Film opens with views of goosestepping German, Italian, and Japanese soldiers during parade reviews in their respective countries. Emperor Hirohito, on a white horse. American battleships burning in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur decorating a soldier in Manila, Philippines. Air raid sirens sounding in Manila and residents hurrying to take cover. Heavy black smoke rising from a bombed site and emergency vehicles responding and rushing to several bombed and burning locations. A burning rickshaw amidst other bombing rubble and bodies of victims. U.S. Army General MacArthur greeted by Australian officials at his headquarters in Brisbane, Australia. Sign reads: Headquarters UNITED STATES ARMY FORCES in Australia. American flag flying on tall flagpole. View from ship underway in supply convoy. A battleship seen on horizon and a destroyer passing the camera ship. U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the "Lend Lease Act" of 1941. A U.S. industrial plant with four tall stacks emitting smoke. A steam locomotive belching steam. A locomotive pulling an open car and some tank cars. New 1941 Plymouth automobiles coming off a production line. A new M3 Medium Tank in a U.S. factory. View of Liberty Ships, including the "Zebulon Pike" and the "Henry Knox" under construction at the California Shipbuilding Corporation yard, Terminal Island, California. U.S. Navy Destroyers constructed at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey. One is being launched, next to DD-446 (the USS Radford). A formation of U.S. Navy aircraft including Curtiss SBC Helldiver scout bombers and Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers. A tight formation of U.S. Army Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bombers in flight. A formation of U.S. Army Curtiss P-36 Hawk aircraft in flight. Closeup of a U.S. Army Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft in flight. Several huge gun barrels for guns under construction at a U.S. war plant. Large artillery shells lined up in a manufacturing plant. U.S. Army M3 Medium tanks under construction at a factory. Steam and smoke rising from a U.S. industrial plant. Aerial view of open pit iron mine. Sparks shooting up inside a steel plant. A virtual "forest" of oil well derricks in the Western U.S. drilling for oil. Coal being transported by railway. View from stern of a warship in a convoy. An Atlanta-class light cruiser leading three destroyers at sea. Transport ships in convoys to places like Australia, Britain, and the Middle East. Troops on a pier near a large transport ship. A stack of wartime supplies on a pier next to a ship destined for Russia. Glimpse of wake from a U.S. warship having triple guns astern. Silhouette of a U.S. Navy Enterprise-class Aircraft carrier, with an aircraft taking off from her deck. The aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga. U.S. Army soldiers marching on parade, followed by numerous jeeps with machine guns mounted in their rears. Young men being drafted into the U.S. military. A draft lottery being conducted. New recruits doing calisthenics. Trucks pulling artillery pieces. B-18 Bolo bombers flying over U.S. tanks. Closeup of M3 tank. Cavalry fording a stream. Soldiers on motorcycles. Troops crossing a pontoon bridge. A loaded troop ship. A troop transport at Newfoundland. Sentry in Trinidad. Troops encamped in Bermuda. Troop transport ship docked in Greenland. Troops disembarking in Iceland. Formations of Curtis P-36 Hawk aircraft. Douglas DC-2 aircraft factory. P-36s with engines running. M3 tank suspended on factory crane. Exterior of Palácio Tiradentes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 15, 1942. U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles ascending the steps during Rio Conference of 1942. Officials of Pan American nations meeting there to declare their support for the Allies against the Axis nations. Sumner Welles speaking and declaring, "At this time the issue is clearly drawn. There can be no peace until hitlerism and its monstrous parasites are utterly obliterated." Scenes changes to montage of views of Allied troops including Dutch, Belgian, Yugoslav, Greek, Czech, Filipino, Polish, Norwegian, Free French, Australian, New Zealand, South African and Canadian soldiers. British warships. British Hawker Tempest aircraft. British commandos. Russian troops on parade. Chinese troops on the Great Wall of China.
The last portion of Emma Lazarus’sonnet,"The New Colossus," is shown as engraved on a tablet inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Illustrations of immigrants arriving and felling trees to build dwellings in America. Reenactments of early English, Scottish, and Dutch settlers building houses and working at crafts in New England. Italian sulphur mine workers in Louisiana. Immigrants, from France and Switzerland, planting vineyards in California and New York State. Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes, sowing seed and cultivating crops in the Midwest. Polish and Welsh immigrants in American coal mines. African Americans harvesting cotton on farm fields in the United States south, including a woman picking cotton with her baby riding on her long collecting bag. A Spaniard on horseback in the Southwest. Mexicans working in Texas oil fields and on ranches of New Mexico. Greek and Portuguese fishermen with huge catches of fish. A German technician working with fine instruments. Hungarian and Russian immigrants working in steel mills. Irish, Slavs, and Chinese, building railroads. Closeup of lumberjack's axes and saws cutting trees. A forge and a blacksmith shoeing a horse with horseshoes. A woman at work with a spinning wheel. Railroad ties and rails being placed. An antique railroad workman's locomotive and car. Men installing telegraph wire on rough poles. A early historic railroad 0-4-0 steam locomotive (appears to be one of the few replicas of "The Atlantic" which had been built in the 1830s) pulling a single small passenger train car. Cowboys on horseback rounding up steers. Herds of cattle,sheep, and pigs, bound to market. Farmers tilling soil with horse-drawn cultivators, preparing tobacco leaves for drying, and loading cotton bales. Machines spinning thread in a textile mill or factory. Fabric weaving machines at work. An early steam boat underway in a river. Early model automobile driving on dirt road. Wright Brothers' Wright Flyer airplane in flight with several persons on board. Early tractors and harvester machinery working on a farm. Glimpses of American industrial plants and transportation in rapid succession (some of it showing building of Hoover Dam and building of the Chrysler Building in New York City). Oil well drilling and a "gusher" oil well spouting oil upward. Steel mills, locomotive trains, and then a scientist in a laboratory working with beakers and a solution. Dynamite charges blasting away sides of mountains and gorges, and scenes of dam construction and dams opening to allow water gushing. Large electrical control levers being thrown to run electricity, and scenes of electric transmission towers and facilities. Natural gas storage areas. Golden Gate bridge under construction and high rise skyscraper buildings being constructed, including the Chrysler Building circa 1930 while still under construction in New York City. Aerial view of New York City. Camera panning over the gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery.
Rail guns firing in World War 1. U.S. troops charging out of trenches. Allied gunners firing "French 75s" Allied twin-tailed biplane bombers. French Renault F17 tanks. Crowds in cities celebrate Armistice Day and end of World War I. Treaty of Versailles. Destruction of warships. Scenes of Paris. A pagoda in Japan. Temples in Siam, China, and Manchuria. Two Kayan women in Myanmar or Thailand perform a dance. Both Kayan women wear long brass coil neck rings. In the U.S., a boy hits a baseball and runs toward first base. Scenes of Japan invading Manchuria. Newspaper with headline: Henry Stimson denouncing Japan. U.S. Army troops dispel World War I veteran bonus marchers. Men lined up in bread line for unemployed during Great Depression. Brief shot of Gangsters in gun battle in an American city. Scenes of dust bowl in American with farmers and families heading West in caravans. Family standing by tent. Torchlight parade in Germany. Adolf Hitler standing with German President Hindenburg circa 1933. Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Victor Lutze, at 1934 Nazi Rally in Nuremberg. Italian Caproni bombers over Ethiopia. Ethiopian tribesmen and Haile Selassie. U.S.Neutrality Act. American youths with a 1930 Ford coupe. Scenes from Civil war in Spain. Spanish Rebel forces in ground combat with Nationalist forces. German and Italian aircraft participate in bombing Spanish Nationalist targets in Spanish Civil War. Spanish civilians flee bombing, tend to wounded and dead victims following bombings. Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero bombers. Crowds running for shelter. Women and children victims of bombing, some crying and in shock. Spanish General Francisco Franco arrives by train in southern France to meet with Hitler. View of Gallup Poll forms, and findings, with Americans against entering European war and preferring neutrality. Japanese planes and warships attack China. Naval Chinese civilians run for cover; bodies of Chinese in trucks. Japanese freighters, Buenos Aires and Tatsuno Maru, in U.S. ports being loaded with scrap iron and metals. Hitler, Goering and other officers in 1938. Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini, Count Ciano sign Munich Agreement. Hitler riding standing up in an open car during a rally in Germany. Elevated view of Los Angeles, then view of traffic on streets of Los Angeles California and newspapers being sold to pedestrians. View of faces of American citizens in a movie theater watching Confessions of a Nazi Spy. German-American Bund activities including outdoor rallies in the U.S. (Camp Siegfried in Yaphank, Long Island, New York, in 1937), and an indoor rally in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 1939. Emperor Hirohito reviewing World War 2 troops of Japan. Japanese steel production and arms production in Japanese factories. The Hokoku Maru Japanese ship being launched with fanfare from Tama Shipyards on July 5, 1939. Meeting of United States Military Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives in late 1939 to consider national defense matters. In meeting of Naval Affairs Committee, representative asks for increase of 25 percent in authorized naval tonnage.
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt at Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC for the Navy Day Dinner. President delivers his address. People seated at tables. The President on the podium. Cameramen recording the event. The President talks about the state of emergency, U.S. Naval contribution to the country's defense. He mentions Hitler's attack on U.S. destroyers, killing of American soldiers, and Hitler's purpose. He discusses Hitler's plan to invade and divide South America. He voices his decision to stop Hitler and his people. He talks about America's defense and the Navy's contribution to the same. The crowd applauds. The President leaves the podium. Note: The President prefaces his remarks by acknowledging the presence of General William Donovan, who shares the stage with him. Donovan headed the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI), later renamed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). (World War II period).
World War 2 invasion of Normandy, France. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marshal Joseph Stalin, and Prime Minister Churchill, meeting at Tehran, Iran, in December 1943. U.S. Generals George Marshall and Hap Arnold, at conference table. Closeup of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Map showing defense areas of the German 7th, 15th and 19th Armies in Europe. Map showing ports at Brest, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Dieppe, and Calais. Cherbourg is highlighted. U.S. Army trucks, tanks, and artillery, stockpiled in England. Railroad train carrying M3 Stuart tanks. U.S soldiers leaving troop ships and marching to their camps in Britain. Allied troops practicing amphibious assaults on Southern coast of England. Formation of B-26 bombers. View from Allied aircraft flying low over German-occupied area. B-17 aircraft dropping bombs over Germany. Bombs away view seen as bombs drop toward enemy targets. German fighter planes attacking B-17 bombers beginning in February 1944. Gunner in turret of B-17 firing at them. Dogfight views with German fighter aircraft. A B-17 exploding in the air. German fighter downed by B-17 gunner. Gun camera footage of German Bf 109 attacked from rear by gunfire. Just as it is hit it releases its drop tank. American soldiers in trucks, DUKWs, M4 tanks, and M8 armored Cars. Troops receive gas masks, waist life belts, field rations, and French money. May 30, 1944, American soldiers board tanks, trucks and other vehicles bound for embarkation points in England. Seen are Stuart M3 light tanks, jeeps, and M7 Priest tanks. M7 tanks are seen, equipped with intake and exhaust ducts. (At TC:11:39, U.S. M7 Priest tanks, equipped for deep wading, are seen passing the base of the Jubilee clock on the beachfront at Weymouth, on their way toward Castle Town in Portland for embarkation.) Transport ships are loaded at the embarkation ports. Trucks being backed onto LCT-453. U.S. Army infantry marching and boarding transport ships. Troops marching into LST 376 at Plymouth, England. Higgins Boats, from the USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) bringing troops to board her. Troops on deck of Attack transport, USS Joseph T. Dickman (APA-13). Barrage balloons overhead. Soldiers shooting craps on a troop ship deck. Coastguardsmen playing with a puppy dog. Gun crews on U.S. Navy warship being briefed. Soldiers field-strip and check their weapons.
Crash of Gee Bee Z Super Sportster airplane at the Wayne County airport in Detroit, Michigan, on Dec. 5th 1931, during attempt to break the world landplane speed record. Ground crew and one of the Granville brothers, who built the airplane, roll the Gee Bee out of a hangar. The aircraft displays tail number NR 77Y and has large numeral 4 painted on fuselage. City of Springfield is painted on front of the airplane. Pilot, Lowell Bayles, climbs into the cockpit and starts the engine. Crew chief places canopy over the pilot's cockpit. The aircraft takes off with modest rate of climb and makes slow banking turn to the left. Camera next shows the Gee Bee descending rapidly as Bayles dives the race plane at high speed into the officially timed sea level course. Camera captures view of wing breaking off and aircraft rolling and crashing in flames. Witnesses rush to the crash site and emergency equipment responds. Views of smoldering wreckage. (According to some sources, the accident began when the gas cap loosened in the slipstream and blew through the pilots canopy hitting pilot Bayles in the face, either stunning or killing him.) His reaction on the controls pitches the plane up sharply causing a catastrophic structural failure of the right wing. The plane then snap rolled into the ground and explodes into a blaze alongside railroad tracks bordering the airport. Bayles' body was thrown 300 ft. as the huge radial engine broke loose and was hurled hundreds more feet. (Recent experiments with a reproduction of the aircraft also indicate that wing flutter would develop at speeds above 240 mph on the Gee Bee Z Super Sportster.) Part of the building shown at 1:52 still exists today in the far northeast corner of the airport near all the rental car companies. The railroad tracks still exist as well. The plane appears to start to break apart over what is now the intersection of Middlebelt & Wick Roads (1/4 mile south of I-94) in Romulus, MI.