U.S. Coast Guard cutters at sea. U.S. Coast Guard sailors on cutters in heavy seas. A sailor looks through binoculars from the observation deck. Another sailor looks through binoculars, keeps a watch, and informs the crew of a submarine sighting. The cutters attack and drop shells into the water. Massive underwater explosions. The crew mans and fires the deck gun. A pilot readies his plane. Oil from a leaking submarine floats on the water surface. Cutters at sea. A Coast Guard sailor and a SPARS (Coast Guard Women's Reserve) walk along the New York harbor. The Statue of Liberty in the background. The New York skyline as SPARS march. Voice narration in part by James Cagney and Ginger Rogers.
A woman runs towards a U.S. Coast Guard Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplane on the shore. She hands over a paper to the pilot in the cockpit. Crew prepare and push the plane towards the ramp, and then slide the plane off the ramp into the water. The woman stands back and watches as the plane taxis in the water and takes off. A light house off shore. Narration by James Cagney.
A group of British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots wearing flight jackets gather. One of the pilots dances while another smokes a cigarette. RAF personnel look into the sky. A Gloster Meteor jet in flight over field. A Hawker P.1081 flies over air field and then into the sky. Hawker P.1081 banks right while flying over clouds.
A ruined and abandoned factory in a small village in Italy after World War II. A dead tree is seen in the foreground. Wind blows a tattered newspaper in front of the factory’s wire fence. The tattered newspaper is blown as far as the town center. A baker stands in front of a bakery or paneficio. A man leads a horse cart in front of the Italian bakery. Railroad track overgrown with weeds. Sign in abandoned glove factory gate reads “Proibito Entrare” (“Entrance forbidden”). Cobwebs and cogwheels inside an unused machine. A lathe, fabric rolling machine, and various machines are seen in abandoned factory. A dilapidated cashier’s booth with sign “CASSA” (“CASHIER”). Destroyed building of abandoned factory and an intact smokestack next to railroad tanker cars. A nearly abandoned Italian village street. A woman sits outside a shop. An Italian boy and his dog stand beside a booth of an abandoned carousel in deserted town square. A woman walks with a copper jug. Two women, one of them knitting, beside a stall. Other women are seen knitting. A boy plays with toy boat in a town fountain.
Two men in a row boat in Italy harbor. Italian passenger/cargo ship SS Taurinia (ex Vilarosa) docks in harbor. Sailor mooring the SS Taurinia. Italian ship captain gives orders. A tattered Italian Navy flag behind the captain. Ship workers uncover ship's hold. Sailors working on deck. A mustached Italian sailor operates a crane unloading bales of cotton and other goods. An Italian sailor smiles. Marshall Plan shipment from the United States is unloaded from SS Taurinia post World War II.
Two men load a box bearing an ERP (European Recovery Program) sticker into a railroad car in Italy post World War II. Ship workers unload United States Marshall Plan shipment from Italian ship SS Taurinia (ex Vilarosa). An Italian crane operator with close view of crane engine as bales of cotton emerge from ship's hold. Train pulled by FS Class 835 Italian State Railway steam locomotive leaves harbor as people watch from the platform. Locomotive train move across the Italian countryside. A pair of guards open a glove factory gate. Sign in abandoned glove factory gate reads “Proibito Entrare” (“Entrance forbidden”). View of a WALLY padlock. Train with Marshall Plan ERP label enters the factory. Italian factory workers return to work. Factory workers sweeping near machines.