This declassified black and white 1944 U.S. Navy film produced by Byron Motion Pictures describes the risk of malaria faced by military personnel in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) during World War II, covering preventative measures, mosquito abatement methods, and treatment of the infirmed (TRT 10:51).

Titles: “The United States Navy presents” and “Medicine in Action” and “Pacific Enemy Number Two Malaria” (0:07). Naval personnel in helmets and “dixie cup” caps with anti-aircraft guns and mainmast rigging (0:38). Mountains and coastline of an island in the South Pacific. Waves wash along the shore. A typical Pacific Islands village with palm trees and huts with thatched grass roofs (0:48). A person in a conical hat balances a load on his shoulders. A child walks in the road. A soldier crosses paths with two natives (1:01). An anopheles or marsh mosquito in entomological closeup (1:20). A man in a pith helmet collects a blood sample from a native on a glass platen. A platen is placed under a Bausch & Lomb microscope by a man in a white t-shirt (1:26). Microphotography shows a malaria parasite (1:38). A native child’s swollen abdomen is examined. Pan across a group of native children. An adult native shows similar symptoms (1:44). A quonset hut sick bay, pharmacy, and laboratory combined, lined with naval personnel at sick call (2:04). A medical officer reviews the records of bed-ridden patients in a sick bay. Patients appear pale and sweaty. A dissolve effect illustrates a loss of manpower for a group of Seabees (2:20). Naval officers in a wood-paneled office environment compare a large globe to a map (2:47). A jungle swamp with standing water (3:29). Troops carry a sick man on a stretcher through jungle brush (3:41). Troops on patrol in silhouette. Sitting for a smoke break, a soldier is reminded to roll down his sleeves (4:07). Closeup on a small vial of mosquito repellant (4:32). Mosquito netting. Insect repellant spray (DDT) (4:46). A man removes clothing and lies down in silhouette, slapping at a pest (4:57). A line of men are served Atabrine pills from a bowl in a mess hall. A poster: “Have you taken your Atabrine today?” Soldiers in helmets are administered Atabrine tablets, drinking water from canteen cups (5:08). Soldiers fire rifles skyward. Troops charge towards a hill (5:29). Trucks parked under palm trees. Quonset huts and cargo of a malaria control team. A sign: “Headquarters Malaria Control SoPac” likely in Papua New Guinea. An entomologist scout in a pith helmet collects a water sample, which shows breeding mosquitoes (5:37). Seabees with a blasting machine press a detonator. A dynamite explosion. An excavator with drag lines makes a drainage ditch. Men cut through underbrush. Spraying DDT. Natives lend a hand, carrying cans of insect repellant spray (6:16). Engineers building sluice gates. Installing mosquito netting. Children are given a spray canister. A fumigation canister (6:57). Natives take Atabrine pills (8:00). Wide shot of a village. A soldier with bare arms and legs. Dancing natives. A bare-chested villager woman. A man in a sick pay holds a thermometer in his mouth (8:32). A poster: “Man-Made Malaria” with a racist caricature of a “Japanese” mosquito. Rain dripping from the roof of a tent. Puddles (8:50). A truck loaded with men drives a muddy road with ruts filled with standing water (9:11). A naval engineer on a tractor plow removes ruts (9:38). A sign: “Use Authorized Roads Only by Order of Comd. Gen.” Scenes of combat. Throwing a grenade. Firing a machine gun (9:51). Soldiers marching on a wet road (10:25). A banner: “Welcome Home” with a racist caricature of a Native American. A spinning globe. “The End” (10:29).

During 1944, the U.S. Navy employed a strategy of “island-hopping” around the South Pacific islands of Guam, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines while advancing towards Iwo Jima and Okinawa. According to post-war calculations, Army medical personnel treated 47,663 cases of malaria in 1942 alone. Atabrine was commonly known for its skin-yellowing side effects.

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