 The United States Army presents the Big Picture, an official report produced for the armed forces and the American people. Now to show you part of the Big Picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Quinn, coming to you today from Canada. 100 years, Canada and the United States have shared an undefended border. The Canadian Army and the American Army have long been partners in the defense of two free nations. In Europe and in Korea, Canadian and American soldiers are fought side by side shoulder to shoulder in keeping with a proud heritage. Today, the Big Picture salutes the Canadian Army and brings you a report on its distinguished past and its dynamic present. With me here at the historic Citadel Fortress at Quebec are two of Canada's soldiers. Regimental Sergeant Major McManus and Company Sergeant Major Don Saru. Sergeant Major, you're with the Canadian Guards, aren't you? Yes, Sergeant Quinn. I am a member of the regiment of Canadian Guards. The regiment was formed in 1953 and became Canada's first national regiment. Its motto, a maria yusquie at maria, means from sea to sea. And what of your assignment, Sergeant Major Don Saru? Yes, Sergeant Quinn. I am with the premier battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, quarter at la Citadel. We are a French-speaking unit. Most of our men are French descent and come from the province of Quebec. I am told that the Royal 22nd Regiment is frequently referred to as the Vendous. What's the story behind this? Yes, we are known as Vendous by the English-speaking people. They have difficulty to pronounce 22e Regiment. Now, come along and we watch the changing of the guard. The traditions of Canada's regiments have been nurtured by the older British customs and provide added luster to the parade ground. One of the most famous summer sites in Quebec City is the daily inspection and changing of the guard at the Citadel by the Royal 22nd Regiment. These 19th century uniforms belie the modern professional soldiers who wear them. The regiment is led on parade by Baptiste the Goat, a gift from Queen Elizabeth. These ceremonials are an important part of a proud military heritage. They are very much a symbol of Canada's modern fighting force, highly trained to assume the military responsibilities of a growing nation, although the Royal 22nd has carved a special reputation of its own in war and peace. And it is typical of many units in Canada's present-day army. At this colorful show in the Citadel, even Baptiste has his horns gilded for the officer of the guard. Canada's army man is only, incidentally, a ceremonial soldier. His primary function is to fight, if and when necessary. How well he has done it in the past is written on battlefields from Cardenburg, South Africa to Seoul, Korea. The solitary sentinel in front of the Citadel's historic entrance waits to be relieved by the morning guard mount. In the show window of the army, the new sentry takes over his post, stiff and impassive, standing well over six feet tall in his great bare-skinned busby, embodying a tradition of duty as old as Canada. On the nearby plains of Abraham, in 1759, British General Wolfe lost his life and won Canada for Britain. The English victory over General Moncombe's force marked the destiny of Canada as a British Commonwealth nation. French and English Canadians were united, and by 1885, when the Governor General's bodyguard crossed the ice of Lake Superior to help quell the Northwest Rebellion, Canada was fast becoming a nation. The Canadian army received its baptism as the Indian lands in the West were settled. Although Canadians fought in South Africa's Boer War at the turn of the century, it was not until the outbreak of World War I in 1914 that Canada was called upon to put a large modern army into combat overseas. During these war years, many of Canada's finest regiments came into being. Some were raised and equipped with private funds. They learned how to soldier, and they went to France to the tragedy and victory of a great and terrible war. Montserrel, Busson, Amiens, Festubelle, Ypres, Vimy Rids. Germans launched a gas attack at Ypres in April 1915. The Canadian First Division took the brunt of it, but more than once across the vast and bloody front, Canadian soldiers paved the Germans back. In 1918, the Canadian army emerged from the mud of the French battlefield. The Black Watch of Canada alone was awarded 23 separate battle honours, and the Queen's own rifles, 21. The Germans had been beaten, and Canada shared the sweet taste of victory. Four years of struggle and a crucible of fire, the Canadian army left 60,000 men behind when it returned from France. Today, a simple monument in Ottawa pays silent tribute to their memory and to the spirit they personified. Sixty-eight Canadian soldiers were awarded the Commonwealth's highest decoration, the Victoria Cross, upon which is inscribed with simple eloquence for valor. In 1922, the Canadian Parliament passed the National Defense Act, which provided the peacetime blueprint for Canada's armed forces. The regular army numbers approximately 49,000, all volunteers. Between World Wars I and II, the regular army dwindled, seldom numbering more than 4,000. When war broke out in 1939, the National Defense Headquarters had to draw heavily from local militia units. Canada's first troops embarked for Europe in December 1939, and a continual flow of soldiers was channeled into the Allied war effort over the next six years. Most of these early troops, comprising the Canadian First Division, were volunteers from militia units. Not until August 1942 did the Canadians make their first combat assault on the German stronghold in Europe. The objective was a small port on the Channel Coast, the French resort town of Dieppe. The Dieppe raid was to serve as the preliminary experience for the main invasion of France still two years distant. Though the raid itself was a tactical failure, Dieppe proved that the new Canadian army could fight as well as that of 1918. Few of the combat objectives were realized on the beach, but the many lessons learned by the Allies paid off in future amphibious operations. Of the 4,900 Canadians who went in on the Dieppe beach, less than half returned to England. At Buckingham Palace, many of those who came back were honored by the King and watched in silent admiration by the English crowd. The Canadian heroes of Dieppe represented all ranks and a cross-section of units from the army. They represented, too, a cross-section of Canada. The courage and the fighting skill they demonstrated was not simply the army's story. It belonged to the nation. Christmas of 1943 found many Canadians celebrating in the picturesque Italian village of Ortona. Germans disliked giving up their quarters just before the holidays, but the Canadians could not wait. For cautiously ingenious technique called mouse-holding, the loyal Edmonton regiment and men of the Seaforth Highlanders leveled the town one room at a time. By the end of the Italian campaign, nearly 100,000 Canadian soldiers had seen service in Italy. Troops went ashore in Normandy. The Canadians carried their share of the assault and subject to repeated German counterattacks. In a great pincer movement during August 1944, Canadians, British and Americans effectively sealed off and cut down a formidable German force deployed in the Falaise area. When the fighting ceased around Falaise, the battle had turned into a major German military disaster. The Canadians alone took more than 12,000 German prisoners. At least eight enemy divisions were destroyed and 16 more suffered disastrous losses. At the end of the war, General Eisenhower lauded Canadian troops for their valor and determination. Responding to the United Nations' appeal for troops in 1950, many Canadian soldiers volunteered for duty among the barren Korean hills. Fighting side by side with American and other U.N. soldiers against the North Korean communists, the Canadians brought a matter-of-fact military professionalism to their work, which was a model for all. These men knew their jobs. They remembered the reputation their fathers had made at the Somme and Vimy Ridge. They remembered Dieppe and Ortona and the Falaise pocket. And before they were finished in Korea, the communists remembered them. The First Commonwealth Division provided recreational facilities such as they were. For the hard-fighting Canadians, the chance to relax over a glass of ale was always welcome. The Canadian Army has maintained a brigade group in West Germany since 1951 as part of Canada's NATO obligation. Headquarters is near Zost, handy to terrain well-suited for the constant training activities carried on by the formation. Some regular regiments are rotated periodically for service in Germany. These men stand next to the American Seventh Army, unguarded at the outer perimeter of free Western Europe, ready for any emergency. When the United Nations was confronted with a Suez crisis in the fall of 1956, the Canadian Army was called upon to provide personnel and material to assist in policing the area. Serving under the UN flag, Canadian units helped bring about a successful prisoner exchange between Egyptian and Israeli forces. In the troubled Middle East, Canadian soldiers still represent the interests of peace. The fighting history of the Canadian Army is a proud one. And nowhere is it more revered than at the Royal Military College at Kingston, Ontario, where future officers are trained. At a modern army camp near London, Ontario, the oldest regiment in the Canadian Regular Army makes its headquarters. Royal Canadian Regiment has been a part of the Regular Army since 1883 and carries battle honors from the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Today, the regiment continues in a state of combat readiness, providing highly trained men for duty anywhere Canada requires them. Already, members of the regiment have had experience as international policemen and as UN observers. The unit has also served with NATO forces in Germany. These fellows comprise a special group of soldiers called pioneers, similar to our Army engineers. The axe, the apron and the beard reflect time-honored tradition when the men parade. Every Canadian soldier learns the basic tools and techniques of his profession early in his career. Famous for their precision on the parade ground, members of the Royal Canadian Regiment polish their drill under the guidance of experts. The Sergeant Major's pacing stick marks the step and his experienced hand times the slow march. The same serious attention which these men bring to their close-order drill is carried over into all phases of their work. Most members of the RCR are qualified parachutists who maintain their proficiency with frequent jumps. There is only one member of the regiment whose combat effectiveness might leave something to be desired. But he makes every jump anyway. Canadian regiments display their colors in a solemn and moving ceremony. At Edmonton, the second battalion of the famous Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry troops the color. Hamilton Galt, founder of the Princess Patricia's in 1914, was this year's guest of honor. When Brigadier Galt first organized the regiment for World War I service, he spent a personal fortune training and equipping his men. General! Salute! The most junior officer in the unit receives the color from the regimental Sergeant Major. The ceremony is derived from the age-old battle practice of rallying around the flag. The color is displayed so that all might be able to know it well and recognize it on the battlefield. With slow reverence, the regimental color is paraded between the ranks of the patricians. Patricians wear their honors proudly. Among their most prized regimental decorations is a United States presidential unit citation awarded to the second battalion for its gallant-fighted Kapyeong Korea in 1951. Since the end of World War II, the Canadian Army has maintained a mobile striking force specially trained for continental arctic defense. In early post-war operations such as Sweetbriar, United States forces participated in joint maneuvers with these Canadian snow fighters. Such forces may someday be needed to protect our arctic radar warning centers from enemy attack over the north pole. Defense of this due line is one of the many cooperative responsibilities of American and Canadian troops. At Gagetown, New Brunswick, typical permanent facilities are designed to accommodate all the needs of a busy army. At Camp Gagetown, regular army and militia units which convene here each year for maneuvers can march to some of the world's finest band music, including the pipe bands of the famous Canadian Black Watch, a at summer brigade concentrations. While the bands rehearse, the artillery is busy on a softening up operation to be coordinated with armor and infantry units. Men of the militia have an opportunity to train with duty-toughened regulars. Innovation 578 gets a chance to show what it can do. Settle action, traverse right, steady, on, 800, tank, fire! Crouching in the low grass awaiting the signal to move up, men of the illustrious Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment keep their eyes on the objective. Hello one, hello one, enemy section in farm, I'm taking them out, over. Taking them out. How many times in two world wars in Korea did that simple message spell the end for an unfortunate enemy? Say again, exercise cease fire. When President Eisenhower spoke before the Canadian Parliament on his recent visit, his words underscored the role of the army in Canadian American cooperation. We stand together at a pivotal point in history. All that we Canadians and Americans and those who went before us have built. All that we believe in is challenge as it has never been challenged before. The new horizon of competition ranged from the polar areas and extend to the infinity of outer space. One of the most successful endeavors of English-speaking allies is the tripartite standardization board made up of high-ranking officers from Canada, Britain and the United States. Ideas are exchanged and new weapons evaluated by these men working in Washington, Ottawa and London. Frequent troops maneuvered with live nuclear weapons at desert rock-proving ground recently, Canadian units participated, thereby gaining valuable experience on a simulated atomic battlefield. Far from the nuclear testing ground, retreat ends the day for the garrison at Quebec. Canada's modern army embodies a living tradition begun long ago, nourished by the many soldiers who contributed service and sacrifice, who led its regiments and filled its ranks on the battlegrounds of the world. To them and to the men who follow. To those who stand guard over their country today, Canada and the free world are indebted. Proud of its past, dedicated to a vital role in its country's future, the Canadian army stands beside our own, serving the common purpose of free nations everywhere. Now, this is Sergeant Stuart Queen, your host for the Big Picture. The Big Picture is an official report for the armed forces and the American people, produced by the Army Pictorial Center, presented by the Department of the Army in cooperation with this station.