 Army presents The Big Picture, an official report produced for the armed forces and the American people. Well, jeez, give it's broken. Can you fix it, Dad? I don't know anything about missiles, Tear. You're in the Army, weren't you? They didn't have these when I was in the Army, Tear. How come? Kids always ask good questions, don't they? How come? I knew that lots of things had changed since the end of World War II, these missiles and atomic weapons. But like a lot of folks, I had my own problems and figured this was someone else's, but my kids expected me to know. I decided to take the trip I'd been planning for some time, but the Army has helped and tried to find out about some of these new weapons. I hadn't been in Germany since the end of World War II, and then I'd seen most of the country over a gun site. In those days, over 15 years ago, I never thought I'd return here as the guest of the Army to find our former enemy's close allies. But I have a chance to see this again, either. It's Hitler's stadium in Nuremberg. Once a triumphant monument to Nazism, it was here Hitler boasted that his party would rule the world for a thousand years. While people were calling him a fool and a little corporal, he was using his evil genius to build one of the strongest armies on Earth. I don't think the transformation was easy. I knew a lot of guys who died to make this place an inconspicuous dot in history. Their blood feeds the weeds you see growing now. Men who wanted to live just as much as you and I. What you have seen here is history, but history has a way of speaking firmly to the past, the present, and the future. And it tells us now in no uncertain terms that the price of peace is eternal vigilance. From Nuremberg it was only a short hop to Würzburg, near which my old army outfit was stationed. Naturally, I was filled with memories and pride in the Third Infantry Division. I hadn't seen Colonel Kendall in years. He was a company commander then. Bill, I know you must love this assignment, showing me around Europe. It's one thing I remember, so the soldier soon gets over his love of travel. I think nothing of it, Artie. I might have drawn a congressman. You know how they ask questions. Good morning, General Lewis. Glad to have you with us again, Artie. Has Bill been telling you of the latest improvements in your old division? Well, we've just been watching a sergeant shoot out a bunch of red cruises, but not snapping too fast enough. We're still trying to get the bugs out of that one. Sorry I can't stay with you, Artie, but Bill will fill you in on anything you want to know. It's all right with you. I'd like to start by taking a look at my old platoon. That's a good place to start. Carry on, Bill. See you later, Artie. Thank you, sir. Good ol' M1. Still a good weapon, isn't it? Yes, but we've added some new ones. Take a look over there. That one's called a corporal. It belongs to CORE artillery. This is the firing panel for it. Remember that big railroad gun called Annie? The Germans used to pound us with on the Anzio beachhead? Yeah. I heard the Germans were even afraid of that, and they were behind it. Well, Annie was chicken feed compared to this little packet. It has a range of about 75 miles and can deliver an atomic warhead. Can you imagine what just one of those would have done to us at Anzio? Scratch one beachhead. Look at those smaller missiles over there. That's the 3rd Infantry Division's Honest John rocket battery. But we'll see more Honest Johns later on. Maybe we ought to do a little map work and get a better idea of the overall picture. Here's to drag about those long perimeters of defense in the old days, Artie. Always swearing we were stretching our lines too thin, couldn't possibly hold them. Yeah, I remember. We'll take a look at this. Here's where we are right now. There are missile units around here, too. Oslo? This was one of Bill's favorite spots. From up here, Oslo and the Thjords were really beautiful. Looks peaceful, doesn't it? The missile almost seemed out of place here. Yes, but they're not. Norway's the northern flank of NATO's defense. Where are the missiles? Not very far from here. But from the looks of things, we'd better pick up our raincoats. We traveled a short distance up a neighboring mountain and met some of our NATO partners in defense. This is the Nike Ajax. The Army's first surface-to-air missile. Our Norwegian host told me this Ajax had been on the site since 1953. Why were the Nike Hercules missiles? These powerful weapons reach out far and high to destroy any known hostile aircraft. Preparation between Western allies to preserve peace and defend freedom is well represented here in Norway. How's that for a guard post, Audi? It looks all right on the map. Okay, forget the map. You'll see troops in action where we're going now. In a sense, these boys are the eyes and ears of our missiles. Hof is a typical border town. This is neutral ground. Hof's only two miles from the iron curtain itself. The Reds are right there. You think they're expecting us? Probably. Audi with those characters don't expect, they suspect. And it is in the middle of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment barracks area. Commander of the unit which was to take us on the border patrol was Captain Otis on our way to the East German border in a jeep patrol. It seemed more like the Army I remembered so well. Although I don't recall being jeep-born too often. This road was right on the edge of freedom. Westward was the red satellite of East Germany. Take a look at that. What does that mean in English? Socialism will win. Socialism? A nice little substitute for the word communism. The Reds know they can't sell us on that baloney so they're trying to sell the Germans. That's why it's written in German. Follow me, I'll show you what I mean. The ground strip is not performing. I'd keep it nice and soft so they can pick up footprints of anyone trying to get across to our side. I got the strangest feeling we're being watched. You are? Take a look over there. Observation tower. Yeah, they got them strung out all along the Eastern border. That's real neighborly of them. Yeah, real neighborly. Any soldier who served in Germany will remember this as the Autobahn. A superhighway built to move transportation fast. Now, it's just a road that leads to nowhere. It looks like the end of the line. To us. As long as they don't bunch up any more than that, it'll be all right. That's one of the primary reasons for our border patrols. We spot troop concentrations and build-ups in time to do something about it. They know. They know a lot. Including the fact that our Jeep patrols are not joy rides. This bridge reminds me of one of my boys have at home. They have one almost just exactly like this to use in their games. I wish this were a game, but it isn't. In plain language, we have a problem and a big one. What's the solution? That's what we're working on. Where we started from. Hope. We moved along with the patrol to along here. Now, let's go back past Wordsburg with the third division station to the Mainz area. And a little village right about here. Are you kidding? It must be 150 miles from the East German border. That far back used to be a rest area. I never thought I'd be telling you anything about combat. But come on and let's see what the artillery is doing to back up the forward elements. It's not exactly new. The 40th Field Artillery Group started bringing them to Europe in 1958. That one's really wicked, Audie. It's the Redstone. It's Army artillery. A tactical weapon using a mobile launcher as a firing stand and directed against ground targets. Is it pack as much kick as some of the mules the 40th used to have? And then some. The Redstone is considered the Army's most powerful weapon. It's Sunday Punch. Why don't we go and ask the experts in the field? The men who are responsible for getting those things off the ground and right on target. We were escorted to the Redstone Field Operations by the commanding officer of the 40th Field Artillery Group, Colonel Joseph Harrison. That's our big boy, Audie. I've been around some rugged tactical weapons in my day, but nothing like this. Its warhead staggers the imagination. What about range, Colonel? Its range is approximately 200 miles. It travels at supersonic speed, and its accuracy is remarkable. How tall is that thing, Colonel? It's about 70 feet. Aren't you pretty much road bound with all that equipment? No. We're highly mobile, either on the road or off the road. Then you don't need a fixed installation of a fire. That's right. We fire from field positions. 200 miles. That's quite an improvement over World War II artillery which had a range of about 20 miles. One thing's for sure. You're hard to get caught by a sneak attack on the ground. That's the whole idea. Tell me, where do you go next? We're headed south, sir. Well, then you'll undoubtedly be running into other missile units from some of the other NATO nations. Colonel Harrison, that's exactly what we intend to do. And this is Venice, with its famous Grand Canal, a favorite tourist attraction. A few minutes by water taxi from San Marco, we saw NATO at work in Italy. That's not a regular tourist attraction. You gather right. That was probably headed for some spot way up in the Italian Alps. And you know what? So are we. We met General Jack Daly, commanding general of the Southern European Task Force. General Orlando, commanding general of the Italian units. And Colonel Coffin, CTAF's missile training expert. This is Anish John, a name earned from its accuracy and reliability. At a maximum range of 20 miles, the Anish John can deliver either a conventional or nuclear payload. It's highly mobile and the whole unit, including the launching system, can be transported by aircraft. These are General Orlando's Italian troops. They belong to a sharp, proud outfit dedicated to the mission of handling these missiles quickly and accurately. All of NATO hopes that these men will not be called into actual combat. However, they must and will be ready if needed. This is the land of the Turks. Verocious warriors of centuries ago. Defending throughout a long history, the strategic gateway to the Middle East. Preserving the proud fighting traditions, young Turks parade as Turkey once again defends a strategic geography as a NATO ally. These units are the first Turkish army parade in celebration of Turkey's independence under Ataturk. A few miles from this parade in Istanbul is the Black Sea. Bordering on the Black Sea is Soviet Russia, the big bear itself. Regarding this frontier of the free world against aggression is this NATO power. And here too is Anish John, that missile made in America. Now in the capable hands of the valiant Turks, providing a deterrent backup of firepower. 13th century Saint Sophia Mosque. Bill and I reviewed our tour. Now this will give you a good idea of where we've been. Ain't enough on the map. Well this ark is only part of the story. There's a Chinese dragon spouting flames of hate toward most of the things you and I believe in. We have our eye on him day and night. Missiles ready. Places like Hamosa, Okinawa, Korea. Now I hope you can find your way to white sands in Mexico. You have a date with General Trudeau, chief of research and development of the army. The sergeant missile. This is going to replace corporal. It has a lot more accuracy, tremendous firepower and is a lot easier to handle as you can see. Great mobility to it too. Certainly a lot smaller than corporal. Well I thought you might think it was going to be larger, but it is a lot smaller. And of course it's a solid propellant missile. And we've named it sergeant because it's tough and it's thoroughly reliable, just like the old boys that you know Zidane well. We're about ready to fire. I think we should move back now. Tration of air mobility. Take that for an example, mobility. And there's a lot of firepower there too. That's alright. It's Honest John's kid brother, huh? Yes, that's Honest John's kid brother. But that kid brother can do most of the things Honest John can. And we can carry it right along with us. When the airborne have to move out, the strike has to go somewhere, this is with it. Let's take a look at the cross. I didn't see this one in Europe. Well it'll be there before the end of the month. You just missed it. Generally no my boys are always using toy missiles in their games at home. I'm glad I'll have a chance to see some of these fired. Maybe I can give them a little briefing. Well I'm glad that you're going to see that too. And I'm glad that your boys are interested in missiles and all the other things that modern science and technology is giving us these days. And they're interested in the defense of their country. But when you get to something that's real like this, you'll see this is a job for men. And it takes a lot of men and it takes a lot of good men to fire this down to support the chaps on the ground. We're going to have rifles in their hands and tanks just like you had to do it last time. And it's certainly no toy. No, it's no toy. It's a great missile. And I suggest now that we get in the car and go down toward the impact area six or eight miles and then we'll send the signal back and they'll fire it. And you'll see what this will do for you. Good. The target is that six foot stake that you see directly in front of us here. It's about 10 miles away from the launcher for this shot. Tell me, General, how does this lacrosse differ from the honest John? Well, the honest John is a free rocket. There has no guidance at all. The lacrosse is a true guided missile. It's guided by a man on the ground with a radio, usually a forward observer who can see the target himself just like an artillery observer in World War II. It's on the way, sir. Here's our Hawk missile. This will knock down any aircraft that flies from, say, about 40,000 feet down onto the deck. And you've noticed what a clever gadget it is. With these three warheads, we could put a variety of different warheads in them and then select the one we choose to do the job at hand. I heard about that in Europe. Didn't it also knock down a missile? Yes, we've knocked down two missiles. We've knocked down both honest John and little John with this. We're about ready for this firing. Shall we go back to the safety area and see it? Yeah. All right. All right. These honest John's over in Germany, I know, and another place is on the continent. After watching the latest honest John's being fired, General Trudeau showed me the red eye. This missile is carried like the old bazooka by a front-line soldier. Armed with this weapon, a soldier can knock down any low-flying aircraft. It's never been handy to have had in World War II in Korea. That's Nike Zeus. This is the missile that fits in with that great radar dome that we passed here just a few minutes ago. And this equipment is all integrated to give us a defense against incoming missiles. And the purpose of this, of course, is against the tremendous threat that exists today from incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles. This is our great hope for the future. General, my entire tour, in Europe and here at White Sand, has been very enlightening. I certainly appreciate the invitation. Well, it's been a privilege and an opportunity to show to a great American like yourself what we're trying to do to defend the people of this country. And I wish every American had a fuller appreciation of our efforts in this regard. And knowing the interests that your boys have in things like this also, I'd like to give you a little token that you can take home to them as a remembrance of this visit, Audie. May I have that, please? This model skip. Like that before, will it work? I was told by a man who should know. It'll work. But this is a new army. Yes, it is a new army. A lot different than the one I served in and one we can all be mighty proud of. We can keep the strength we have and add to it with every passing day, as we're doing. You and I can feel a little more secure. And all future wars can be fought on the living room floor. And believe me, that's the best way.