Produced by U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Voluntary Training Unit 12-36 and Lt. Col. William L. Hendricks, USMCR Commanding Officer, this 1961 film is narrated by American actor Jack Webb and gives viewers a look at the state of readiness of the United States Marine Corps. The film opens with Jack Webb spinning a globe in a Marine Corps office. A Marine Corps marching band plays as Marine Corps men march in full dress. A man walks from his home down the sidewalk in his uniform (01:20). Marines stand for inspection during training. The film shows Marines as they train with rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, artillery guns, and a flame thrower. A-4D Skyhawks fly through the air (02:40); viewers also see Douglas F4D Skyrays and F8U Skyraiders flying. A GV-1 tanker flies and several Skyhawks refuel during flight (03:24). A Skyhawk lands on a short expeditionary landing strip. The film shows footage of an 8-inch self-propelled howitzer (04:10), an M1 Abrams tank, and an M50A1 Ontos Tank Destroyer. Viewers also see the XM70 artillery gun, an Honest John rocket being launched, a Sidewinder missile as it is fired from a fighter jet, a Hawk ground-to-air rocket, and a RIM-2 Terrier guided missile. A Marine test drives an air-suspension platform vehicle (06:15). Another man flies a tiny Mixmaster helicopter. At the Marine Corps’ Ordnance School, an officer teaches cadets. Overseas, Marines watch a parade of bagpipers (08:05). Marines drill in full dress (09:38). Footage shows radar dishes and a Navy Marine team sitting for a briefing (10:28). A Navy task force cruises at sea (11:02); a tanker refuels the ships of the task force at sea. Marines don their gear on the flight deck of a carrier. Navy Frogmen are retrieved from sea (12:35). A Polaris missile is launched from a submarine, breaking through the surface of the water and flying up into the air. Pilots run to their aircraft and take off from a carrier (13:40). Naval guns fire at targets, and planes drop bombs. Pathfinder personnel parachute down (14:30). Marines in battledress march to the flight deck and board Sikorsky H-34 helicopters. The helicopters take off. Some larger Sikorsky HR2S-1 helicopters carry howitzers and other heavy equipment. The helicopters move inland and touch down (16:27); the marines quickly climb out of the ships and run for cover. A jeep drives out of a Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave (17:20). Marines drive amphibious amtracks ashore (18:14). Marines rush across the beach and up hills. Tanks and trucks drive off landing craft at the beach. Marines rush out of amtracks amid explosions (19:41). The film shows tanks firing flame throwers, men tossing grenades and firing machine guns, and heavy tanks firing shells. There is a shot of Marines watching the mushroom cloud following the detonation of a bomb (21:32), which is followed by shots of American cities and sights, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite National Park, cherry blossoms along the Potomac, and the Statue of Liberty. Marines stop and look at the UN building. Viewers see the U.S. Capitol Building and several monuments in Washington D.C., as the film concludes with shot of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." 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
