 The latest weapons, coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier, stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country. You, the American people, against aggression. This is the Big Picture, an official television report to the nation from the United States Army. Now to show you part of the Big Picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Queen. Quite a few members of the Army who go overseas are permitted to take their families along with them. Furthermore, the Army sees Stuart that the children in these families are provided with an adequate American type of education. Our first report will show you the kind of educational opportunities now being offered to children of American servicemen stationed in Germany. This is a future playground for a new school in Germany, a school that is being constructed for the children of Army, military and civilian personnel stationed in this area. Recently in Germany, the housing situation has eased and more servicemen have been allowed to bring their families overseas. As Americans, we consider it vitally important to have troops here, but the military urgency has not kept us from remembering the importance of a good education and providing good facilities for it. The Army is in charge of this program of education. Under its direct supervision, through the office of the Adjutant General, school sites are selected, schools are built, and the program of education is administered. Well qualified teachers and principals are recruited from the United States. In effect, the Army plays the role of Board of Education. It helps the teaching staff to do its job by working with it on many problems. Not only how the three Rs can be taught most effectively, but other practical problems like how youngsters living at some distance from the school can be given regular bus transportation. Usually one school must serve for a large area, and so each morning the bus covers at least as much ground as a country school bus in the States. Sometimes a group of youngsters may have as long as an hour's ride to school. But the scenery is attractive, and of course the bus is a good place for chatter before the teacher takes over, so the time passes almost too quickly. Here in Kaiserslauern, Germany is a new American school for children of elementary and high school age. Once at the school, the children would hardly know that they are on foreign soil. The teachers, the classrooms, and the activities are greatly similar to those found in any town or city back home. But back home means very little to some of these kids who may never have seen the inside of a school in the States, because their fathers have had continuous work to do for Uncle Sam in foreign lands. Although most subjects are the familiar ones, there is one here that is a bit unusual, especially for children at the elementary school level. A foreign language, and naturally German. It is not difficult for children to pick up a second language rather quickly, and here under expert guidance, they do. Back in the States, these kids are going to seem awfully bright when they go to high school if they decide to elect German as their foreign language. Everything is up to date in this new elementary school, and although the kids like it, they like to be outside it just as much as possible. It's time for the playground now. And so, wearing sport-togs of infinite variety, the boys go to their side and the girls go to their side. And after a little while, they're all playing together. These girls do pretty well on the overhead bars, and the boys, well, they take to the air, perhaps to prove that there are some stunts that girls can't do. High school, as you might expect, has a much more serious aspect. Here, students preparing for college can be assured of receiving full credit for their work overseas. This mock-up of the human body used in a biology class is typical of the desire of the Army to utilize all available resources to make instruction vital and effective. After working under the close supervision of the instructor, the science student is expected to develop methods of observation and study, which will help him to proceed ahead on his own. Laboratory exercises are a fundamental part of the science curriculum. Chemistry, like biology, is approached with the intention of developing an understanding of the method of the scientist. The scientist tries an experiment. He sees whether what he has in mind is really true. He or she submits the theory to a practical test. Like the laboratory, the library is a place to track down knowledge, and many an assignment can only be fulfilled by going there and looking it up. Of course, the library is always open to those who want to go there for the pleasure of finding themselves a really interesting book. Classes must be set up each term to fit the changing needs of the always changing student body. There may be a class in typing one term, but not the next. Teachers are usually required to have experience in teaching in more than one subject, and sometimes in more than one field. Although the student body changes, there's always one like this. In the home economics field, a girl learns not only basic sewing, but keeps up with changing American fashions. Some of these young ladies studying here in Germany have already seen quite a bit of the world, but are rather anxious to know just as much about being well-dressed as the girl's back home. Not only what to wear, but how to create it. The balance between practical and theoretical subjects is very much the same in these overseas schools as in the States. To a young lady, learning how to look one's best is easily one of the most interesting subjects in school, and so important as preparation for the future. Here's another phase of the future that hasn't been neglected. These home economics students use dolls as subjects while learning how to care for infants. Each student has a chance to try her knowledge. Someday, the facility and ease these girls are learning, will do much to keep a new child healthy and happy. Students at this high school have an excellent opportunity to study a child's later growth and development. Many of the girls take charge of youngsters from the elementary school. In this way, they not only learn the ways of the small fry, but at the same time aid the school program by giving the younger children a full share of attention and encouragement. In many ways, life in these dependent schools overseas has a tendency to develop community spirit, with everyone lending a helping hand and everyone a little happier because of it. A lively phase of the school program is the work being done in the art room, where many students find a means of self-expression, which is apt to stay with them for the rest of their lives. Music too offers long-lasting enjoyment. There's keen interest in this group, for example, just look at the expression on those ankles. Musical enthusiasm is understandable here in the land of Bach, Brahms and Beethoven. The high school has a physical education department. One of its objectives, the development of good health for all students, is carried out in some measure through group games, such as volleyball. Volleyball is a natural for these girls, whose fathers in the army usually play the game and are encouraged to play it, not only for exercise, but to develop the sense of teamwork and cooperation. Football, the game between two American high schools, is scheduled for Saturday at 1.45. Overseas, the high school game is big league stuff. The routers are devoted and the refreshments are all American. Team captains toss up. The Nernberg Eagles win and decide to kick off. There's a good cheering section at work here, and if you just happened to be passing through this part of Germany on this particular day, you'd be willing to bet that this was Saturday afternoon in a typical American town. For the players and the students, it's an afternoon full of team spirit and the determination to win. Fight goes on right down to the one-yard line. There's plenty of inter-high school competition here in Germany, but under army supervision, all athletic events are carried out with the objective of reaching the American attitude of fair play. More important than winning or losing is the respect you hold for your opponent. When the races won, the winners take their places in true Olympic style. It's a great feeling to be up there on the stand. Recreational facilities of many kinds are available to the students. Teenage activities after school are again just what you might find back home. A few of the boys and girls sing the good old songs, mostly there's keen interest in the latest hits from the states, with Crosby and Sinatra holding their own against the newcomers. Sooner or later, the mambo may be the big dance here, but right now the youngsters are sticking to the good old-fashioned jitterbug. From the standpoint of education and just plain fun, sightseeing is the big plus for the American student who goes to a dependent school overseas. On the streets and in museums, there's an altogether different world on display. A world many centuries older than ours in America. Yes, outside the walls of the regular high school is a classroom of another kind, rich in history and the arts, with a bit of geography thrown in for good measure, a living, exciting laboratory available all the time. After inspecting the statue of the Greek goddess Pallas Athene, a group of sightseers continue along the Carl Theodore Bridge in the ancient city of Heidelberg. Throughout Germany, one sees layer upon layer of history, a series of rulers and ways of life, back through kings and princes to the days of the Romans and the Teutonic tribes. When you become just a little tired of sightseeing, there's always the movies, not only for resting the feet, but in this case for refreshing the mind on things American. What about it? Shall we see bomb winde wear it, gone with the wind for the umpteenth time? It's got gable and it won't be exactly the same, because this time the ladies and gentlemen of the Confederacy will be speaking in German, which these students will understand. As in the States, fathers and mothers play an active role in guiding student affairs by participating in the Parent Teachers Association. There's a large turnout for every meeting. The PTA has found that by sponsoring a German American Teenagers Club, much can be done to foster mutual understanding of the interests between German and American youngsters. Not all of these meetings are intended to be serious, but when there is something to discuss, parliamentary procedure guarantees all members the right to speak their mind. Conversations are, of course, in German. These get-togethers are valuable practice in international understanding. Finally, a day arrives that formally culminates the four years of high school study for these young men and women. Graduation provides a feeling of accomplishment. High school has been a task. It has not always been pleasant, but now it is over. There is a feeling of sadness, too. There will be a break in long and rich associations with teachers and fellow students. But what is unusual in this graduation is that something of great significance has been woven into the lives of these young men and women, a wider experience with people and events, a greater perceptiveness of the world about them. As they grow older, they will value more and more the experience of going to school in a foreign country. In winning their diplomas from an American school abroad, these graduates are personally most fortunate. But their country, too, is fortunate because with their families, they have proven themselves outstanding as representatives of America abroad. Heidelberg, with its renowned university, a seat of learning attended by students from all over the world. Perhaps this graduate will continue on here, or perhaps he will return to study in America. Whatever his course, he has already gained valuable understanding and background in an American school abroad. The Army is making possible an American education in a foreign land with all its advantages. For the children of American servicemen. The mother of an American serviceman inspired our next subject by writing this letter after she had visited her son at Fort Bragg. It is an exceptional letter, picked from a great many written by civilians to military commanders. We think it expresses very well, very simply, and honestly, a mother's feelings. We have asked the mother who wrote it that she would allow us to quote her words on the big picture. She has kindly given us this permission. And so, here is her letter, addressed to the commanding general at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I have just returned home from a three-day visit to Fort Bragg. And I hope you'll not mind my writing you, to express what I imagine many mothers must feel after spending some time in an atmosphere that is altogether strange and foreign to us. From the very first, when I drove into the fort, the visit taught me a great deal that I did not know. It had always been my impression that an army post was a cold, desolate and unfriendly place. And this is what I suppose I expected at Fort Bragg. But instead I found it to be a beautiful place. And an experience I wish more civilians might have. It had been quite a long drive for me, and frankly, on arrival, I felt tired and lonely and wondered whether I should have made the trip. But almost immediately, the hostess at the guest house where I stayed made me feel very much at home. She extended every courtesy. And when I was shown to my room, I was altogether grateful that it was immaculate and most comfortable. After I'd been settled, I set out to observe some of the training activities in which my son was involved. My son is a paratrooper. He chose to be one, knowing it would not be easy. Here at Bragg, it is far from home. The work is hard and the tension is great. But there's been a great change in my son. It seems just yesterday that he was a very small boy. Still remembering some of his small boy fears, I find it difficult to grasp, but very wonderful. He has suddenly been made a man. I watched him jump from a training tower and dangle like a marionette on a string, like some toy he might have played with, only what seems to me like a few years ago. I think all of us mothers would like to say thank you for these men at Bragg. We have sent you boys, and already you have made them men. Of course I was there to see my son, but I saw thousands there exactly like him. Men aware that they were not alone in the job they had to do. Men working together to gain the strength and the know-how for doing whatever the job might demand. I got a feeling of an esprit that is incomprehensible to a woman, and that leaves her very humble and proud that her son is a man. Like every mother and wife in the world, I hate and dread and fear war with all my heart. But when my son entered the army and later came here to Fort Bragg, all of it was with my full blessing. I had brought him up to believe in a way of life, not only freedom and democracy, but memories of things at our home and in our town, and above all the difference between right and wrong. I tried to give him something that he would love enough to preserve it, for himself and others, against whatever danger might threaten, from whatever water. And now, in these times, the danger to our country seems very clear. To hope for peace means nothing, if we do not have men who have the courage and the strength to fight for it. I was glad that my son was here in training, becoming strong for his own sake, and for the sake of America. I watched the lowering of the flag, a ceremony both simple and moving. I had one more day to spend here. I was looking forward to it. On the last day, my son was scheduled to make a jump from a plane. An M.V. gave me very explicit directions on how to get to a good vantage point for watching the jump. Incidentally, may I say that throughout my visit, every soldier to whom I spoke was courteous and helpful and cheerful. I'm pleased to tell you of this, because I know that sometimes our servicemen are criticized harshly on these matters, and I, for one, would like to report how favorably I was impressed. I was impressed with the size of Fort Bragg. I learned that an army post is much more than a cluster of barracks and administration buildings. I drove from miles and miles past one craning area after another. I suppose there are some mothers who would not want to see their sons jump from a plane. I think I am one of those. I'm afraid. And yet, I would not miss the experience. I tried to think of him in the plane, preparing for the jump. I knew, he had told me, that very few men can look forward to a jump without fear. Butterflies in the stomach, or just plain fear in the mind. Fear that at the last moment is overcome. This capacity to conquer fear. This is what my son now has, and because he has this, I am grateful. I tried to pick out my son from those tiny specks in the sky. It was no use. I prayed for the safe landings of all of these men, wherever they might make them. I came to Fort Bragg rarely to see my son, but I saw much more. I saw all those who were side by side with him, other sons of other mothers. I wish that all of them could see what I have seen. Not only their individual sons, but all of our sons together, proud of being together. None of them wanting war, but all of them ready to fight for the kind of life we mothers have taught them to believe in. I saw them marching together gallantly, and I'm grateful that our safety and our future is in their good, strong hands. You have presented this letter which shows not only the deep affection of a mother for her son, but a fine understanding of the role her son must play in the defense of his country. Now, this is Sergeant Stuart Queen, inviting you to be with us next week for another look at the Big Picture, the United States Army in action. The Big Picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the Army at home and overseas, produced by the Signal Corps Pictorial Center, presented by the U.S. Army in cooperation with this station. You can be an important part of the Big Picture. You can proudly serve with the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.