War Film #10, titled LIFE LINE, tells the story of the invasion of Rendova and Munda, and the suffering of Marines who fought against this Japanese outpost.
After a terrible Japanese counter-attack by aircraft, wounded Americans are seen at the 7:00 mark, and many are killed in action. This horrifying footage shows Marines lying in the mud, as their comrades try to give them proper burial on the battlefield.
At 8:30, field medical care is seen with plasma, quinine and sulfa being administered in the field. Amputations are performed at the 12:00 mark. Wounded are moved to more hospitable quarters in rear areas, and surgeons work at the 14:30 mark. Finally patients are seen in a field hospital, and doing rehabilitation, and being entertained at a USO show with Bob Hope at 16:00. At 16:30, men return to America, and a man is seen with a bride and then two children…
Films like this were made for propaganda purposes, as an incentive for war workers and to encourage civilians to buy war bonds.
The landings on Rendova was a military amphibious assault on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands on 30 June 1943 by United States Army and Navy forces during the New Georgia Campaign of the Pacific War. In the assault, U.S. forces overwhelmed a small Japanese military garrison and secured the island. The U.S. occupied the island to use it as a staging and artillery base to support an offensive against Japanese forces guarding an airfield at Munda Point on nearby New Georgia.
The assault shown was part of the New Georgia Campaign, a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied strategy in the South Pacific. The campaign took place in the New Georgia group of islands, in the central Solomon Islands from 20 June through 7 October 1943.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
