Strong winds fan flames that sweep city of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. Flames rise from a house located within the Sumiyoshi area, Hakodate. Japanese firemen attempt to extinguish fire during the Great Fire of Hakodate. Fireman climbs up a ladder to rescue people. In the aftermath, men and women walk around burned houses and streets. View of homes, offices and stores reduced to a mass of blackened ruins.
USAF General Henry Arnold meets crew of U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Super Fortress at Bolling Field, Washington, DC during World War II. C-47s lined up on the flight line. General Arnold, Lieutenant General Barney Giles and Brigadier General Lauris Norstad walk on the field. Crew members lined up in front of B-29. General Arnold in the foreground. General Norstad introduces the Aircraft Commander, Lt. DO Horsfall of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who salutes and shake hands with General Arnold. Lt. Horsfall introduces members of his crew who step forward, salute and shake General Arnold's hand. General Arnold tells the crew that U.S. bombers from China bases had been unable to reach the Japanese heartland. But B-29s from the Marianas would now be able to strike places like Hokkaido and Kyushu. He dictates a message for Horsfall and crew to write on a bomb. Crew members gather around bombs as the pilot writes the message, reading: 'To the war lords of Japan we have not forgotten. The B-29s will remind you again, again and again!'
A technician sits in front of an oscilloscope and takes readings. Rotating figure appears on scope. Tracks of subatomic particles seen in a cloud chamber. Scientists at an atomic pile. Animated representation of an atom. Image of the earth in rotation. An advanced version of the atomic pile in which Enrico Fermi achieved the first sustained nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago, in 1942. Images of famous scientists, including: Albert Einstein speaking into a microphone; Otto Hahn, of Germany at a microphone; Niels Bohr, of Denmark; Madame Curie; and Hideki Yukawa of Japan. Technicians removing vials of radioisotopes from nuclear reactors. International students studying in classroom and laboratory at a nuclear institute. Elevated famous landmark views and vehicle and bicycle traffic in city of Copenhagen, Denmark. U.S. President,Dwight D. Eisenhower, delivering what became known as his "Atoms for Peace" speech at the United Nations, December 8, 1953, where he proposes formation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). View of the hall and attendees listening. UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjold, taking notes. Attendees applauding President Eisenhower. Scientists from 16 nations arriving and greeting one another at the first International Congress of Nuclear Engineering, held at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) on June 20, 1954, hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Views of the first atomic library established in November, 1954, and translations of its technical papers being readied to be sent to various nations,beginnning with Japan.
April 22, 1954. First open session of Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations in response to charges filed by the U.S. Army on April 13, 1954, concerning improper actions by Senator McCarthy and staff to obtain special treatment for Private G. David Schine, U.S. Army. Seen before start of session are Army Generals Lucius Clay and Alfred Gruenther. Senator Karl Mundt presiding, calls the session to order. Among those seen are Senator Edward Dirksen, second person to the Chairman's right, and Senator Charles E. Potter to Dirksen's right. Senator John L. McClelland sits to Chairman Mundt's left. Senator Joseph McCarthy and his counsel, Roy Cohn, are at the end of the table. At end of clip McCarthy states for the record that "there is no contest between Senator McCarthy and the Department of the Army, and that all that Senator McCarthy has been trying to do is to expose the Communists who have infiltrated the Department of the Army -- a very small percentage."
Opening scene shows U.S. Army airborne troops in severe cold weather gear assembling on a snow covered ramp in front of a hangar at the U.S. Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, in Canada, during a military exercise known as "Wind Chill" in March, 1954. An officer takes charge of them and they march off in loose formations. Closeup of the officer marching alongside the troops. He wears an 11th Airborne Division patch on his left sleeve. A USAF C-47 aircraft is seen in the background. Later a C-124 aircraft is also seen in the background. View of a slate noting the exercise (Wind Chill),date: 17 March, and location: Harmon AFB. Scene shifts to the Harmon Air Force Base headquarters building, where a large half globe map of the Northern hemisphere is displayed with "6602nd Air Base Group" written boldly on its side. View of the Headquarters building with sign reading: "Ernest Harmon HEADQUARTERS Air Force Base."
A dramatized documentary, part of a film about Thanksgiving in America. Superimposed American flag and year 1954 appear briefly over members of a family seated at a table, with hands prayerfully folded, as the father says grace before their Thanksgiving dinner. The youngest member of the family, a boy, remains with hands folded and eyes closed, after the other members finish observing grace. His older brother remarks about this to him, whereupon, a conversation ensues involving all at the table, including a teenage girl and an elderly Aunt or Grandmother. The Father and mother also seem to interject comments as they dish up food and pass the plates to those seated at the table. At one point, the father speaks at some length in a warm, friendly, but authoritative manner to all assembled. Next, the family is seen in church. Suddenly, a vision of Benjamin Franklin is seen, in 18th Century garb, sitting alone in the church. He delivers some words of wisdom and then slowly rises from his pew and departs the church, at which point, the scene reverts back to the family in the church. They finish praying with the rest of the congregation, as the service ends.