A 1965 black and white episode (#643) of the U.S. ARMY TV series “The Big Picture.” This, the tenth installment of the “Army in Action” series, covers events of the Korean War from 1950-1953 (TRT: 28:32).
A soldier looks through the sight of a machine gun. Loading a cannon. United States Army training exercises (0:07). Handling guns. Armed soldiers standing in silhouette against water, trees, sky (0:30). Soviet T-34 tanks on parade and smiling Communist Party officials (0:41). Opening titles (01:12). Our host introduces a map of Korea with a line separating north and south at the 38th parallel (1:51). A sprawling mountain range. Korean farmers bale hay and pour out rice (3:42). Young Korean boys write “good afternoon” in English on a blackboard during an outdoor school session (4:02). Explosions in darkness (4:17). Burning buildings circa June 1950. A mass movement of Korean refugees traveling on foot (4:26). U.S. soldiers run across a field amongst explosions. Artillery fire (4:42). President Harry S. Truman speaks at a press conference (5:04). The United Nations and U.S. Delegate Warren Austin (5:12). Seoul in flames post-invasion. U.S. soldiers in transit on an airplane (5:45). Marching U.S. troops intercut with clapping Koreans (6:01). A map. Zoom in on Osan. U.S. soldiers crawl in mud, load a bazooka (6:08). Looking through binoculars, launching a mortar (6:42). General Douglas MacArthur on an airstrip, boarding a plane labeled “Bataan” (6:55). More heavy artillery fire. Reinforcements pose on a ship’s deck. Trucks roll out (7:17). Field Commanders Walton Walker and William F. Dean (7:40). Soldiers with goggles consulting maps, transporting artillery (8:11). A map illustrates northern encroachment towards Busan (8:50). Target practice and training. British troops arrive (9:07). Arrows on the map push the battlefront back and forth (10:13). Rocket artillery (10:38). The map shows ships off Korea’s west coast. Missiles firing from ships. MacArthur looks on (11:08). A Korean soldier exiting a foxhole surrenders with his hands raised (12:04). Tanks roll into Incheon. U.S. troops on patrol, marching prisoners (12:12). Trucks and continuous track armored vehicles (13:34). Map closeups: Kaesong, Wonsan (13:53). Loudspeakers and radio broadcasting equipment, magnetic reel-to-reel tape. Safe conduct passes are airdropped (14:45). Korean prisoners march among tents and barbed wire. Sign: “POW Camp 3” (15:08). U.S. troops traverse mountainous terrain (15:40). The frozen Yalu River and Thanksgiving dinner. A soldier bites into a drumstick (16:09). Chinese soldiers blow trumpets and march (16:32). Marching through snow. The map points toward Hungnam (16:58). Trucks load onto ships. Fleeing refugees (17:38). Sign: “You are now crossing the 38th parallel” (18:18). Chinese forces in snow, Koreans carry heavy burdens en masse (18:24). A bridge explosion (18:53). Campfires, tents, and food. Footprints in the snow (18:56). Tank montage (19:23). Skyline of Seoul and empty streets. Continued fighting (20:25). Soviet Ambassador Yakov Malik speaks at the U.N. (21:45). North Korean delegates meet for peace talks in 1951 (21:55). Leaving the first negotiations, resuming in Panmunjom (22:25). Massive piles of mortar shells fill a panorama (22:55). Sikorsky H-19 Chikasaw helicopters appear, dropping supplies (23:17). Tank battle in the hills (23:59). Empty hills. Crossfade to Russain men reading newspapers in 1953, following the death of Joseph Stalin (24:20). Prisoners of war are exchanged in Operation Little Switch (24:56). American men turn a radio dial. General Mark Clark signs a ceasefire agreement in July 1953 (25:17). Operation Big Switch: Red cross trucks and the return of William Dean (25:42). A military demarcation line is drawn on a map. Russians look through a periscope. A damaged tank and a man with binoculars (26:26). Our host returns (27:07). End credits (28:08).
The Big Picture aired from 1951 to 1971 on U.S. television stations including CBS and ABC. The series was assembled from footage produced by the United States Army Signal Corps Pictorial Service.
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