1945
Department of Defense. Department of the Army.
Reel 1, Negro soldiers and Women’s Air Corps (WACs) attend church and go through an obstacle course. Boxer Joe Louis knocks out an opponent. Shows the U.S. and German flags, the Constitution, the graves of Boston massacre victims, the Bunker Hill Monument, a biography of Washington, and the Lincoln Memorial. Paintings and motion pictures show Negroes with George Washington crossing the Delaware and in other historic settings.
Reel 2 shows Negroes serving in the Spanish-American War, working on the Panama Canal, serving as judges and school teachers, conducting orchestras, playing football, and serving the U.S. Army in World War II. Includes scenes of Booker T. Washington’s grave and his laboratory. Jesse Owens and other Negroes compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Shows Howard University, Hampton Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Prairie View College, and Fisk University. Shows Japanese and Germans planning and carrying out attacks on European cities, Chinese cities, and Pearl Harbor.
Reel 3 shows the wreckage in Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack. Negroes join the Army, drill, and perform their Army duties. Negro WAC’s work as dental assistants and frill.
Reel 4, Negro soldiers go through an obstacle course, receive commissions, and perform various Army duties. Includes scenes of Negro West Point officers, a Negro tank crew, and Negro cavalry units.
Reel 5 shows Negro soldiers in combat in Europe, constructing an airfield on a Pacific island, working on the Alcan highway, driving trucks, and firing artillery. Negro WAC’s march in review. Negroes fire various types of Army weapons.