With the surrender of Germany, World War 2 in Europe ends, on VE (Victory in Europe) Day, May 8, 1945. Scene opens with church bells ringing and view of west front of St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, in London, England. Crowd is celebrating in the square. around the statue of Queen Anne. Amongst the crowd are men and women in uniform. Here and there Union Jack flags are seen, one held by a little girl hoisted upon a man's shoulder. Camera pans across various parts of the celebrating crowds. View from above, of several couples dancing within a circle of people. Several uniformed U.S. Air Force officers in a jeep celebrate with the crowd. High altitude view of Trafalgar Square in London, England. 'Victory over Germany 1945' banner draped on base of Nelson's Column. Crowd of British citizens celebrating on streets of Whitehall and closeup of the Cenotaph with inscription "The Glorious Dead".
From "The Last Bomb": The defeat of Japan through American airpower in World War 2. Mix of actual combat footage and a small amount of vintage, dramatized, pilot in cockpit footage. A single B-29 from the 39th Bomb Group (stationed at North Field Guam) drops clusters of incendiary and fragmentation bombs over Japan. Bombs away view of large number of bombs falling toward Japan. A formation of B-29s from the 498th Bomb Group, Isley Field, Saipan, in flight during a daytime bombing mission over Japan. Explosions and smoke rise from targets in Japan, including two Japanese aircraft plants and an airdrome as part of U.S. tactical plan 574. Color, low aerial view of massive bomb damage over Tokyo following U.S. air attacks of March 1945. Escorting P-51s from Iwo Jima engage defending Japanese fighter aircraft in dogfights. Aerial gun camera footage of Japanese airplanes being hit, exploding, bursting into flames, and falling from sky to crash. Later, P-51s conduct strafing attacks against Japanese ground targets, including: lines of communication; railroads; marshaling yards; factories; airfields; ships; and harbors. Color gun camera footage shows these strafing attacks. P-51s returning to land at Iwo Jima and performing celebratory rolls over the field. Crippled B-29s making emergency landings on Iwo Jima. A B-29 from 500th Bomb Group with an engine shutdown. A B-29 from the 29th Bomb Group. Bad weather over runway at Iwo Jima forces a P-51 pilot to bail out over the field. A B-29 from the 6th Bomb Group ditches in water near beach on Iwo Jima. A B-29 crashes and bursts into flames during landing at Iwo Jima (all crew escapes.) Firefighters douse the flames with foam. Formation of B-29s from 39th Bomb Group returning to Guam after bombing mission over Japan. A B-29 crashing on landing and bursting into flames. Sole surviving crew member being carried on stretcher, as firemen and rescue teams work at scene. Formations of B-29s from 498th Bomb Group and 9th Bomb Group, in flight. Good color view from B-29 of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, which brought about the capitulation of Japan and end of World War 2. Large mushroom cloud rising into the air following atomic bomb explosion at Nagasaki.
Surrender of Japanese Imperial forces leads to end of World War II. V-J Day (Victory over Japan) celebrations in August 1945. Americans celebrate as newspaper headlines announce V-J Day. Close up view of man holding Boston Post with headline "War Is Over." Teeming crowds in New York City's Times Square celebrating the news. Crowd of citizens, soldiers, and sailors in uniform surrounds a newspaper with headline "U.S. Announces Jap Surrender." Happy crowds of people waving, jumping, and smiling in jubilation. People show V signs. U.S. warships underway at sea. U.S. soldiers aboard ship. Japanese troops parading in Japan. Japanese aircraft lined up in flight line ready for take off to defend the Japanese mainland. Japanese amphibian tanks lined up ready for use against a possible allied invasion. Aerial view of actual atomic bomb explosion over Hiroshima as seen from second B-29 aircraft accompanying the Enola Gay on the bombing run on August 6, 1945. Ruins of twisted metal and debris in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and civilians walking among the devastation. Japanese civilians along road. Japanese Generals deplaning and meeting U.S. General MacArthur on an airfield. Troops of 11th Airborne Division land in Japan. Marines reach Japanese shores at Yokosuka Naval Base in Landing crafts. American soldier raises American flag in Japan. American troops aboard Japanese battleship Nagato after Japanese surrender. View of the Nagato (later used as a target ship during Operation Crossroads).
Opening scene shows tents housing more than 1500 Japanese prisoners of war at Kadena, Okinawa during World War 2. The area is surrounded by fencing and, as camera pans, it shows an American soldier overlooking the prison camp as he holds a Browning M1919A6 light machine gun. Another view of the prison compound with warning sign against admittance and another sign reading: "PW inclosure." As narrator refers to "mopping up operations" a jeep carrying more Japanese POWs drives past the signs. Ambulatory Japanese POW entering the prison compound past armed military policeman. View from inside the compound as Japanese POWs enter. A POW being frisked by a U.S. soldier. Closeups of some Japanese prisoners standing behind barbed wire enclosure. American soldier makes notes as he interviews a prisoner. POWs receiving haircuts under a tent in the stockade. Others washing and shaving at an outdoor trough of water. Some seen playing a board game at a tent. POWs in a wrestling contest, surrounded by others watching. Prisoners offloading supplies from a truck and stacking them in their compound. POWs cooking food in large kettles and distributing it to other prisoners. Various views of prisoners in the compound. U.S. medics attending to a wounded POW, administering blood plasma. Numerous Japanese prisoners loosely assembled outdoors. Next, on June 22, 1945, U.S. troops are assembled for a flag raising ceremony. The U.S. flag is raised on a tall flagpole to mark the securing of Okinawa. An unidentified U.S. Army Lieutenant General leads the ceremony, saluting as the colors are raised. (Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., Commander, 10th Army that took Okinawa, was killed 4 days earlier, on June 18, 1945.)
Chinese troops recapturing Liuchow, China. Liuchow, the former U.S. 14th Air Force Base and largest communication center in South Central China, in ruins after the withdrawal of Japanese forces. The burnt buildings on the streets in Liuchow. The ruins of buildings along the sides of the road. Chinese troops walk along the road. The Chinese troops recapture Liuchow on 13th June 1945. The civilians in China cheering and welcoming the soldiers to the town. The Liuchow Air Base, which was not usable since the Japanese forces had dug holes in places. The entire stretch of the airstrip being blocked with gas drums. The center stretch of the airstrip being damaged. An Air Force engineer examines the heavily mined air strip. Men of Chinese 169th Division assemble for the flag raising ceremony on 2nd July 1945. The troops are welcomed by a citizens' committee. The Chinese 169th Division Major General addresses the men. The Chinese flag hoisted. The troops salute the flag. (World War II period).
U.S. troops of the 45th Division, 157th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I Company, entering the area of Dachau concentration camp, in the final days of World War 2. They are seen escorting German prisoners of war, with their hands raised, along a railroad siding. U.S. troops in front of a railroad train of boxcars. A dead German soldier, face down on the ground. The U.S. troops follow the railroad track into area of buildings, and run to take cover due to incoming fire. One fires a browning automatic rifle from an elevated walkway. Other American soldiers hunker down behind the walkway wall. U.S. Army soldier fires rifle while standing on a roadway. Surrendering German soldier, carrying a white flag, is attacked by a concentration camp inmate, as several other liberated inmates and U.S. Army soldiers stand nearby, watching. (Note: Opening cameraman slate states date as 04-27-1945, but historical records indicate this took place on 04-29-1945.)
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