 to Germany From Alaska to Puerto Rico All over the world the United States Army is on the alert to defend our 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 Stewart Queen in Korea The aggressor's challenge was met and turned back by the United forces of the world's free nations Yet in the backwash of war there always remains a second challenge the thousands of orphans millions of homeless the countless villages and cities Ravaged and almost completely destroyed Today's big picture focuses on one such city Seoul the capital of the Republic of Korea It is the story of a city twice the parade ground of communist troops four times a battlefield The rebirth of Seoul is also the story of man's enduring will To triumph in the face of the greatest adversity in the past two decades The face of disaster reflecting tragedy and despair has become a familiar portrait in every quarter of the world With but brief pause war as grief has touched and scarred the people of every continent No longer is the soldier the sole victim of that a nation's cities and towns are now prime targets the casualties civilians Despite the repeated experience of the miseries of war Mankind has learned neither to maintain peace nor to accept callously those who suffer most During the lifespan of the present generation a new list of ravaged cities has been formed to compare with those of ancient history Their very names are synonymous with ruin Warsaw Manila London Hiroshima Berlin and today still another four times crushed in less than two years a City which refuses to die Seoul the Korean capital since the 14th century the capital of South Korea since 1948 lies in a hill surrounded valley one of the most modern cities in the Orient Seoul in the summer of 1950 enjoys a democratic form of government and an orderly existence However above Seoul troops of the puppet North Korean government installed by the USSR are poised on the border For some days the communist radio has been urging the unification of all Korea Now on the 25th of June with true communist logic the North Korean forces go on the defensive By launching a sudden unexpected invasion of South Korea Souls million and a half citizens are caught unprepared But they are not ignorant of what they may expect Half a world away at Lake success New York the United States immediately requests an emergency meeting Of the United Nations Security Council When the aggressors failed to heed the council's appeal The United States announces that air and sea forces are being ordered to assist South Korea Then by a vote of seven to one the Security Council votes to supply the besieged Republic of Korea With whatever our might is needed to turn back the attack first to aid our American forces from Japan 15 other nations meet the challenge by ordering troops to Korea With this decision the free world takes its first unified action Inhalting the tide of communist armed aggression two days following the initial attack Communist troops are in the outskirts of Seoul by every available means Seoul's populace pleased the beleaguered capital Carrying whatever possessions they can salvage the civilians travel every road and path Thus begins the week's long march of women old men and children as they are forced south behind the retreating South Korean and small American forces For them safety lies only in caves or behind the Allied defense line drawn below the Noctong River Mistaking retreat and consolidation for defeat The communist armies are caught off guard when the United States 10th Corps launches an offensive of its own and Hinchon Seoul's seaport an amphibious landing is made Cutting behind the North Korean troops battling to break through at Busan the counter offensive works like a vice simultaneous with the Hinchon landing Allied forces break out of the Busan perimeter Driving the startled aggressors before them a second amphibious maneuver is used at the Han River just south of Seoul Once more the Republic's capital becomes the focal point of the fighting Either the communists must hold Seoul or the North Korean army will be destroyed as an effective fighting force between the closing sides of the vice Seoul is not to be taken without bitter and costly resistance Every road is a minefield every corner of barricade every house a sniper's nest Less than 11 days after the start of the counter offensive Seoul is restored to its rightful inhabitants To most Koreans Seoul is more than a city or a home It is a symbol of national pride and of the people's heritage Even before the sound of fighting dies the first refugees reappeared Few returned to find their homes as they left them the communist troops have lived off the land Sacking pillaging raping the city during their brief stay But in the refugees eyes what remains can be rebuilt life can be resumed once more where it was so harshly interrupted For the communist leaders who gambled when the odds was seemingly overwhelming in their favor The reversal achieved by the United Nations command is intolerable a second fairy tale is devised an army composed of so-called Chinese people's volunteers armed with weapons of Soviet manufacture is rolled south to salvage victory from the ashes of defeat For the men who fought their way to the Manchurian border at great cost and blood and in life The massive offensive launched by the Chinese communists comes as a cruel shock The scores of mountains and valleys fought for and captured Returned too easily to the enemy as the Allied forces make their bitter withdrawal In the face of the greatest hardships examples of great bravery and fortitude on many The escape of the United Nations units from the trap with the Chongjin reservoir ranks with the finest maneuvers and military animals Under constant pressure from overwhelming numbers the Allied troops fight south back from Pyongyang from Munsan to Seoul and beyond Again battered soul becomes the scene of a mass exodus Those who began the long task of rebuilding their city see their efforts wasted their work destroyed To most the roots from the city are now familiar the number of refugees is smaller this second time The number of those who will return Smaller still into Seoul March the Chinese conquerors supervised by their Russian comrades News of Seoul's fall is greeted proudly throughout the communist world a new type of barbarism awaits the American servicemen Captured during the Red Offensive Months of imprisonment accompanied by subtle brainwashing and crude torture lie ahead Many will not survive the forced winter marches to the prison compounds north of Seoul By breaking contact with the enemy and rapidly withdrawing to the south The UN command forces the communists to extend their supply lines more than 300 miles Less than a month after the Chinese invasion The United Nations returns to the offensive from the defense lines 30 miles below the Korean capital Communists have twice gained the advantage through sneak attacks Time and world opinion are on the side of the United Nations command From the free world a steady stream of arms and men has poured into South Korea The new UN drive is power packed changes hands Even before the city is liberated plans have been made for rehabilitating the stricken capital in its population Here in the words of American soldiers members of the United Nations civil assistance teams and of Koreans themselves is the story of the rebirth of Seoul as they witnessed it We moved into Seoul on the 13th of March 1951 as uncocked team commander I went with the patrol of the 15th infantry and an engineer detachment detecting mines Except in the fringes. There were no people to be seen in downtown Seoul Opposition had fallen off almost completely in the center of the city. We found practically no one at all The city was a dead city because this was the second time we took Seoul back from the communists We were pretty much prepared for what we expected to find You never get used to it though All in all the city was in awful shape no water no transportation No electricity or power as a matter of fact the Chinese occupation forces took most of the overhead wire Kids are the ones who always suffer most they never know what's going on or why And how can you explain to them after they've just seen their whole family get killed? Seoul was in very bad shape as far as food was concerned They just wasn't any the communists who profess to be representative of the working people of the farmers Seem to take advantage of them. They live off the land taking their food not giving them medical treatment Everyone came back as soon as they could a lot of them right out of caves So our first job was to get water for civilians and our troops Doing the occupation by the Chinese There were many fires in the city which will not be controlled This caused a great deal of damage to the city In order to get water into the islands we had to get the water worth going In addition to that the sanitary needs of Seoul has to be met It looked like he will take six months to get water back into the city, but this estimated was far wrong With much hard work and cooperation between the American Army the Korean government and on GAC Within 30 days we were able to produce enough water To be used by all the units within the city and shortly day after We were able to restore 50 percent of the water supplies to Seoul On the third day after our entry into the city UNCAC started to move truckloads of rice into the city for distribution to the people Because for the average civilian the average Korean It was worth his life to find even a handful of rice Even though the city was placed off bounds to civilians Except farmers who were needed to get their fields planted Civilians managed to come home So it was our job to feed them before they starved The trucks with food rolled into the city day and night fighting against time For an American like me who's used eating pretty well It takes a little time to understand that these people can survive on just a few handfuls of rice a day But that's all it is survival We couldn't make up for a couple of years of war overnight for these people But we made a good start Rice was just the beginning of a long term of relief distribution We followed up as fast as possible with milk and clothing and other food The Korean farmer we came across is the backbone of Korea Despite the devastation the number of moves he had to make with his family which he had to or be killed The farmers were back in their fields even before the fighting was over These farmers are doing a lot to help relieve the burden of feeding the people who live in the city Next to feeding the people of Seoul caring for their health. I would say was the next problem Those who were well we first dusted with DDT Then all must be inoculated. This was important to stop disease from possibly spreading It would have been most dangerous for an epidemic to start under the conditions as they were The inoculations were most successful for no epidemics broke out in Seoul then or thereafter When I and my staff were assigned to the hospital in Seoul, I was terrified a bit. I must say to start with There were patients. There were patients There were children men women It was a mass of humanity suffering much tuberculosis and many many surgical cases But we went to work and as we worked we trained more doctors and nurses in the methods we needed Mostly the dangerous cases were burned cases from napalm bombs and all sorts of other bombs and gunshot cases Now the bomb cases were the first problem and medical supplies most especially plasma Well, we received the supplies and the plasma and the other things urgently needed I and my staff and all the doctors and nurses in the city Worked morning tonight and I can say now. I'm very very happy and proud too of the success We had in saving so many lives To keep Seoul itself alive meant reopening the highways rebuilding the bridges No field army in history undertook a bigger civil assistance mission than the united states eighth army Our policy is to help the koreans to help themselves First of all to get heavy equipment into the city. We had to put the railroads back to work trolley transportation got a high priority The chinese used the tracks to place mines alongside of so that the detectors the mine detectors could not pick up the mines In some cases these mines exploded and in other cases tracks were hit by fragments of shell fire So a great deal of track had to be replaced So now we've replaced just about all the existing trolley lines Like any large city Seoul has its downtown business center its industrial and residential sections The trolleys are a big help in bringing workers from their homes to the dozens and dozens of construction jobs and factories that are being rebuilt Things aren't yet back to normal, of course, but they're well underway Most of us figure Seoul is one of the cleanest cities in the orient It's certainly the cleanest in korea Right from the start the people started to work rebuilding their homes and hospitals And other buildings but the same kind of determination They showed in wanting to get back to their homes in the first place Even without modern construction equipment They set to and new buildings started to mushroom up almost overnight in the years before the war Seoul developed into a good-sized industrial city But the various bombings of the city completely destroyed the power plants To get heavy and light industry back on its feet. We had to restore the power plants Army technicians went to work to repair what was salvaged and missing parts came from japan Now power is going out fast where it's needed most It's the job of the civil assistance commission to encourage industry back into operation as quickly as possible By this we mean that we assist these people in the reconstruction of their plants and in supplying them with the necessary material That is the crude material which can be used for manufacturing purposes Raw materials are the number one priority in the problem of production In this particular factory about half the cotton comes from the united states the other half from korean sources As well as turning out needed products Rehabilitating Seoul's industry means more jobs for the city's population With our colleges and universities Seoul is the educational capital of korea As a people we koreans put high value on education Rebuilding and expanding the school system is one of our chief aims Where we found no school buildings for the classes where the schools were burned or bombed We held outdoor classes so as not to interrupt the education anymore than is necessary In the republic of korea, it is the policy that everyone goes to school By law every child over six is entitled to full primary schooling But we can now take only three quarters of these children Property prevents some parents from sending their children In other places there are no schools But we are educating more children every day Some children the orphans are less fortunate These children are found sometimes in the streets other times at people's doors who have no children We have over 200 children at this orphanage alone The poor little things have been many days without food or bathing Some die on our hands other times we get them through all right And it gives us great joy to see them happy again Earlier it was very difficult for us to nourish these children But now with the help of the american officers and men and the cac organization We have much pleasure of giving the children anything they want We have only to ask for it and we get it If we need anything at all we have only to ask and the children get all the vitamins and anything that they need We are making the best efforts to make the children good citizens But there are many many of them who need support and we do all we can But with thousands of orphans in Seoul alone, there are thousands and thousands in all korea With god's help we will help them to be happy children and one day good citizens With the same unity and forcefulness with which it meant the challenge of communist aggression The free world responded to the needs of the korean people Food arrives from australia and cambodia from belgium and cuba from new zealand and the philippines From pakistan and thailand from mexico and greece Clothing comes from japan peru and uruguay From great britain nicaragua and turkey come medical supplies From india and norway from israel and sweden from danmark and germany island and france And from the united states alone aid totaling nearly half a billion dollars is received the list of public and private organizations churches and veterans groups private citizens and charities Which have come to the aid of these victims of war is equally long To have done less to have failed the korean people in this their second hour of need What have been to allow defeat by neglect where defeat by aggression was so determinedly denied Today from the seaports on the yellow and japanese seas Steady streams of urgently needed supplies pour into Seoul and other korean villages and cities The tools and machines of industry the fertilizer and equipment needed to restore the land to fertility The faster full rehabilitation is achieved the sooner the republic of korea will become a strong vigorous ally Seoul today has regained much of its former stature among the national capitals of the world The city is living testimony to what international cooperation for peaceful goals may accomplish Where a few short years ago tanks rumbled trolleys now pass calmly through the streets Where snipers once hid the housewives of seoul calmly do their shopping The rebirth of seoul is one of mankind's truly great achievements Yet the task of reviving korea completely or even of seoul alone is still far short of completion More than a million homeless people remain Nearly 100 000 orphans must be cared for a livable future must be provided for them In the months since the first communist attack the children of korea have suffered much more than the rightful share of several lifetimes All have met disaster as participants not as spectators Yet their faith has conquered despair Their hope for their land's future remains strong If only to guarantee that their prayers for a life untroubled by sudden death and famine and war be granted The free world's efforts in korea will stand forever as noble ones With other free members of the united nations the united states met the communist attack in korea with bravery and sacrifice Today americans individually and through our government Are responding to the needs of the people of south korea With generosity and compassion Now this is sergeant steward queen Inviting you to be with us again next week When we will present another look at the big picture 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 core 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