This training film from 1942, “On Your Toes,” is part of the “Fighting Men” training series produced by The Signal Corps for the War Department. It demonstrates the difference between an ordinary soldier and a first class fighting man, teaching soldiers the importance of staying alert and vigil at all times.

:40 A squad of U.S. Army soldiers is asleep in a bombed out building.

:50 One soldier nearby is on watch. Suddenly an explosion sends up a cloud of smoke. The soldier yells, ‘gas!’ and dons a gas mask. A second soldier rings an alarm bell alerting the sleeping soldiers. The soldiers wake and quickly find their gas masks. One disorganized solider struggles to find his mask. Before he can protect himself, he dies from gas exposure.

02:08 Two medics wearing gas masks remove the dead solider on stretcher.

02:40 One soldier falls into a deep sleep as soon as his head hits his Haversack. A second soldier sleeps lightly. Neatly organized next to him his rifle, Haversack, gas mask, and helmet.

03:41 On a football field, a halfback takes the ball. He races past defenders and scores a touchdown.

03:50 Two duck hunters in a duck blind patiently wait for prey.

03:59 American sniper, expertly concealed in foliage, peers at an unsuspecting German soldier.

04:10 Field artillery opens fire.

04:16 An unsuspecting German soldier is knifed by an American solider.

04:27 U.S. Army troops march on parade past the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

04:42 U.S. soldiers on maneuvers in the field. One solider walks up to a suspicious mound of debris, suspects a trap, and cautiously walks around it. U.S. troops continue through the woods. An unperceptive soldier walks right into a trip wire, igniting an explosion.

05:06 A soldier in a covered fox hole alertly scans the area for activity. He sees a German soldier. The American takes careful aim and fires.

05:34 A soldier on his back wiggles under low hanging barbed wire. He silently cuts the wires one-by-one.

06:30 Another solider, also on his back cutting barbed wire, carelessly shifts his weight, his boot applies pressure on an unseen landmine that explodes.

06:57 A German Messerschmidt Bf 109E strafes the ground with bullets. An alert soldier safely dives for cover.

07:06 U.S. soldiers cross open ground. Two soldiers set up a Browning machine gun. Three German Junker JU87s roll inverted to drop bombs. The machine gunners keep firing amid explosions.

07:44 In battle, a U.S. soldier digs through his utility belt for ammo. A German soldier unwittingly backs into the American. The American alertly overtakes the German and kills him.

08:04 A U.S. soldier comes upon dead soldiers in the jungle. Hiding in a tree above is a Japanese sniper who shoots the American.

08:24 Amid jungle battle, someone behind a cloud of gun smoke waves a white flag. Japanese soldiers surrender. American troops move in. Hidden Japanese machine gunners kill the unsuspecting Americans.

09:10 An American soldier in the jungle spies a dead Japanese soldier. He hits the ground cautiously. The “dead” man opens his eyes, moves to throw a grenade, but the American shoots him dead.

09:31 From behind, we see a solider wearing a U.S. Army helmet. A front view reveals it is a Japanese soldier wearing a U.S. helmet.

09:39 An American soldier in camouflage moves cautiously through the jungle, suspicious of everything. A Japanese soldier, hidden in the foliage, whispers to him in English. The American isn’t fooled; he hits the ground behind a tree and raises his rifle, shooting the enemy.

10:43 A wild leopard crawls stealthily through the jungle.

11:12 A U.S. soldier walks through the jungle mimicking animal stealth. He stops next to a tree. A leave falls. The solider immediately raises his rifle and fires into the tree, killing a Japanese soldier.

12:05 END

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