor testing ground. Army officers and Ford Company executives line a ridge overlooking the test ground as drivers take several jeeps through their paces in demanding circumstances. Scene shifts to Fort Benning, Georgia, where jeeps of the Army's 4th Division are seen driving along a dirt road towing small field artillery pieces. Several are also seen driving (without artillery pieces) through dense woods and other obstacles at the Army base.
Cowboys perform during a frontier days rodeo meet in Cheyenne, Wyoming. A wild horse race at Fort Francis E. Warren, a U.S. Army base. The rodeo cowboys perform bronco busting and bulldogging in a fenced area during the frontier days meet. Cowboy in dungarees wrestles a steer to the ground. Spectators cheer.
U.S. Army Medical Service research in collaboration with scientists around the world. Tropical Disease Research Center in Puerto Rico. Building with jeep parked in front. View of scientists in the laboratory. Scientists at table gather data on tropical diseases. Germany: scientists studying epidemic jaundice observe through a microscope. Another scientist pours a liquid in a flask. Madagascar: Street scene with veiled women and turbaned men in market place. Washington: Laboratory of Army Medical Research Center. Technicians and scientists work in laboratory. Chemicals kept in the shelves. A doctors collects the blood sample of a person. A team of doctors perform surgery. A soldier on bed wearing an oxygen mask and then on a tread mill, in experiments at Fort Knox, Kentucky . Aerial view of atomic bomb explosion. A person entering Headquarters Building of Walter Reed U.S. Army Medical Center, Washington, DC . A soldier in a whirlpool tub of water as a nurse helps with physical therapy. Soldier patients receiving physical therapy under supervision of nurse. A soldier prone on an examination table as he receives an x-ray or other imaging scan under supervision of a nurse. Soldiers in beds in a hospital ward. A soldier drinks purified water from a mug and soldiers purify water in the field. A scientist pours a liquid from one flask to another in developing pasteurization methods. Chefs cook. Scientists wearing mask as they work in the laboratory. Microscopic view of disease-causing bacteria. DDT is sprayed into a woman's clothing. DDT spray and powder fumigates plants. A blood sample taken from finger and put on slide. Candling of eggs preparing penicillin.