Americans celebrate United States 200th Anniversary in Virginia, United States. Guests gathered outside Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia. Five hundred new citizens sign naturalization documents. Man calls out names of the new citizens. In an official ceremony, the new citizens swear to support the Constitution of the United States of America . Scene changes to July 4 celebration at the National Mall in Washington DC, with wide shot of the grounds of the Washington Monument filled with people. Audio includes a woman speaking on the U.S. Capitol Mall, Washington, DC, quoting from American Declaration of Independence. View of flags in foreground with with fireworks in the background.
French colonials, carrying French tricolor flags, and Vietnamese civilians, carrying North Vietnamese flags, mingle with French and Vietnamese military and officials, outside airport. men carry a huge banner. The banner reads 'Viet Nam Lao Dong Lien Doan', meaning: Vietnam Labor Union. A group of young Vietnamese women, carry flags and chant. Small Vietnamese children wave flags. A DC-3 aircraft, with North Vietnam flags in the windows, taxis to a stop. North Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh, emerges, followed by Jean Sainteny, delegate from the High Commissioner of France. Ho Chi Minh is immediately surrounded by high ranking French officers and officials and press and photographers. A little Vietnamese girl presents him flowers. Ho Chi Minh makes a public statement into two microphones covered by hankerchiefs (to muffle wind?).
Views of several cadres of Viet Minh holding flags. Image of Ho Chi Minh. Crowds gathered in celebration as Ho Chi Minh declares the independence of the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Viet Minh flag with single star appears in many places as the flag of the new nation.
Scenes from the U.S. Bicentennial Parade in Washington DC in 1976. Policeman stands with a notepad on the ground. People march with bands, TOOELE written on the back of their shirts. Girls march with flags in their hands. Horse-cart on the ground. People watch the event. Flag on the horse-cart. People pass on the street. Houses in the background. Another horse-cart on the ground. A float decorated with flowers on the street. It carries a car. Policeman speaks on the loudspeaker. Other people in uniform march on the street. A van parked on a field. A man conducts a medical check up in a shack. Flag and dummies on a decorated float.
Film begins showing an army truck filled with indigenous troops driving in a street in Hanoi, Indochina, early in World War 2 (September 1940). Next, French soldiers are seen in defensive positions at a port. Bursting bombs from Japanese attack raise black smoke in the background as civilians run away from the area, and Vietnamese troops rush to defend Hanoi. Views of civilians hunkering down behind trees, under cars, and other means of protection, while plumes of black smoke rise in the near background. More scenes of civilian refugees fleeing. A fire raging in the background. Local troops in defensive positions behind a wall. French armored cars moving along a tree-lined avenue. A police van driving along a road with a Red Cross flag flying above it. A youth lying on a sidewalk. A nurse in white attire, directing men carrying a wounded person on a litter. A makeshift outdoor first aid station. smoke from fires obscuring most of the scene.
Argentine Ambassador Honorio Pueyrredón speaks into four microphones, at the dedication of a memorial to General and independence leader, José de San Martín, located in Judiciary Square, Washington, DC. (It was moved to Triangle Park, at Virginia Avenue and 20th Street, in 1976.) This is a duplicate of the original located at the Plaza San Martin, in Buenos Aires. It is a gift to the United States from Argentina. View of the flag-draped equestrian statue, as it is uncovered displaying the flags of Argentina and the United States and numerous doves flying skywards. View of the memorial base, as an aide climbs steps and presents the Ambassador with an object that he places into an opening in the base. Scene shifts to President Calvin Coolidge, stepping to the podium, surrounded by officials and notables, including First lady Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge. They applaud and then sit as the President begins to speak. Change of scene shows closeup of the President and Mrs. Coolidge standing on a stand decorated with flags and bunting, set up next to a building. Secretary of State, Frank Billings Kellogg, stands to the left of Mrs. Coolidge. Uniformed Argentine soldiers stand at attention in front of the dignitaries. The President shields his eyes from the sun as he observes something to his left.