 This is war, war and its masses, war and its men, war and its machines. Together they form the Big Picture. Big Picture. I'm Captain Carl Zimmerman. The Big Picture is a report to you from your army. An army committed by you, the people of the United States, to stop communist aggression wherever it may strike. The Big Picture traces the course of events in the Korean campaign. Through first-hand reports of our combat veterans, and through film produced by the Army Signal Corps, photographed by Combat Cameraman. These are the men who daily record on film the Big Picture as it happens, where it happens. Today, the Big Picture will show our United Nations forces crossing the 38th parallel. You'll see our paratroopers land near Monsan. You'll see Republic of Korea troops in action. You'll see the strength of an infantry tank team. And from another part of the world, from Europe, the activation of shape, and a message from General Eisenhower. And later in our program, you'll hear from two army soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division. War and Officer Sam Putterbaugh and Private 1st Class Jim Vines. But now for Part of the Big Picture, let's go back to March 20, 1951. As of 20 March, U.N. ground forces on all fronts are pushing slowly and methodically northward toward the 38th parallel. They meet only light resistance as the Chinese communists fall back. On 21 March, Chun Chun falls without a fight in an attempt to speed up the offensive and trap the large enemy force, guarding the approaches to Pyongyang, and 187th Regimental Combat Team parachutes behind enemy lines in the Monsan area just 12 miles below the parallel. At the same time, other U.N. forces drive northward along a 15-mile front above Seoul to meet them. However, the main body of the communist troops escape the trap. By 31 March, South Korean forces in the east have already crossed the parallel heading inland from Pyongyang. In the west, a U.S. tank column crosses the 38th parallel north of Seoul. Meanwhile, U.N. naval forces patrol the east Korean waters, harassing enemy transport and troop movements along the coast, and bombarding key communist traffic hubs. Allied ground troops continue their cautious advance into enemy territory, and on 18 April, after days of bloody fighting, U.N. troops in the central sector capture the strategic Wachan Dam and enter the town of Wachan. As of 20 April, the Chinese communists are continuing to fall back all along the front with heavy casualties. But their resistance becomes stronger as U.N. troops approach the huge enemy concentrations that have been massed below Wonsan for the long-expected counteroffensive. During this 30-day period, the greatest aerial battle of the Korean War took place with over 225 bombers and fighters involved. Eight enemy jets are destroyed. No friendly fighters are lost. On this map of Korea, a crudely improvised tomahawk marks the jump area for a parachute operation beyond our front lines. The airborne mission is named Operation Tomahawk. Objective? To seize an area deep in enemy territory on the Imjin River near Monsan, and hold on until ground forces move up to consolidate the position. Equipment of the parachutist gets a pre-loading inspection. Any loose dangling gear may injure the jumper or snap off and get lost when the shoot opens. 3,300 parachutists of the 187th Regimental Combat Team will participate in the operation. Into the C-119 flying boxcars, heavy equipment is loaded. 4.2-inch mortars, 105-millimeter howitzers, and jeeps are prepared for the drop to support the parachute infantrymen. Air Force crew members get last-minute briefings. Pilots carefully recheck jump areas on maps, get latest weather report, and then prepare to take off. Troop carrier planes rendezvous over Taegu and fly northward. Fighters and bombers have preceded these planes to soften up enemy resistance. Here's the jump area, 10 miles south of the parallel. At 0900 on Good Friday, 23 March, Brigadier General Frank S. Bowen's 187th Airborne RCT hits the silk over the rice paddies and rolling terrain of the jump area. The parachutists leave the troop carriers in sticks of 42 men from each plane at an altitude of 800 feet. As soon as all parachute personnel have jumped, the flying boxcars start delivering the heavy equipment. In this plane, jeeps and trailers are being dropped. A small parachute is released to aid in pulling the heavy cargo from the plane. More equipment and supplies are dropped as the parachutists quickly assemble and organize on the ground. The North Korean First Corps believed to be in this area had vanished. No serious opposition was encountered. Operation Tomahawk gains 20 miles in one day. Just before nightfall, the first tanks of the 24th Infantry Division link up with the parachutists. Tank drivers poke their heads up through their ports to have a look around. The task force reorganizes and moves out. This was Korea in March 1951. The 24th Division was pushing the Chinese back across the 38th parallel. Let's have a report from another part of our ground team now. Here is Private First Class Jim Bynes of Beckley, West Virginia. Jim saw action with his seventh regiment of the First Cavalry Division. Well, where was the seventh at this time, Jim? We was also moving northward toward the 38th parallel. We crossed the Han River. We were stopped there on the counter. We couldn't get supplies in. It flooded and washed all the bridges out. We had to have our supplies dropped in by air. As soon as we got supplied up, we moved on northward across the 38th into the Wachong Reservoir. Well, what happened up there, Jim? Well, we run into pretty stiff resistance up there. They opened up the flood gates, flooded us out and washed all of our supplies away again. It took us 11 days to secure it. It was plenty rough, didn't it? Sure did. Well, Jim, I see you're wearing the bronze star. How did you get that? Well, it was on the Nactong River before we started our first push north. The battalion was under about a four-hour attack one morning. It was short on ammunition, my company was. A jeep driver had got hit that morning, so I volunteered to take the jeep and go back to the supply point, which I had to go through about two miles of road that was under heavy enemy fire to get to the supply point. And I made two trips hauling ammunition up to the company. It was awarded to me there. Now, you keep you on a jeep driver then, Jim? Yes, sir. I drove a jeep the rest of the time, and Gory. I guess I figured this guy, Vines, can really carry the mail. Carrying the mail is one of the things you did do, wasn't it? Yes, sir. Carried mail, rations. You were very popular. Plain clothing. Very popular man, Jim. Well, let's get back and talk about these hills in Korea once again. It's pretty hard to get these Chinese out of their holes, wasn't it? Yes, sir. They dig in so deep that most of them didn't even get out. Just kill them right in their hole. Well, what's one of the best weapons to get them out, Jim? About the only thing you can get down into them is napalm. Burn them out. Well, how close to our lines do they drop that stuff? Well, I've seen it drop in closest to 100 yards. Sometime probably closer. But it's good for the morale to see it come down, huh? Sure is. Well, Jim, you saw plenty of napalm drops in Korea. Let's watch now as napalm helps the 24th Division in their advance. While foot troops move up, tactical air makes a coordinated strike against the enemy's hastily constructed fortified positions in the hills. Jets deliver one of the most feared of our weapons, napalm bombs. These jellied gasoline bombs have proved highly successful in flushing the enemy from prepared positions. With air and artillery preparation completed, riflemen take up the assault and overrun the enemy's defensive lines before the communists can recover from the shock of the bombardment. This assault moves the United Nations forces one step closer to the communist violated border of the Republic of Korea. The enemy increases his defensive fires, resisting stubbornly, sometimes fanatically, as the area of the 38th parallel becomes a battleground for the 4th time since the war started last June. A rifle platoon passes through an area burned out by napalm bombs. The only enemy found in this area was charred. An automatic rifleman spots a target of opportunity and opens fire, and a 3.5-inch bazooka team is engaged in neutralizing defensive positions. And as always, there is just one more hill to take before the assault is completed. After the objective is overrun and the units reorganize, the men fight off the chill of the mountain climate. The serpentine route of the Imjin River creates a land pocket with a natural water barrier on three sides near the 38th parallel. Communist elements withdrew across this river after abandoning Seoul without a fight. Here on the south bank of the river, units of the 1st ROK Division prepare to cross the Imjin. South Korean troops assemble for the Imjin crossing while their combat engineers bring up the assault boats. Brigadier General Pyke Sun-Yup, commanding general of the 1st ROK Division, supervises the operation which was planned by his staff officers. Areas suspected of containing hostile forces are plotted by artillerymen. The South Koreans request a fire mission from U.S. forces to support the river crossing. The mission is coordinated and artillery pieces fire as requested. Immediately following the softening up artillery fire in the area north of the Imjin, the ROK troops load into assault boats and cross the river as enemy small arms fire harrasses the operation. Enemy forces on the north bank, scouted earlier by a patrol, are estimated to be in company strength. This crossing is being made near the site where the main allied supply road spanned the Imjin last year when United Nations forces were fighting in the Pyongyang area to the north. United Nations liaison officers observe the activities as the river crossing is executed. The Imjin is crossed successfully against ineffective resistance from North Koreans and elements of the Chinese 3rd Field Army. In the shadow of Paris' famed Arc de Triomphe, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower takes command of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, at his temporary headquarters in the Hotel Astoria. SHAPE is a functional unit of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. For many months, the nations of NATO have been engaged in erecting for themselves a wall of security against any possible aggression. They have no aggressive intent or purpose of their own. They intend only to see to it that they may live peaceably and secure behind the arrangements that they collectively make. Today, another significant step was taken in this process of ensuring our collective security. This headquarters, formally and officially, assumed operational control and command of all forces allocated by our several countries to the defense of Europe. General Eisenhower executes the first order issued by SHAPE. By signing this historic document, the general assumes formal command of all Allied land, sea and air organizations assigned to him by NATO. On a 60-acre plot of Marley Forest, which has been cleared in this area, construction of a permanent headquarters for SHAPE is begun. This location, 20 miles west of Paris, was once a secluded retreat for Louis XIV, who built an ornate palace here. In contrast to the king's palace, the new shape buildings will be modest, constructed of prefabricated materials to house 600 military and civilian headquarters personnel. Foundations are poured as top priority is given to the project. The task of forging a North Atlantic military force for the defense of Western Europe eventually will be centrally located here. This is the beginning of a tank infantry team assault deep into enemy-held territory. Here, in an undisclosed area north of Seoul, an attack order is issued for a tank infantry patrol. After the order is given, extra HE grenades are distributed. During the early dawn of the following morning, there are rendezvous with riflemen. Men of the 3rd Division mount tanks to ride during the initial phase of the patrol's advance. Mission of the tank infantry team, cross Imjin River, probe communist defenses beyond the 38th parallel, and report back on his dispositions and equipment, test his strength, but do not become decisively committed, withdraw when information is secured. This is a reconnaissance in force. All roads leading into enemy territory are heavily mined. Tanks take to the Imjin River bed, shallow here, where it crosses a 38th parallel to avoid red mines. Abandoned communist trucks are found in the river. On the far side of the Imjin, the infantrymen dismount onto North Korean soil and prepare to move out. The patrol moves forward over the innumerable hills into which the enemy forces are dug in. Red fields of fire are not yet rough to bear on the assaulting troops. An enemy position is engaged. Extra grenades issued the night before now come in handy as the riflemen close with a defensive outpost. After the outpost defenses are overrun, the tank infantry team reorganizes and continues the advance. Incoming small arms fire and mortar rounds are beginning to slow down the speed of the patrol's forward movement. The troops are cautious not to become decisively engaged. Red resistance increases as the patrol fights into a small village located on the Kaigen mainline railroad, which runs between Seoul and Pyongyang. Making sure their flanks are protected, the tank infantry team punches into the village and destroys communist installations. By late afternoon, this reconnaissance in force is completed and returned safely to its base. That was the 8th Army's one-two punch to the infantry tank team. The Chinese and North Koreans got to know it very well as time went on. Now we'd like you to meet another man from the 1st Cavalry Division, warrant officer Sam Putterbaugh. Well, Sam, what was your job with the regiment? You're a warrant officer and you're wearing the combat infantry badge. That's a little unusual, isn't it? Yes, it is, Carl, but not all warrant officers and pencil pushers. When we got to Korea, our high rate of casualties amongst the officers, my battalion commander had to utilize what he had, so I was used as a combat platoon leader and that made me eligible for the combat infantry badge. Well, and, Natalie, Sam, you've done pretty well in that job, too. You're wearing the bronze star with cluster. Well, you saw action in World War II, didn't you? Yes, I did, Carl. Well, have we seen a lot of improvement since that time? Yeah, especially in the logistical problems. When we first got to Korea, we were short food, water, clothing, ammunition. But when I left Korea in July, the front line troops were getting one hot meal a day. Also, the quartermaster had came out with a new assault ration, which every mission that we went out on as a reconnaissance force or any mission like that, we were given this ration for one meal for that type of mission. Well, Sam, how about improvements in the medical field? If a man is wounded today, he stands a much better chance of staying alive, doesn't he? Yes, they have. The field hospital of the medical corps has put up close to the front line as possible. When a man has a serious casualty on the front line, he's immediately evacuated to that field hospital where he has given the best medical care it's possible for a soldier to get. Well, you were a tanker in World War II, right, Sam? Yes, I was gone. Well, a lot of these men coming back from Korea tell us this is not very good country for tank fighting. How do you feel about that? I disagree with that statement very much. When we first got to Korea, we had no tanks in the Chinese and the rest of them were able to push our troops back on several occasions. On the first time, the North Koreans pushed us back to the Naktong River. In August, when the 70th tank came over, we were able to hold those positions and also to have a tank task force break through 123 miles in one day. Now, on the map of Korea, if you look at the west coast, the plains from Seoul to Pyongyang into Shinanpo is all flat plateau country, and tank can be utilized there very much. Well, that's on the west coast, but how about the east? The terrain there is a little rougher, isn't it? Yes, sir, Carl, but they're being used in the east, too, but not in big forays but breakthrough points where the infantry goes through to take a mile or two. But no infantryman man likes to go out without a tank going along with him or a platoon of tanks because they're a very good morale factor to have around with that much firepower. Well, Sam, how about the British? They had some tanks over there, too, didn't they? Yes, sir, Carl, the British have a 50 ton tank being used in Korea, and when we were forced back the first time from North Korea, it was used as a rear guard and it's being used very efficiently by the Chinese troops today. So I can't see how anybody could say that tanks cannot be used in Korea in a manner that they were used in World War II. Well, how about a recon mission? Do you use tanks on those a great deal? Yes, they do. The M-24 and the M-46 is being used in Korea on recon missions and used effectively, and the infantry likes to have them when they go out on them. Right, Sam. Well, back in April of 1951 when the tankers in a recon mission let's see his report. After receiving an order to clear an area near the 38th parallel of communist snipers and to search roads for land mines a detail of a reconnaissance company prepares for its mission. Weapons are loaded and a final check of equipment is made. The tank convoy gets underway. This roadway has already been cleared of mines. The men keep alert for enemy snipers. All bridges over streams and rivers have been destroyed by the withdrawing communist forces. Tanks forward streams at the shallowest points. Foot troops precede the tanks searching for land mines. A culvert bridge blasted by retreating raids halts the advance momentarily but not for long. Engineer troops measure the distance to estimate bridging materials required to span the gully. In no mood to wait a tank bypasses the wrecked bridge and presses out a detour. The tonnage of the tank smashes a new road that leads through a small village on the far side. This jeep in four-wheel drive and shifted in low low bogs down despite a persistent attempt to move through the giant rocks. The much heavier tank returns to smooth out the steep approaches and the rocky terrain. Now the jeep moves over the detour and out the other side over the tank-made path. Teamwork pays off. Remember the sign on the American roads that said beware soft shoulder? Well, here's what it can mean in Korea. Another tank moves up to the disabled one but can be of no assistance. Crew members sweat it out while their tank balances precariously. Chinese surrender leaflets are found in the vicinity of the disabled tank and tankers read the propaganda through curious but distrusting eyes. The usual reaction to these propaganda leaflets is the traditional but appropriate nuts. After radioing for a tank retriever the recon detail moves on to accomplish its mission. Those were the events that comprise the big picture from March 20th to April 20th, 1951. Our thanks to warrant officer Sam Putterbaugh and PSC Jim Vines of the 1st Cavalry Division for being with us. Next week the big picture will show the United Nations forces withdrawing in the face of a red offensive. You'll see the Lincoln Line established north of Seoul. You'll see our troops hold onto that line and later break out in an air ground assault. And you'll hear from another combat veteran an Army soldier who saw as it happened a part of the big picture. This is Captain Carl Zimmerman inviting you to be with us then.