United Newsreel Corporation was formed during WWII by the Office of War Information to boost home front morale and essentially serve as a propaganda outlet for the U.S. government. This particular example shows events in 1944 on both the European and Pacific fronts, including the bombing of Tokyo, distributing goods in the Philippines, and the liberation of Metz, Strasbourg, and Belfort in France.

The film begins with the United News intro montage – soldiers marching, closeup of a tank, an airplane taking off, a ship in choppy water. 0:36 Text “B-29s Over Tokyo.” Bombs are wheeled up to a B-29 Superfortress on Saipan Island. A soldier writes “only the beginning” on a bomb. Crew of the XXI Bomber Command are briefed. 1:11 General Emmett E. “Rosie” O’Donnell, Jr. checks final details with General Haywood Shepherd Hansell, Jr., Commander of the Saipan Base Superfortress. General O’Donnell with Major Robert K. Morgan, his companion in the lead plane, Dauntless Dotty. The B-29s take off from the base. 2:05 B-29s fly toward Tokyo, Japan. Aerial view of Tokyo. B-29s drop a series of bombs. Closeup of bombs dropping, explosive clouds seen on the ground below. For two hours the B-29s bomb the industrial district. 3:07 The B-29s return to Saipan. 3:16 Text “Within the week, Japanese planes retaliate…bombing Saipan… 3:22 Exterior of huts and palms. Footage of the aftermath of Tokyo’s bombs. Clouds of black smoke rise into the air. Wreckage of vehicles, B-29s, and a Japanese plane. 3:58 Soldiers use industrial hoses to put out the fires. B-29s take off as soldiers wave on the horizon. 4:28 Text “Sixth Army Advances on Leyte.” A tank moves through brush on Leyte Island in the Philippines. Sniper assisting a fellow wounded soldier. Soldiers set up camp. Closeup of a tank called Green Hornet. 4:58 Troops carry the body of war photographer Frank Christ, who was killed in action. 5:08 Frank Christ buried in a military ceremony. 5:23 In Tacloban, the liberated capital of Leyte Island, Philippine civilians receive clothing from the United States at the First Aid Clinic Public Dispensary. Goods are distributed, children are dressed and doted upon. 5:54 Young Philippine girl smiles into the camera. 5:56 Text “Plane in Full Flight Rescues Lost Airmen.” A plane takes off, highlighting the personnel pickup. During testing, a heavy sack is lifted by a hook trailing from the plane. 6:11 Soldiers harness a sheep, preparing for a live test. The sheep is lifted into the air. The plane lands, and the sheep is released. 6:36 Human trials begin, and a soldier is secured in a harness. He is lifted into the air successfully. 6:58 Slow motion shot of the soldier being lifted. 7:19 The soldier hangs from nylon rope in the harness below the aircraft as he is slowly hoisted in. 7:50 Text “Metz, Strasbourg, Belfort, Fall to the Allies.” In Metz, France, U.S. forces isolated nearby forts and attacked the city. German forces retreated, and U.S. forces pursued them for two days until the city was captured. 7:55 Wide shot of French troops parading in Metz. Civilians smile at the camera. Major General Walton Walker of the XX Corps represents the American Army and the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). The city is returned to French Lieutenant-General Andre-Marie-Francois Dody in an official ceremony. Closeup of General Dody. 8:41 In Strasbourg, France, Provost Marshal MacIntyre of the U.S. 7th Army stands with Nazi General Franz Vaterrodt, who gives up two battalions of 5000 German soldiers under his command. Vaterrodt’s soldiers leave by truck. 9:20 Closeup of a sign that reads Montbeliard, in France. A tank drives through the streets of the town. Civilians look on as the tank rolls through and the French First Army advances towards Belfort, near the Swiss border. 9:38 Artillery blasts Belfort Castle, the last remaining fortress. Tanks and cannons fire upon the castle. Explosions are seen in the distance. 10:02 French Major-General Claude-Philippe-Armand Chaillet and his staff inspect an underground tunnel that acted as a last haven of the Germans. The French tricolor flag flies over Belfort once again. General Chaillet walks to a viewpoint and he and his staff look down to the city below. The film closes on a soldier looking down onto the city.

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