The Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, California. View of the Golden Gate Bridge. Aerial view of the San Francisco Bay. Traffic on the bridge.
Soldiers go through the assault course with gas masks, under fire, at the U.S. Army Ranger Combat Training School in Fort Shafter, Hawaii, during World War 2. Opening scene shows several trainees in gas masks carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, advancing through rough terrain in which tear gas fumes are seen. Closeup of one soldier, wearing steel helmet and mask, but otherwise stripped to the waist, as he bayonets a stuffed dummy target on the course. He uses his bayonet on another dummy that drops down on him as he scrambles out of a tunnel. Views of other soldiers passing through the same portion of the training course. As they leave the tunnel, they encounter more gas that billows across their path. Change of scene shows the soldiers climbing over obstacles placed in their path. Closeups of some trainees scrambling over obstacles. Some soldiers are seen crawling as camera pans to sniper firing from a palm tree. Next, they must traverse another obstacle and engage two more dummies with their bayonets, next to barbed wire fence. As they pass a steep hill, an explosion occurs raising smoke and causing rocks and dirt to fall down towards them. Next, they must make their way along a ravine lined with barbed wire. One fires his rifle. Closeups of several trainees climbing out of a water filled ravine and crossing a stream on makeshift footholds. Soldiers must run on a log to cross a creek, as explosive charges explode around them. They emerge from a tunnel and charge up a steep dirt hill to encounter another dummy to bayonet. Film ends displaying a sign that exhorts soldiers to embrace killing and reminding them survival requires that they KILL or be KILLED. It is signed by Lieutenant General Lesley James McNair, Chief of the Army Ground Forces. It ends: "WE are not going to be killed!"
Volcanic eruption in Hawaii. Mauna Loa erupts. The lava flows down the slopes. Aerial view of the lava flowing along slopes.
Film begins showing view from a motor vehicle (unseen) as it drives toward a gateway lightly covered by snow, in places. A car and a motorcycle with sidecar pass in the opposite direction. The camera vehicle continues through the gateway , past an an ancient structure and courtyard leading to a tunnel that opens onto a street in the city of Bitburg, Germany. Several parked cars are seen along with several pedestrians. Classic old houses line the street, with narrow sidewalks between them and the roadway. A team of horses slowly pulls a covered wagon along an otherwise deserted section of the street. A few pedestrians walk along the sidewalks. A tall structure, topped by a decorative tower, looms in the background. Scene changes to a U.S. soldier standing next to a TM-61 Matador tactical missile on a launch rail. View from vehicle driving past former German Luftwaffe (Air Force) Headquarters, now the U.S. 12th Air Force headquarters. It comprises several numbered entrances bunkered deep into the side of a hillside. An Air Force truck is parked outside of entrance number 3, and several U.S. Air Force airmen are also seen. One walks into the entrance, showing his identification to an Air Policeman at the door. Inside the complex, several U.S. Air Force officers discuss deployment of guided missiles in West Germany as part of West German defenses. One refers to a wall map as they converse. Lt. General William H. Tunner, Jr. speaks about the Tactical Missile Squadrons (Matador Squadrons) based in West Germany to counter aggression.
Women's diving finalists are seen performing platform dives at AAU meet in Houston,Texas, on August 16,1957. Paula Jean ("PJ") Myers wins the gold medal. (Narrator notes she won the gold medals in every AAU meet held in 1957). Myers is seen putting on her sweatshirt after a dive. Scene shifts to Florida, where several expert Water skiers,including an Italian woman, display tricks during World Water Skiing Championship tournament at Cypress Gardens, Florida, on September 17, 1957. Winner of the Tournament's trick skiing event, Mike Amsbury, of California, is seen performing in the final sequence.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Soong Mei-ling), wife of Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing (Chungking), China. Madame climbs down a ladder and is helped by two officers. People greet her at Chongqing Airport. Madame walks towards a car parked at the airport. Madame Chiang escorted by Chinese officers. She enters a building. Other Chinese dignitaries enter the building. C-54 Skymaster at the airport. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek walks towards the building. Chinese officers stand near a car. Madame and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, walks followed by Chinese officers. The General and wife getting into the car. The car leaves.
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