 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. 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. To deter war and to support the cause of peace and goodwill among men. That is the why of the United States Army. To meet its responsibilities, American soldiers today stand guard throughout the free world. A constant reminder that aggression will be met promptly by the full force of American arms. There is another side to the contribution of the American soldier to peace and goodwill. The human side, which we saw when the Army was assigned Operation Mercy. Not so long ago, thousands of Hungarian freedom fighters and their families were helped towards sanctuary in the United States. For them, the gates of Camp Kilmer in New Jersey represented the end to a way of life they had found oppressive. The beginning of a new life of hope and opportunity. And surely there are no better words to begin our story of Operation Mercy than those of the President of the United States in his second inaugural address. The divisive force is international communism and the power that it controls. The designs of that power, dark in purpose, are clear in practice. It strives to seal forever the fate of those it has enslaved. It strives to break the ties that unite the free. And it strives to capture, to exploit for its own greater power, all forces of change in the world. Yet the world of international communism has itself been shaken by a fierce and mighty force. The readiness of men who love freedom to pledge their lives to that love. Through the night of their bondage, the unconquerable will of heroes has struck with the swift sharp thrust of lightning. Budapest is no longer merely the name of the city. Henceforth, it is a new and shining symbol of man's yearning to be freed. Budapest, the last days of October, 1956, when the thunderous roar of Russian tanks was still and the smoke cleared over the ruined city, then Hungarians could move proudly through their own beloved capital. Prayers were offered in memory of those who had died in the battle. The city may have been ruined and shattered, but the indomitable courage of the Budapest freedom fighters was like a spark, kindling the hearts and minds of human beings everywhere. In Germany, they watched the first great spontaneous uprising against communist tyranny, and turned in wrath against local manifestations of that tyranny. The spark of Budapest had lit fires in Berlin. Paris, too, where somber funeral processions paid tribute to the martyrs of Budapest, the spark took hold in outpourings of hate against the oppressors of Hungary and the menace to the liberty of France. Communist party buildings in many coutiers of Paris were put to the torch by surging, shouting groups of students. Once upon a time, there was a myth that people held in red bondage were helpless to do anything about it, did not want to do anything about it. But now that myth was going up in smoke. In Budapest, the victorious rebels worked quickly to stabilize the situation. But over the city's buildings, grotesque with the damage of heavy fighting, hovered one fateful question, would the Russians come back? True, three Soviet divisions had been routed, leaving mementos of their panicky flight. But if the Russians returned, reinforced and vengeful, trouble was ahead. Meanwhile, carrying their rifles, the freedom fighters patrolled the streets and waited. What they feared came on the morning of November 4th, the clank of Russian tanks over the cobblestones. With pistols and rifles and a few grenades, Budapest lashed back. But there was no holding the armada of tanks and truckloads of cracked Soviet troops pouring into the city. Those Hungarians who could headed for the border into Austria. Skirting Russian checkpoints, they made the precarious crossing, leaving their homes and possessions, everything they owned behind them. It was an exhausting effort. But freedom is a heady tonic that lifts the spirit. Then from the border came the long march to the temporary shelters hastily set up in Austria. A country now faced with an enormous problem. What to do with over 200,000 refugees seeking sanctuary? Obviously, Austria needed help. And England, France, the Scandinavian nations, Switzerland and many other countries accepted large numbers of the Hungarian immigrants. But on they came thousands more, an anguished cry to the conscience of the world. And across the Atlantic, the cry was not ignored. Thus across all the globe, there harshly blowed the winds of change. And we, though fortunate to be alive, know that we can never turn our backs to them. Only a few miles inland from the statue which symbolizes America's open heart toward newcomers from other shores was the army post Camp Kilmer. Since the Korean War, a desolate place. Moth wall. But now all at once, soldiers were back at Kilmer to meet a new emergency. A new kind of emergency. From all parts of the country, soldiers had been flown to this camp and they got to work on the double. As soon as the barracks were soaked and scoured clean of a musty smell from years of inactivity, trucks pulled up and stores of furniture were unloading, beds and mattresses, chairs and tables, blankets and foot lockers. To ready the camp for the expected influx, the men of Kilmer worked round the clock. In the paint shops, men learned a little Hungarian as they made up a lot of signs. Post dentists prepared to say welcome in their own inimitable style. While supplies of drugs and medicines were made ready, shelves were stacked high with everything from aspirin to adhesive tape. Clean white sheets brightened the interior of the base hospital. While nearby, Red Cross volunteer workers were filling comfort bags with the little things that go a long, long way toward making a traveler comfortable. Tremendous quantities of used but serviceable clothing were contributed by Americans to the Red Cross and other agencies for the refugees. Then came the big job of organizing the contributions by type and signs. Because recreation would be a prime need of the Hungarians waiting at Kilmer for settlement, the service club was very much in the picture. Army men pitched in to make everything ship shape and even as they did, word was received that the first refugees were on their way. On December 12th, 1956, President Eisenhower announced the creation of the President's Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief and within a week, the first shipload of immigrants was assembled at the American Embassy in Munich. From there, a quick trip to the General Elting, a Navy transport, waiting for them at Bremerhaven. Swiftly, the refugees were let aboard. Almost all of them, this was their first time on an ocean-going vessel. And to the younger ones especially, this was just the greatest adventure ever. On deck they met, or met again, men and women who were partners in the adventure, swapping stories of what had happened since the days of Budapest. They were students and teachers. They were lawyers and doctors and the wives of lawyers and doctors. Shoemakers and machinists and masons and those whose motto was, better late than never. All of them reacted the same way on the moment of farewell. What smiles there were, all at once were gone. Not so long ago, hell had broken loose on the streets of Budapest and lives had been shattered out of routine. On to a ship moving out of Bremerhaven. These were the lucky ones and gradually the mood lifted. Both voyages, they waved at themselves. Happy trip to a happier new world. One or two slipped off to a secluded spot or watched the docks disappear behind them. While most everybody else got squared away for the long journey, two men of the Elting lent a hand and after a while, even the small fry began to relax. At first, as the ship moved in the sheltered harbor area, seasickness was no problem and in the mess, the refugees made the most of appetites made hearty by sea, air and sunshine. A little dinner music professor and soon the ship rang with everything from Hungarian folk songs to on Wisconsin. Inevitably, it fell into the pattern. People on deck chatting or wishing they had a better hand or watching the shoreline of Europe's sweet past on the foggy horizon and some wanted a better look. The ship headed full into the wind now and things began to get a wee bit rougher. It came on gradually. The bow moved up and down into the water and white caps speckled the sea and all of a sudden everybody grabbed for something steady. Completely safe and down below, women and children were snug and warm and comfortable. Night and day the general held tinge plowed on through the Atlantic. It is safe to say the Hungarian refugees will hear the name Brooklyn in many other connections. But on the first day of January 1957, the new year, Brooklyn's peer meant arrival in the new world. The job was easy for the customs officers. These people had little to declare. Even before the ship had put to sea, a large-scale airlift had gone into motion with McGuire Air Force Base near Camp Kilmer as the terminus. Day after day, planes taxied to a stop and eager passengers walked out to meet their new country. There were those who couldn't walk but arrangements had been made to receive them. Buses were ready to carry the refugees to Camp Kilmer, more than an hour from McGuire. A sign over the gates summed up Kilmer's feelings. As each arriving bus slowed to a stop, a Hungarian-speaking American soldier was ready with greetings in the native town. Processing went smoothly. The Army was not in charge of the operation, but worked as a team along with the public health, customs and immigration agencies. The laws governing admission to the United States were followed to the letter, despite the unprecedented speed of the processing. Public health physicians conducted thorough medical examinations. Those who did not have the required shots soon felt as though they belonged to the Army. Those who did not have the required shots soon felt as though they'd been well shot. Immigration officials interviewed the refugees and as required by law, they were fingerprinted for identification purposes. As they were photographed for the identification cards, which each immigrant would carry, the necessary data for the cards was typed out and ready for signing. Department of Labor representatives then reviewed job histories to help place the individual where his skills were most needed. Did you have to read blueprints on that job? Yes. Yes. Now after you left that job, where were you employed? I was employed for three years in a machine shop. Then you had to set up the machines yourself? The President's Committee received offers, jobs, homes, educational opportunities and passed them on to the appropriate sponsoring agencies and to Camp Kilmer in the early days of Operation Mercy. With offers of jobs or homes for the refugees came hundreds upon hundreds of visitors. One would-be sponsor with a legitimate offer was listened to. The specific offer of a sponsor was matched against the background of the individual refugee, which had been annotated on cards, one card to each refugee. Thanks to a high-speed machine operation, within a matter of minutes from the time the author of a would-be sponsor was acted upon, the President's Committee could locate the card of the desired refugee. He would then be called by loudspeaker and he could be interviewed by the sponsor. While refugees waited for their sponsors, visitors to the camp, many of them of Hungarian descent, scanned bulletin boards anxiously for sight of a familiar name. Back in Austria, not far from the Hungarian border, the temporary centers were still crammed with refugees anxious to move on. But morale was high and one big booster was the chow-like. An orange is too valuable to let it get away. The food was hot and tasty, especially hot. Vice President Nixon flew over from Washington in the presidential plane to inspect the origin point of Operation Mercy. And on the return trip to the United States, all empty spaces on the plane were allotted to refugees, emphasizing the all-out effort of the American people in alleviating the crowded conditions in Austria. At the terminus end of Operation Mercy Camp Kilmer, refugees were leaving from within 6 to 48 hours of their arrival. Some few had to remain longer for medical reasons and came to know the post as a temporary home. My dear friend Ishtran, I am writing this letter to tell you about this place. It is an army camp named for an American poet. And I think that is fitting somehow, for they do things here in a sensitive way. I'm not talking about the generous gifts of clothes and food. The quiet and dignified medical attention they make available to us. All this is appreciated, yes, but nothing more than this. They let us live together, Ishtran, family by family, even though it would be much simpler for them to put us into barracks. Men, women, children, so forth. But they don't do things that way here, at this post named for a poet. And, Oh Ishtran, the hot water, I can't tell you how many times we wash just to enjoy it. There is a library where we can read Hungarian newspapers. I have practiced my chess and have some good moves ready to surprise you. I have even grown quite fond of the American kinds of bubble water. For the younger men there is a gymnasium where they can keep in shape, trying to make a basket, sometimes. And when it comes to lifting weights, there's almost as much strain for the men who watches as the one who finally does the trick. Chances are you'll find the women at the sewing machines and those who don't know how to use them, soon learn. They are very busy. All of us must be very anxious to look neat in our new country. For those of us who have interest, maybe some talent. In arts and crafts there is a place to work and materials to work with. They even arrange telephone calls so we may talk to relatives and friends in America. It's good to hear a familiar voice. Some nights we have shows and we may see American youngsters on stage doing a dance. This my friendish one is an experience. On the post there are houses of worship for those of every faith. And it is not strange that we pass much time at church, where we think of those we have left behind and those no longer underserved. Once on day we even had a wedding at Camp Kilmer. Several young couples who had known each other in the old country decided to face the new life together. The army did everything it could to make the wedding ceremony a memorable one for the young men and their brides. It was a day of joy mixed with the bitter sweet sadness you always find at weddings. I do not mean to suggest each one that Camp Kilmer is a resort camp. Nothing of the kind. It is the place where we are received into the United States and meet our first contact with America and American ideas. It is an army camp, yes. But only because there is no other means to do a big job so quickly. I look at it this way. It was the army that took care of us those first few frightening days in a new strange country until the American people took us into their hearts, which they did each one, which they are doing. Meanwhile, all of us at Kilmer work hard to learn their incredibly difficult language. I am a young woman. My name is Modeskalki Tolmach. We will learn the traditional way of learning so that the teacher does not speak Hungarian. The teacher's name is Mr. Eng. Good afternoon. My name is Mr. Eng. What is your name? My name is Ferenc Korompahi. My name is Ildikó Karikás. My name is Zoltán Bande. That was very good. Can you understand then, my friend István, why on a no duration day we were so moved when we heard the president say... Through the night of their bondage, the unconquerable will of heroes has struck with the swift sharp thrust of lightning. Budapest is no longer merely the name of a city. Henceforth, it is a new and shining symbol of man's yearning to be free. Thus, across all the globe, there harshly blowed the winds of change. And we, though fortunate be our lives, know that we can never turn our backs to them. And all America, along with the United States Army, did not turn their backs but pitched in to do a job for the valiant, freedom-loving men and women of Hungary. Now, this is Sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us again next week for 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 Army Pictorial Center, presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station.