Nighttime views from deck of Destroyer, USS John R. Pierce (DD-753) as it recovers the space capsule, Aurora 7, which carried Scott Carpenter on the second U.S. orbital mission. View of capsule being supported by floatation collar in water where it splashed down, 200 km from Puerto Rico, . Flood lights shine on the capsule. Crew of sailors hoist the Aurora 7 capsule on board the USS John R Pierce, and secure it to the deck.. The ship's Captain, Commander Adrian Lorentson, and Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Dwight Osborn, are seen on deck.
United States Navy SH- 3A helicopters, in flight above ocean, 200 km from Puerto Rico. USN SH-3A lands on aircraft carrier USS Intrepid's deck. Astronaut Scott Carpenter gets down from helicopter, which picked him up from the floating Aurora 7 space capsule following the Mercury-Atlas 7 orbital mission.
Clip opens with rapid changing scenes: American troops in trench in Korea during the Korean War. American tank on street in Germany. American Ski troops in Alaska. Amphibian assault training in Puerto Rico. Rotating Globe shows: U.S. Army on alert to defend against aggression. Sergeant Stuart introduces episdoe and states that U.S. Army has come to Japan to know their culture and make friends after war and occupation. U.S. Army troops of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, are seen arriving by railroad train at a train stateion near their base near Beppu,Oita on the island of Kyushu, Japan. U.S. Army soldiers, including white and African American soldiers, exit train cars. They receive a warm welcome from Japanese population. Banner reads:" Welcome Pala Troop comin back from Korea, City of Beppu."[sic] Women holding flowers and families with small children waving American and Japanese flags, welcome them on the train station. A sign over the train station platform reads: "Welcome 187 Para Troop Coming Back From Korea, City of Beppu." The troops stand in formation on the platform while the unit's officers receive the flowers from the women. Japanese men in fraternal uniforms and the general population all join in the welcoming ceremonies. The troops march off the train station under another sign reading: Welcome Home 187 RCT." and march down the main street of Beppu under a swirl of paper confetti. Next scenes are from autumn of 1945, as U.S. soldiers march through streets of Japan during occupation following the end of World War 2. U.S. troops seen marching behind Japanese police to occupy Japan, in 1945, amidst the aftermath of suffering and destruction of the war. The local population standing at road sides and watching with worry and concern. Scenes of postwar destruction in Japan. Rubble of bombed buildings. Scene of simple wooden dwelling shacks and wreckage nearby. A Japanese boy with his baby brother on his back. The baby is crying. Next scene moves again to circa 1950 in streets of a Japanese city, possibly Tokyo, rebuilt and with busy scenes of traffic on streets and commerce. Large outdoor rally with a Communist speaker addressing large crowd of Japanese people who sit and listen. Scenes from a what the narrator describes as a Communist rally in Japan, against America, which turns violent. Protestors running in streets during demonstration, with signboards and police and fire fighters extinguish flames at scene of an overturned, burning car. Flashback again to 1945 or 1946 as U.S. Army soldiers use tractors and heavy equipment to clear and level an area of war rubble and debris during rebuilding efforts after World War 2. Japanese citizens look on, watching the machines at work.
Memorial statue in Central Park, New York, to the 7th U.S. Army Regiment of World War I (World War 1, WWI, First World War). American infantrymen run with rifles from C-47 transport planes. U.S. soldiers in battlefield in Europe, and parading in tanks and marching,along the Champs Elysee,in Paris, France, with the Arc de Triomphe behind them. Soldiers march with flags. People watch. Korean War era U.S. soldiers march with rifles. West Point cadets march in New York City. Houses and buildings along the sides of the street. U.S. Army soldiers in various modes of operation: riflemen, artillerymen, paratroopers,ski troops, and Army engineers building bridges. One scene shows a woman soldier working as a mechanic. Soldiers training on an obstacle course, traversing a polar region with dog sleds. A gun emplacement in Hawaii and U.S.troops parading in the Philippines. A ship traversing the Panama Canal. View of U.S. Army tent Camp in Puerto Rico. A U.S. soldier sentry standing guard beside the ocean, in summer, in Iceland. An American soldier poses on a hill in New Jersey, silhouetted against backdrop of the Manhattan skyline with tall skyscrapers of New York City seen behind him. Sergeant James Mansfield talks about Colonel William Wilson Quinn. Colonel William Wilson Quinn on the show discusses the blue badge of the combat infantryman. The badge framed on a wall. He says that the badge has a blue background which is the color of the infantry. Copy of a rifle on the badge is surrounded by a circle with a star.
Saboteur Captain Ettore Giugni and the crew of Italian tanker ship Colorado arrives at New York Harbor by ship. People gather to see the convicted Italian crew, after the ship's lengthy detainment in Puerto Rico, had been found guilty of intentionally damaging the ships' main engine, auxiliaries, and boilers to prevent its possibly use by American forces in World War 2. All were to be taken to prison camp in Montana. The crew are seen on a bus of the Flying Eagle bus lines.
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.