 The greatest weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country. View 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. Since the first war, man has tried to win by striking subtly at the weakest point of his enemy's defense. Virtually every avenue of surface combat has been explored and few possibilities have been overlooked in the recurring wars which have dotted man's history since biblical days. Centuries of combat in almost four decades of powered flight slipped by before man recognized and proved that victory could be accelerated by means of an attack from a new direction. The sky, vertical envelopment, that's the airborne story. Another mission, airborne en route to attack to drop from the sky. Part of a tremendous striking force, part of the airborne story, a story of recent accomplishment that paved the way for myself and the platoon I lead. By just a half century ago, man had never flown in powered flight. A balloon ascent was a spectacle to behold. When the first controlled flights took men into the sky in quest of mastery of the air, that was in 1903, the air age had begun. Another dimension in space was created which one day would lead to a new and important battle tactic. Our army took the lead in aiding and encouraging a new industry. Aviation it was called. At first it was assumed that the only use for these contraptions would be in communications and they became part of the signal corps. In little more than a decade, the airplane received refinements of design that are still going on and in World War I proved its use in combat. But it wasn't until after the war that parachutes began their development. Principal users seemed to be daredevil barnstormers who jumped from fragile wings to thrill a Sunday crowd. At Fort Benning, Georgia in 1940, the army began an extensive program for training and organizing airborne units. The beginnings were unpretentious and to a great degree experimental. This was the final phase for those of us who went through those first days at Benning. The real thing out of the door and down to earth in a free shoot. Forty-eight of us came out of the 29th Division. Then we split to form the 82nd and 101st. In 1941, we in the world saw a demonstration of the effectiveness of an airborne attack. German stukas escorted transports across the Mediterranean. Their destination? The island of Crete. Their strength? Of Italian. Their mission? Seize communications and knock out command machinery. The result? Success. But other airborne operations early in World War II involved little more than sudden raids by small bands of parachutists. It was soon found that those lightly armed shock forces needed to be supplied with heavier weapons, reinforcements, and a battle plan which included quick link-up with friendly ground forces. We proved this in 1943. July was the month. Sicily was the place. And according to the newspapers, we in the 82nd had transformed a military concept into one of the world's deadliest fighting machines. This was an aerial assault more ambitious, more daring than anything Hitler or Stalin had ever attempted. The liberation of Sicily was a shadow of things to come. A moment for which all Europe was waiting. The Nazi leader continued to methodically build up fortifications along the coast, increasing defenses for an attack he figured would come from the English Channel. Fit had been transferred to England and we were caught up in a maelstrom of planning and training, a program that increased in size and tempo. Operation Overlord it was called. And our objective would be the opening of the Western Front. We were mighty proud when we learned that airborne troops would lead the invasion. The climax was approaching. The results of months of preparation, building up supplies and men. In the dim light of the dawn of June 6, 1944, we loaded aboard C-47s and the 82nd and 101st took to the sky. We had begun the invasion. Our outfit along with the screaming eagles, shoot it into flak that was so thick you could practically walk on it. We came down to fight an enemy who was determined to slaughter us or push us back to the sea. But we held on and did our job, which was to capture causeways leading across the flooded areas behind the Normandy beaches. Airborne infantry led the way, liberated the first town from the Nazi yoke. Two months later, my division, the 101st, teamed up again with the 82nd. We became the backbone of the newly formed first Allied airborne army. The reason for all this, Operation Market, the invasion of Holland. Along with the first British airborne division and Polish brigade, we were to jump and glide into the Netherlands just as the Nazi paratroopers had done four years before. And we'd clear a path for the Allied drive to the heart of the Reich. Gliders would play an important part in this operation. We had more than 500 of those silent winged boxcars. They'd carry cargo as well as troops. These of troop carriers and gliders took off from British airfields in the direction of the North Sea and the dunes of the Dutch coast, made a giant mobile striking force. More than 2,000 aircraft swept out over the Netherlands. Our objectives were key bridges which linked the canal country together. The gliders came in in a bunch. We jumped from a medium altitude. There was a clock-like precision about the whole thing. And our assembly after the drop was considered the best in the history of our airborne effort. Many spots took quite a while to liberate. Despite aid from members of the Dutch resistance groups, it was three days before we could get across the Maas River. The Germans didn't give up easily. And the town of Nijmegen got quite a beating before we took it. Our objective, the extremely important bridge at Nijmegen, was safe. Operation Market was the last jump for the 101st and 82nd, but the war was far from over for the airborne division. For a Christmas present, we got... Bastogne. This small Belgium town gave its name to a period of time we'll never forget. They say that Valley Forge was rough during the American Revolution. Well, it couldn't have been any tougher than trying to dig into the frozen Belgium countryside with eight desperate Nazi divisions breathing down your neck. It was tough. We held out until reinforcements got through and the tide was turned in the Battle of the Bulge. General McAuliffe and General Taylor, our commander, led a big list of those of us who were decorated for Bastogne. But not all airborne activity was taking place in the European theater. There was paratroop activity on the other side of the world. In the Pacific, men were learning about vertical envelopment. I want to give you a brief demonstration of the functioning of the parachute assembly. Most of them sure you won't have any trouble. For additions to a rapidly expanding airborne striking force, elements of the 11th Airborne Division took to the air. These men had seen a lot of action, but most of it was as foot soldiers. They were on their way to a spot some 40 miles below Manila. These silk canopies floating to Earth were the start of a stiffly contested road back to the Philippine capital, a road which became more strongly fortified and which was to include some of the bitterest battles of the Pacific War as the Japs were driven closer to their homeland and closer to their inner line of defense. Only a terrific pounding overcame Jap resistance. This was the last significant phase of airborne activity in World War II. Fighting as foot soldiers, the 11th Division angels helped to retake important positions. Then, victory in the Pacific canceled plans for an airborne invasion of the Japanese islands. We were mighty proud to be selected to march up New York's Fifth Avenue in the victory parade for soldiers of World War II. We were proud from General Jim Gavin on down that an airborne unit had been selected, but we of the All-American, the 82nd, knew that we were just representative, that we were marching for the millions who had also served and who did their part to win wars across both oceans. Most of us would be returning to civilian life, to careers and lives that had been interrupted, but we knew that there could be no let-up in defense planning or the signing of an armistice ends a war, but it never cancels a nation's need for defensive strength. With the world on the threshold of the atomic age, our flying soldiers loomed as an important force. Post-war training of the airborne soldier began with a concentration on the fundamentals. Fort Bragg became the home of my old outfit, the 82nd. Our military leaders had learned much from wartime operations, and as the warm atmosphere of post-war friendship chilled into a cold war, it became increasingly important that we should not store away all that we'd learned on the battlefields. And even though several airborne divisions and regimental combat teams were deactivated, the training of individual airborne soldiers was intensified. In 1950, Korea had flamed into open war, and I was part of the 187th Regimental Combat Team, which was assigned to 8th Army. We were hastily mustard forces of the United Nations, and we went into battle to stave off communist-trained hordes, whose supply lines extended all the way back to Moscow. This was the first taste of combat for one of the first aircraft especially developed for airborne operations, the flying boxcars. An outstanding aspect of the airborne phase of the Korean conflict was our development of greatly improved techniques for dropping heavy equipment. Well, this was the first time in our airborne history that combat troops received intact such essential items as houses, trucks, and jeeps. Much of the success of the Korean drops could be attributed to the large amounts of material we supplied by air. Peace time maneuvers are designed to explore new avenues to winning tactics. Our army is well aware of the necessity for testing new concepts, proving new methods. There can be no relaxation of standards with the kind of tension that covers the world. Exercise flashburn was born of the atomic age. Every part of this complicated maneuver, which was based on a simulated atomic attack, was designed to use of the latest equipment and information available to commanders. Tactical television played an important role. In a few decades, the parachute had lost its identity with the barnstorming wing walking daredevil and has taken its place as a useful tool of war. Great strides have been made in other areas. Aircraft have been designed for the express purpose of serving airborne forces. The C-120, Fairchild Pact plane, unique tractor trailer of the air. It's equipped with several types of cargo pods which can be easily detached. This versatile flying trailer can arrive as part of an aircraft and then be towed away by a motor vehicle. Another recent product of the engineer's drawing board is the C-123 avatruck. This plane is designed to land and load troops and equipment on ill-prepared or undeveloped surfaces. The quick-loading characteristics of this aircraft eliminate one of the basic faults found in early transports. The Douglas C-124 is a long-distance heavy transport used principally as an airlift plane. Its troop carrying capacity is seven times that of wartime aircraft. Sharp contrast to the C-47 were a course of World War II whose capacity was 28 paratroopers and there are even more on the horizon. Yes, we've made quite a record. Built an impressive history in a relatively short time. And today's airborne soldiers are taking advantage of the mistakes and successes contained in that history. Every man, every action in this aircraft at this moment is the result of experience and planning. Even the makeup of the platoon has undergone many changes since those first days. But there are some things which haven't changed. The need for care and preparation, for organization, which begins much before we ever board the aircraft. When we coordinate our actions with the other services, my job as jump master makes me responsible for complete understanding with the air crew. No detail is too small when I begin the routine inspection of the aircraft to make certain that everything is in order and to our requirements. There is no such thing as a casual inspection. This C-119 is the aircraft which will be taking us to the drop zone. And everything must be looked at. A sharp edge projection on an exit door must be taped. Equipment used for special purposes must comply with regulations. The signals are important. A check with the pilot will verify that the lights are in order. Signals are given from the cockpit and a few seconds delay over the drop zone could mean landing far from the desired spot. The emergency bell is also checked. The anchor line capo has to have holding power and each seat must be carefully scrutinized to make certain that each has been properly rigged with a safety belt. The first aid kit is an important item to be inspected. And the sick cups. It sometimes happens. Final look at the aerial delivery containers. They must all be properly marked so that it will be possible to tell at a glance what they are and whom they belong to. These containers are loaded aboard cargo planes and an exact loading procedure must be followed so they'll flow freely down the monorail mechanism when released. In the marshaling area, the platoon puts the finishing touches to packing equipment they'll carry on the jump. Ammunition gets careful wrapping. Next step takes place on the airstrip where the platoon fits parachute and other equipment. This is the last opportunity that the jumpmaster has to make sure that his men have been properly outfitted. Final briefing before takeoff. The pilot jumpmaster conference. The aircrew part of the operation is reviewed from station time to jump time. And any last minute changes in plan because of weather or other factors are given here. Yes, a tremendous technical achievement. That's the airborne story. All in just a few years from an idea to a big reality. The final minutes move swiftly when the drop zone draws near. The results determined by the way we've prepared infantrymen alert tough troops employing speed, firepower and surprise. Ready to defend our country at a moment's notice. A great mobile force. Human bolts of thunder striking from the sky. Existence of a army capable of moving anywhere on the globe on short notice is an important factor in deterring aggression. The nations that control the air will control the peace. Only by having such security forces can any nation survive. Forces which are well equipped and trained. Second place in the next war can only mean the end of Western civilization as we know it. Now this is Sergeant Stewart Queen inviting you to join 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.