Shot by an unknown amateur filmmaker, this 1953 color home movie offers rare footage of U.S Army snow compaction trials in Kapuskasing, Ontario Canada; a U.S. Navy expedition of the USS Tanner to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago / Greenland; and a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan for General Mark W. Clark, decorated veteran of three foreign wars (TRT: 27:21). This footage dates from the time of a 1952-1953 study by the U.S. Army of snow, ice, and permafrost conditions in Kapuskasing, which analyzed an extensive series of snow compaction trials. This research informed the U.S. top secret 1960s “Project Iceworm” in Greenland, an ill-fated attempt to create underground nuclear weapons silos during the Cold War, the remains of which pose a continued ecological threat.

A snowy landscape dotted with trees, hills, and telephone poles in Kapuskasing, a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada. A road stretches into the horizon. A sign: “Speed 30 Mils, Kapuskasing, Population 4,950.” Industrial buildings are visible in the background (0:08). A panorama of the smoky and slushy landscape reveals the Kapuskasing Inn (demolished in 2008), a water tower. A 1940s automobile approaches and passes (0:38). A military truck, apparently stuck in deep snow. The truck drives ahead freely. Men stand along the roadside (1:54). Continuous track heavy machinery. Tractors and excavators in a frosty field (2:24). A man mugs for the camera while lifting a wood beam from a pile (3:08). A makeshift lodging. A four-engined aircraft soars overhead (3:40). A man and his truck. Views from a moving vehicle (4:08). A barren landscape (4:33). The “Union Jack,” the Flag of the United Kingdom (5:04). A distant snowplow sends clouds of white into the sky (5:36). A sign: “Kapuskasing Department of Transport,” trucks on the move. A red and white building. A man attempts to uproot a tree (6:12). Two dogs and a sled stand near the tractors and plows (7:23). Snow grooming equipment uses large rollers to pack the snow into a trail (8:00). A caravan of tractors. A closeup on churching snow (9:01). A man shields his eyes from glare. Warmly dressed men struggle with equipment. A diesel tractor sinks into a snow pack, but drives on, over a crude log bridge (9:40). A continuous tracked vehicle on a trailer. A burned out vehicle on the roadside (10:49). A lodging with icicles flying a Union Jack. Men on the back of a truck. A boxer dog (11:29). Towing heavy equipment marked “Churchill”(12:43). Packing and plowing the snow into smooth pathways. A cameraman in a beret of the Canadian Armed Forces (13:46). Two small boats as seen from a larger naval craft. Sailors in “dixie cup” hats watch as the boat comes abreast and hooks onto extended cables (14:37). Approaching the port of a naval base. Retrieving a downed U.S. Sikorsky H-5 (UR-58) helicopter from the water, using a crane to lift the damaged craft towards the deck of a ship (15:47). The helicopter displays markings for the USS Tanner (AGS-15, originally the 539 Pamina), an Artemis-class attack cargo ship. In 1952-1953, the Tanner traveled to northwest Greenland for extensive surveying work, concluding the trip at an island in the Canadian Arctic, where a Manitoba harbor was named “Tanner Bay” in her honor (18:12). A U.S. four-engine aircraft passes overhead. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, or perhaps Greenland (18:22). A Sikorsky H-5 (UR-54) takes off. Aerial photography of the archipelago (20:09). A distant lighthouse. Approaching the USS Tanner (21:19). Blurred shots from inside an aircraft’s cockpit shows the instrument panel in flashes (21:57). A low buzz over ships below. A ship docked on a green coastline (22:33). Men stand outside modest tents (23:21). A military marching band. Brass instruments, United States flags (23:32). Retiring 4-star General Mark W. Clark rides in a convertible during a ticker-tape parade celebrating his service in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War (23:51). A speech and salute. Marines at attention (24:12). Generals, soldiers, police officers, and Marines on parade (25:31)

Mark Wayne Clark (1896 – 1984) saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest USA four-star general in World War II.

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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com