A Big Picture of the Army Way of Life

It was with a measure of pride that Col. William Quinn introduced a discussion about the history of the US Army’s First Infantry Division, titled “The Big Red One” (TV-210), in 1952. It was one episode he had developed in a short series named the Blue Badge that APC producers incorporated into a series of the earliest Big Picture episodes (TV-210 through TV-222). But “The Big Red One” was not only the first in Quinn’s series, it was also the first film dedicated to a historical study for the Big Picture catalog. Following it in quick succession were several other studies of military units. These introduced a large number of historical films that the APC produced for informational purposes. Beginning with the historical informational films, this chapter examines those Big Picture episodes that the Astoria studios created to inform and educate service members, their families, and the public about the army way of life, the third subject category of this study.

History of the Army

A quick survey of the Big Picture catalog reveals that at least eighty-six episodes were devoted to historical subjects. At approximately 10.4 percent of the total number produced by the APC, “historical” is the largest subcategory within the series. This is unsurprising considering that APC’s archive was a treasure trove of video footage collected by Army Signal Corps cameramen over the years. As such, it provided the American audience with the greatest video exposure to their army. For the Big Picture producers it offered repeated opportunities to display past achievements, highlight moments of triumph, and demonstrate how the writers wove the army’s glories into the tapestry of the national story. It provided points of connection with veterans who still remembered recent past conflicts, and it piqued the curiosity of viewers interested in military history. John Labella recalls:

When I was young I was fascinated with the history that was presented on The Big Picture, especially the military history. In fact, that program as well as the West Point Story, also a series of that period, got me thinking about going to West Point. As I got older and still watched the program, I was more interested in the shows focusing on the battles in World War Two.¹

Within the sequence of production, the great majority of these episodes aired prior to 1966 and the United States’ deeper involvement in Southeast Asia. Of these, most featured the American experience in World War II, focusing on battles and theaters of operation. Titles about operations included “D-Day Convoy to Normandy” (TV-213), “U.S. Sixth Corps” (TV-219), and “Invasion of Southern France” (TV-220). Episodes about specific battles included “Battle of Salerno” (TV-406), “Battle of the Bulge” (TV-413), and the critically acclaimed “Battle of San Pietro” (TV-431). Several years afterward, 1964–1965, the APC produced an epic twelve-episode history series under the collective title “Army in Action” (TV-634 through TV-643, TV-645, and TV-646), which guided viewers from the buildup for World War I to the final victory in World War II. It addressed all major actions and areas of the globe that the army operated in during that period of time. The series echoed the form of earlier compilation documentaries, utilizing reels of combat footage backed by dramatic musical scores, guided by serious narration. On the whole, it was the most concerted effort by APC producers to package and present an informational minidocumentary program through The Big Picture.

By comparison, Big Picture films about specific army wartime operations in the Pacific Theater did not appear until the late 1950s, after the show had already aired a large number of those stories concerning European operations. This may have been a conscious decision made by the governing board of the APC in considering a public television schedule already saturated with Pacific Theater offerings: Crusade in the Pacific (1951–1952), Victory at Sea (1952–1953), and Navy Log (1955–1958). The reason may also have been that the army acted as the chief branch among the services that fought in Europe, and it served only a secondary role behind the navy and marines in the Pacific. In that regard, emphasizing action from the European theater would tell a better story to viewers. Nevertheless, the few tales from the Pacific included “Battle of Manila” (TV-417) and “Pay Off in the Pacific” (Part One) and (Part Two) (TV-480 and TV-481). Taken together, these episodes about the European and Pacific Theaters of war were principally informational and adhered closely to scripts that presented historical facts and overviews alone. They minimized the use of motivational and exceptionalist rhetoric, except for what a viewer might extract as a matter of patriotic pride in the army’s successes.

Historic episodes that focused on senior military leaders were also plentiful. Again, the majority emerged from World War II. The first two were “The General Bradley Story” (TV-398) and “The General Marshall Story” (TV-408). Close on their heels were episodes on Generals MacArthur, Eisenhower, Hap Arnold, and George Patton, and Admiral Nimitz. This collection appeared onscreen between 1958 and 1959. Each was a well-scripted biography that shared personal information and celebrated the officer’s wartime accomplishments. Some, such as “The General MacArthur Story” (TV-416) made a public appearance amid great fanfare. The Sperry Rand Corporation arranged a special showing for political elites in Washington, DC, that included the US Army Band and Chorus and an invitation to the secretary of the army.² Timing was important too, especially to have the widest impact with the television audience. The army aired the episode during the week leading up to the December 7th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. One of the new vice presidents of the corporation, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie R. Groves, provided a ringing endorsement of the film: “It is one of the best things I have seen from the standpoint of increasing the public’s respect for the competency of the Army. I think also that it will be quite beneficial to West Point.”³ Still, as much attention as the army’s special premiere generated for The Big Picture, one important viewer refused to watch the show about MacArthur—President Dwight Eisenhower, who had a strained relationship with his former colleague. Instead, he requested a substitute from the army. In its place, the APC forwarded a copy of “The General Marshall Story” to the White House.⁴ In the case of another episode in development, “The Eisenhower Story” (TV-435), the president declared his desire to exercise a prerogative to vet the film prior to its release. Subsequently, it was on 21 May 1959 that the CINFO reported, with some measure of relief, Ike’s approval to the army chief of staff.⁵

Figure 5.1. A production still from the filming of the episode “Hall of Heroes” (TV-803). The kneeling soldier was an actor hired for the part, and the three standing behind him in uniform were actually lieutenants assigned to the APC. Casts often included a mixture of military and civilian personnel. (Image Source: Army Pictorial Center)

A following series of episodes regarding most of the same collection of leaders appeared as restructured presentations during the 1963 season. Popular contemporary television and movie stars such as Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, and Walter Matthau introduced each of these. It was Matthau who in turn reminded viewers that “a nation’s greatness depends on the quality of the leaders it produces in times of crisis. We Americans have been very fortunate in this respect.”⁶ Although script writers laced the episodes with statements such as this, which plucked at patriotic chords, the films were good opportunities for sharing of historical information about the army’s leadership with audiences and for certain actors to appear in a popular television setting.

Another possibility for the development of a plethora of historical films, with the emphasis on World War II, was the profile of the members of Congress. Approximately 50 percent of representatives and senators in the bicameral body were veterans in the Seventy-Ninth through the Eighty-First Congresses (1945–1950). That number increased to 60 percent during the Eighty-Second through the Eighty-Sixth Congresses (1951–1960), and continued an upward trend to 70 percent by 1970.⁷ Collectively, a majority of these individuals saw service between 1941 and 1945. An argument exists that the large postwar percentage of veterans in the legislature figured into the initial calculus of determining the number of historical titles to produce. Although it is difficult to establish a direct correlation, or intent, it would make sense that these types of episodes would appeal to veterans as a group, and could foster a sentimental link between the army and profiled members of Congress. Such a link might be beneficial to the army during budget negotiations or discussions of manpower cuts.

Other historic episodes that appear in the Big Picture catalog focused on special topics. These included titles such as the three-part “The History of Aviation” (TV-502 through TV-504) and the two-part “Beyond the Call” (TV-575 and TV-576), which provided an overview of acts of valor throughout American military history and the soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their bravery. A special episode on the “D-Day Anniversary” (TV-762) appeared in 1969 to mark the landing of Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy twenty-five years earlier. This presented a moment for the army to celebrate past victories at a time the public was heavily criticizing the military for its involvement in Vietnam. The timing of its release suggests that it might have offered a brief respite from those attacks and served to deflect some small amount of that criticism by reviving faded memories of the army’s past golden moments. Still, evidence that the APC was feeling any pressure from the OCINFO to construct a bulwark through these Big Picture productions is not present among archived documents.

The similarities shared by all of these historical episodes are that they opened a window into a particular aspect of military life, satisfied viewer expectations regarding historical narratives and wartime footage, and did it all in a safe space. Historical videos may have drawn criticism for their aesthetics, but seldom did they draw criticism for being too political in content. The information they provided was a matter of record, with the past little influenced by the political present. This suggests that the viewing audience had less reason to reject Big Picture informational films about historical topics for any reason other than lack of interest in the subject material. There was, however, an occasional element of criticism generated internally. In one instance, this arose from the five-member Big Picture board that reviewed ongoing projects. When considering the 1959–1960 season, Col. John Weaver, troop information chief and board chair, voiced his concern that previous episodes had too often leaned heavily on past accomplishments. He suggested instead, that with the approaching season “what we want to do in the future is to show today’s Army—to change that image from old-fashioned, slow, cumbersome . . . to one of a modern essential, quality and vital force that merits the support of John Q. Public.”⁸ This seemed especially important at a time the army was struggling to declare its relevancy to Congress. The conclusion of the board was to cancel proposed biographies on Generals Joseph Lawton Collins and Courtney H. Hodges, together with an episode on the WACs and another on Hawaii, then the newest state. They considered the WAC story too sterile and the two biographies uninteresting. The episode on Hawaii did not fit into the overall strategy of projecting the image of a modernizing army, although a year earlier, in 1958, The Big Picture did air “Alaska—The Outpost State” (TV-422).⁹ In the short term, historical episodes such as those mentioned did not air, and those that emphasized the army’s technological prowess did. However, as a survey of the Big Picture catalog reveals, historical episodes began a comeback between 1962 and 1965, offering the largest number of subcategory titles until those on the Vietnam conflict appeared.

Informing and Educating

Another important category of films for soldiers and their families addressed the wide variety of informational, instructional, and educational opportunities available to them in the army. These offered a view into information outlets as well as schools and technical training. The first such episode produced by the APC was “The Citizen Soldier” (TV-184), which highlighted informational and educational opportunities for the soldiers both on and off duty. As the narrator noted, “It is possible for a soldier to leave the army today far better educated and informed than when he came in.”¹⁰ Complementing this film was “Information and Education Overseas (Part I), Dependent Schools (Part II)” (TV-198). Produced in 1952, it also focused on the two parts of the army’s Troop Information and Education (TI&E) program. The first of these was the free dissemination of information about ongoing current events around the globe through command briefings and presentations. It addressed the unrestrained freedom of information enjoyed by service members through the Armed Forces Radio and Television (AFRTS) networks and the Stars and Stripes newspapers, which were both key pieces of this effort. The narrator introduced the episode by asking, “How can we make it possible for the soldiers we send overseas to have a part of America with them?”¹¹ The answer he offered was “Surely a vital part of living in this country is the chance to read and hear about the issues confronting us.”¹² To provide a link to this understanding, the APC produced Big Picture episodes on AFN, “The Story of American Forces Network” (TV-583), and the popular newspaper, “The Story of Stars and Stripes” (TV-482) in 1960. Later, “All the Word to All the Troops” (TV-810) in 1971 combined both to show that the American armed forces were “the best informed group of military personnel in the world.”¹³ In this regard, one can again consider historian Benedict Anderson’s ideas regarding the concept of an identifiable community, formed through cultural artifacts such as print, audio, and visual media. These existed in military communities at home and abroad in the forms of AFN, the Stars and Stripes, and television series such as The Big Picture. They served as a unique common forum to shape and bind the military community through common knowledge and an informed consciousness. In this, The Big Picture arguably played an important role as a medium that was accessible to military members, acting in the role of a common, familiar forum.

The second important part of TI&E was an overview of the types of classes offered to members of the military and the unique school system for dependent school-age children that the armed forces had established for families stationed overseas. The army considered this essential for soldiers because, as the narrator noted, “a lot of guys wouldn’t get an education at all if it weren’t for the army education program.”¹⁴ It was considered essential for their children because as the narrator, Carl Zimmermann, confidently concluded, “There is something solidly American here in this school system that embraces the whole world.”¹⁵ The episode served as an advertisement to encourage soldiers to continue their education, explained the system that could assist them, and provided the American public a brief look into the lives of the military families living overseas. This became increasingly important as American military communities overseas began to rapidly multiply in number, and swell in size, after the army welcomed the first families to West Germany in April 1946.

The army continued to sell its information and education programs through The Big Picture for the two decades it aired. Among the titles the APC produced between 1954 and 1963, were “Education in the Army” (TV-279), “Army Technical Schools in Europe” (TV-282), “Opportunity to Learn” (TV-540), and “Tools for Learning” (TV-571). Even as late as 1970, with the episode “The Largest School House in the World” (TV-785) the army was using educational opportunities as enticement for recruiting, particularly among those who were searching for employment. Each of these films described an aspect of the army’s effort to prepare its soldiers for their participation in a modernizing military. The first, “Education in the Army,” shed light on the sobering statistic that the military classified one out of every three new recruits as “Mental Group 4,” with a dangerously low cognitive ability, “so low as to handicap their performance as soldiers.”¹⁶ As the film explained, that condition was unacceptable if they were to keep pace with the “demanding technical jobs necessary to keep a complex modern army operating.”¹⁷ The other episodes provided insight into other schools for general education, from grammar school level to college, and those for technical skills.¹⁸ “The Largest School House in the World” also addressed the army’s transitional program for instruction in a variety of skills that could carry over into the civilian world. This collection of films stated the need for continuing to educate the American soldier and discussed opportunities that were available to them. Similar to other APC releases, these Big Picture episodes appeared at a time when the army was struggling to meet its postwar recruiting and retention goals. They offered enticements for recruits wanting to serve in the military as well as those soldiers eager to bolster their educations or attain some technical skill. In that regard, the narrator’s casual comments that the cost to each individual was free except for some ancillary costs, such as books, greatly added to the inducement. As a recruiting and retention tool, the opportunity to advance individual education was very appealing and reflected the exceptionalist tenet of upward mobility through education.

The army also emphasized other unique educational opportunities. Among these were language training. The Big Picture episode “Army Language School” (TV-200) was another early effort by the army to inform its ranks, and the public, about training they might not know existed and to generate interest for participation. The focus in this film was on the armed forces’ school at the Presidio at Monterey, California. There, soldiers trained on the “weapons of words,” the languages and customs of the nations to which they would eventually be assigned.¹⁹ This, the narrator explained, was essential to helping them become better ambassadors for the United States. Although the weaponization of language as a Cold War strategy may have appeared awkward, the army saw this as essential, considering the growing demands of “America’s world responsibilities” in countries linked to the common defense of the West.²⁰ The APC revisited the subject of language study again in 1959 with “U.S. Army Language School” (TV-492) and in 1970 with the presentation of “Language Power for Peace” (TV-779). In the latter, they addressed the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, emphasizing the expansion of the facilities that would eventually include up to fifty different language study programs. Just as the earlier episode had done, these last two served as much as an internal sales pitch as a public relations vehicle.

The spectrum of training opportunities in the army was broad, and the service used The Big Picture as a primary vehicle to showcase the variety. Seeded throughout the catalog were episodes that addressed specialized training alongside basic education. Examples include episodes about legal training, “Soldiers at Law” (TV-739); the warrant officer training program, “Call Me Mister” (TV-759); and training for musicians, “The Army’s Music Men” (TV-811). It also featured occasional training films that benefited military members, their families, and civilian employees alike, such as the episode “Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation” (TV-495). Nearly two dozen separate Big Picture films emphasized training in the army, serving as inducements for recruitment and retention, as well as providing a window into the army way of life.

Army Leadership

Leadership development is important to the military, and The Big Picture served as a platform to provide an understanding of this key aspect of the service, because more than in almost any other profession, a defined rank structure is necessary for command, control, and discipline. The APC produced approximately a dozen episodes that outlined the path to the officer ranks for enlisted soldiers and interested civilians. These included discussions of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), the US Military Academy at West Point, and the Officer Candidate School (OCS) system. Among the first episodes to follow this theme were “ROTC Summer Training” (TV-323) and “Graduate: Reserve Officers’ Training Corps” (TV-391), which aired in 1955 and 1957 respectively. These provided insight into the program for college students by emphasizing the contributions individuals could make—“ROTC offers opportunities for men with leadership abilities to become officers”—and the help they could receive “for whatever future they plan.”²¹ The ROTC program was also the largest source of officers for the military, and The Big Picture offered the public a view into the process of procuring new leaders by answering the question posed early in the films by the narrator: “How does the nation find its officers?”²² A follow-on episode, “R.O.T.C.—A Pattern for Progress” (TV-609), was described as an “unusual chronicle” that spoke about the benefits of remaining in the service for officers, and like many other Big Picture productions it incorporated several of the same scenes as the earlier episode. It also reiterated that to the ROTC graduates, “our nation owes no small part of its security in a troubled time,” recognizing the long history of contributions made by them since the program’s inception during World War I.²³

Of the three sources of leaders that The Big Picture addressed, at least nine related episodes featured West Point. In these films, the series stressed the competitive nature of the entrance requirements to the academy and gave comprehensive overviews of the life of a cadet through to receiving a commission as an active duty army officer. West Point was introduced to viewers in “Duty, Honor, Country” (TV-186) as “a name that’s synonymous with your country’s history” and as “an institution dedicated to the defense of freedom.”²⁴ Aired during the ongoing Korean War conflict, in 1952, the episode was scripted by APC producers to resonate in the patriotic timbre of viewers’ hearts with the pounding percussion of martial music, footage of sweeping vistas of the campus, statues, and parades, and a peek into the activities of a cadet’s daily life. The Big Picture was able to capitalize on the skills of the APC cameramen to introduce a lively overview of the academy that explained its connection with American history and its central place in the development of military leaders. Other episodes such as “The Making of a West Pointer” (TV-321) in 1955 and “West Point—Education for Leadership” (TV-515), which aired in 1961, followed suit. They appeared during the army’s period of effort to prove to Congress and the public its relevancy in the defense of the Cold War West. It offered an inspirational reminder of contributions made by past graduates and of the school’s “roots in the very heart of America.”²⁵ West Point continued to remain a favored subject of the APC producers, which was evident in subsequent episodes about the school and the large number of video biographies of general officers who once stood among its ranks, leaders such as Eisenhower, Bradley, MacArthur, and Patton. Still, West Point was only the second of a trio of sources for leaders of the early Cold War army. The last was the OCS system.

The Big Picture series introduced OCS to service members and the public through two episodes, “OCS Fort Sill” (TV-521), and “The OCS Story” (TV-715). The armed forces considered it to be the most important pathway for members of the enlisted ranks to advance to commissioning as an officer. As such, OCS was also consistent with the exceptionalist tenet of upward mobility for service members. Similar to the ROTC and West Point episodes, these aired during periods when the army was dealing with manpower issues: the first in 1962, as recruiting and retention were suffering, and the second in 1967, when many young men were actively avoiding military service during the Vietnam conflict. The films served as recruiting tools to encourage interest among eligible members of the public as well as enlisted soldiers already serving in the army. As the narrator explained to the viewing audience, OCS was “one of the prime sources of the junior officers” who were providing America with the leadership it required as the nation’s “global military commitments” continued to grow.²⁶

Besides appealing to patriotic ardor, the appearance of six additional West Point episodes between 1955 and 1964 suggests another purpose for their production—recruitment. During this time the army was suffering depressed manpower levels. A survey of the numbers reveals that enlisted personnel levels for the army had fallen from 1.6 million in 1952 to 756,932 by 1961.²⁷ That drawdown, mandated by the Truman administration, was a cause of worry for military elites. In parallel, the number of active duty army officers had dropped from a post-1945 high of 148,000 in 1952 to approximately 99,000 in 1961.²⁸ In addition, the US Military Academy had seen the corps of cadets shrink in size from 1,726 in 1952 to a low of 1,701 in 1958, then rise slowly to 1,854 in 1964.²⁹ By comparison, the rolls of the United States Naval Academy reflected numbers that were more than double for each of those respective years: 3,576, 3,483, and 3,980.³⁰ The army needed to attract qualified candidates for the academy, to satisfy its need for more active duty officers. This became necessary as the nation found itself engaged in dangerous games of brinksmanship with the Soviets during the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961, the Berlin Wall crisis of August 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.

The last opportunity The Big Picture had to effect an understanding of leadership development in the army was the 1971 episode “Young American Leaders” (TV-804). It was a cumulative work that gave yet another overview of the leadership programs available through OCS, ROTC, and West Point. Unlike previous episodes, however, APC writers had purposely scripted this one. It contained contrasting comments throughout the film from young men that reflected the existing societal divide. There were remarks made by individuals opposing military service: “training soldiers in college is contributing to the mess the world is already in” and “it’s like losing years of your life.”³¹ Opposing these were contrary views from West Point and ROTC cadets, who opined that leadership was rewarding, as was serving the nation. Still, as even-handed as this script might initially appear, it became readily apparent that its purpose was to deflect negative criticisms directed at the military. Noting that all young Americans shared “a restless search for meaning” in their lives, the narrator narrowly observed, “A very vocal minority pursue their search by disruption and often violence.”³² The closing scenes provided a coda with the statement “Never have so many young Americans had greater opportunities to move forward toward leadership in the service of their country.”³³ In this context, The Big Picture had again declared itself a vehicle to sell the army’s leadership programs, inform the public, and shape Americans’ thoughts about the contemporary military.

Toward a Diverse Army

A regular viewer of The Big Picture series might have noticed a growing change in the demographics of the army over time. Early episodes incorporated footage from the Korean conflict that on occasion coincidentally flashed images of racially integrated army units in combat, training, or other activities. But the topic of integration was never the specific subject of any one Big Picture episode. Although President Truman had provided the mandate for the armed forces to take the necessary steps, through Executive Order 9981 on 26 July 1948, reality did not keep pace with the expectation. Still, over the two-decade span of its existence, The Big Picture was on hand to capture the important, yet gradual, trajectory of change as well as shortcomings, and to provide a record. Big Picture episodes served as embodiment of the political messaging that pressed for greater inclusion and diversity in the military, a movement that was slowly gaining momentum in society.

By 1949, African Americans serving in the army accounted for 12.4 percent of the enlisted ranks.³⁴ This was slightly higher than their proportion of the total American population, which at the time was approximately 10 percent. That same year, however, African Americans accounted for less than 2 percent of the officer corps.³⁵ By 1954, the same year that the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education dismantled the apparatus of inequality in the schoolhouse and public accommodations, the proportion of African American enlisted personnel had risen to 13.7 percent.³⁶ That year they also accounted for 3 percent of the officer ranks.³⁷ In parallel, as those service members entered the military, so did their families. As the number of white dependents increased in the United States and at overseas stations, the number of Black dependents did also. Although many Americans still lagged behind in accepting a more diverse society, the army continued to work toward the necessary adjustments, albeit there were still many challenges along the way. In reflecting these changes, The Big Picture had mixed success.

Until 1962, Black soldiers rarely appeared in episodes. Stories such as “The History of Cavalry” (TV-382) and “A Pictorial History of the U.S. Cavalry” (TV-647) showed Black soldiers only in background footage, conducting menial tasks, such as stable hands caring for horses. There was never any mention of the often-decorated 10th Cavalry Regiment, the “Buffalo Soldiers,” a segregated unit formed after the American Civil War that was most famous for its participation in the history of the American West and the Spanish American War. Similarly, the episodes “Army Transportation Corps” (TV-204) from 1952 and “An Army Moves” (TV-610) from 1964, which both addressed the history of that branch, neglected to address the contributions made by Black soldiers. Neither mentioned the Black teamsters who regularly drove wagon trains of supplies westward across the American landscape or the famous Red Ball Express that whisked much needed supplies to American forces fighting in Europe during World War II.³⁸ Although several other films made by the Army Pictorial Service for the War Department prior to 1951 lauded their accomplishments, the Big Picture series missed these opportunities to broadcast the history of the two famous units. That was also the case with the famous 442nd Infantry Regiment, which saw extensive combat during World War II. Composed almost entirely of Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans, it was the most decorated army unit during the war.³⁹ There is brief notice in the episode “U.S. Sixth Corps” (TV-219) of the 100th Infantry Battalion, also composed of Nisei, during the Italian campaign from Naples to Cassino, but the Big Picture catalog carries no episode recognizing these units’ achievements.⁴⁰ As a result, it also missed another chance to celebrate past moments of diversity in the army. This was true with marginalized groups such as Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans throughout the film series. The first two rarely appeared in any episode unless it was coincidental. The last appeared merely as bit players in the history of the American West, or as an obstacle to progress. Episodes such as “The History of Cavalry” described “hostile Indians who made war on the pioneers carrying civilization to the Buffalo lands,” together with an attitude that always projected them as “the enemy in the West.”⁴¹ Casting a slightly different light, the episode “OCS Fort Sill” included a segment of a visit to the post museum. There, the narrator seems to boast that the guide, PFC Benjamin Clark, was the great-grandson of the Comanche chief Quanah Parker. Displays of Native American artifacts appear in the film, together with the modest comment that they are “memories of the American Indian who played a critical role in the destinies of the army cavalrymen.”⁴² Those words however, lacked any amplification, although the narrator added as an aside that “Indians of other tribes are also employed on post.”⁴³ These trite depictions of marginalized Americans were unfortunate, reflected poorly on the military’s efforts, and tarnished the image it wanted to project. This was true throughout the 1950s. With the start of the next decade, however, the Big Picture series did record some change.

As mentioned, beginning in the early 1960s the APC produced Big Picture episodes on the US Military Academy, the ROTC program, and OCS. These programs served as founts of leadership for the army, and stories about them also offered a special view into the greater dynamic of integration of the military. The episode “OCS Fort Sill,” filmed in 1961, showed Black enlisted soldiers among the ranks of OCS candidates, as well as Black soldiers filling leadership positions as sergeants and officers. The same was true of “The OCS Story” (TV-715), which also showed Black soldiers participating in a military that appeared to function more fully as an integrated force. “R.O.T.C.—A Pattern for Progress” (TV-609), which aired in 1964, offered segments in which Black missile crewmen raced to accomplish their assigned tasks alongside their white colleagues. The episode “Science Moves the Army” (TV-668), produced in 1966, included footage of integrated technicians and scientists. Focusing on the activities of the Army Tank Automotive Center, it included a lengthy scene showing two Black microbiologists working in a laboratory to find a solution to a problem. They were also shown attending meetings and lectures. These images supported the army’s purpose of selling its diversity even in terms of its civilian employees. They came at time when the service most needed them, with enlistments flagging and domestic racial tensions increasing. Those images not only served as a visual record to depict change over time, but in themselves communicated a revision of ideals that expanded definitions of inclusion and diversity to match the need for change in American society and to serve a functional need in the military. More than making a progressive statement, they seemed to be a response to existing racial tensions outside the military and a means to maintain unity and discipline within its ranks.

Those Big Picture episodes aired against a contrasting backdrop of racially tense flashpoints that were exploding across the United States between the late 1950s and the mid-1960s. In September 1957, President Eisenhower ordered troops from the army’s 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, as a protective escort for Black students attempting to attend the high school there. In 1962, there was racial tension as James Meredith attempted to enroll in the University of Mississippi, and in 1963 television news cameras exposed national audiences to the brutal police employment of dogs and water cannons against Black protestors in Birmingham, Alabama. These tragedies, however, foreshadowed a positive impulse that witnessed the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963 and passage of both the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Enacted to resolve the desperate situation in the nation, these actions also ameliorated the negative impression of America that the media was broadcasting globally. This provided fodder for the United States Information Agency (USIA) and encouraged the release of films from Hollywood that portrayed American society dealing with the difficult issues at home.⁴⁴ Similar to the big screen, television followed suit, developing shows that began to engage with racial challenges.⁴⁵

The efforts of the army and the APC to produce Big Picture episodes that depicted the military as more racially diverse suggest that it was inspired by those energies that were driving both conflict and change in America. The military had much to gain, and nothing to lose, by embracing a new reality that would continue to be reflected in subsequent productions. Policies facilitating integration of the military encouraged recruitment, enhanced unit discipline and cohesion, and improved race relations. In that context, it is also possible to consider that the Department of the Army, through the CINFO, took calculated steps to use The Big Picture as a mechanism to shape and inform thinking about integration of the military. This, however, remains conjecture since documentary evidence is lacking that such a use of the series was a matter of discussion at APC production board meetings or in directed guidance received from the OCINFO. Still, it is possible to make the argument that those episodes that featured Black people in leadership positions, for example, did more than reflect ongoing change. They instead precipitated that change by demonstrating possibilities and successes. Airing these episodes through the AFRTS offered a wider circulation, particularly among forward-deployed units. Those episodes could not have come soon enough, as the military also found itself embroiled in instances of racial conflict at home and abroad. Among the most noted were a riot between African American and white soldiers on New Year’s Eve 1955 at the Baumholder training area in West Germany and a race riot at McNair Barracks in Berlin in September 1970.⁴⁶ Although the military authorities worked to quash any media release of the former, the latter received wide press coverage when another armed military unit arrived on the scene to restore the peace.

By the time the APC was investing its resources in creating a series of Big Picture episodes about the Vietnam War in the early 1960s, Black service members began appearing regularly on film. No longer relegated to menial tasks or appearing as vague figures moving in the background of footage that celebrated the accomplishments of a white military, they emerged to shoulder responsibilities and assume leadership roles in America’s modern army. They also faced common dangers with fellow soldiers in Vietnam. Among the several episodes that depicted this was “The Ninth Infantry Division” (TV-746), which aired in 1968. Episodes showed Black soldiers sharing the burdens and responsibilities, and sometimes paying the ultimate price of military service with increasing frequency. This was the aspect of integration that the Big Picture series presented to members of the military, their families, and the public. It was an army that was working to embrace integration as a way of life.

Over the years the Big Picture series continued to offer a visual record of demographic change for the army, and in some regards it may have facilitated greater inclusion. In this context it also traced the gradual acceptance of women into the ranks, using its cameras to capture their presence and contributions. From the official beginning of the Women’s Army Corps in July 1943, the military purposely suppressed the number of females in uniform. For example, military regulations intentionally kept their percentage low by dictating that the numbers of female officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel in the army could not exceed 2 percent of men’s strength in each category.⁴⁷ Still, the army struggled to meet those limited goals. By 1960 there were only 5,034 women in the armed forces stationed overseas, representing 0.008 percent of the end strength total.⁴⁸ Although that percentage grew slightly with increased military operations beginning with the Korean War, it remained relatively low until the Department of Defense disbanded the WACs in 1978 and fully integrated women into the armed forces. At that time, the number of women in uniform began to increase noticeably, from 2 percent of the total army force to 10 percent.⁴⁹ These numbers differed significantly from those of women who served as nurses in the US Army and Navy Nurse Corps, which formed during World War II. Those percentages were always greater, and the military continued to recognize their presence.⁵⁰ In this regard, the Big Picture catalog featured a number of titles that recognized and addressed the accomplishments of women in uniform.

Altogether, eight separate episodes released by the APC through The Big Picture between 1952 and 1970 specifically addressed the female demographic. The first two, “Women in the Army” (TV-191) and “The WAC Is a Soldier, Too” (TV-277), aired in 1952 and 1954 respectively, close on the heels of fighting in Korea. The APC scheduled the second to air on Christmas Day 1954 with the hope of possibly garnering a large television audience. Both episodes highlighted the contributions of women, and as army chief Gen. Matthew Ridgway commented at the opening ceremonies for the new WAC Training Center in September 1954, “The privilege of serving the United States in uniform is no longer limited to men.”⁵¹ The Big Picture captured these proclamations as the dictates of a postwar manpower shortage echoed on film with Ridgway’s additional comment that “the task of keeping our nation strong and free, requires the efforts and talents of all our citizens, men and women alike.”⁵² Footage from the episode reflected those words as the army worked to embrace inclusion. Racially integrated platoons of women marching, drilling, sitting in classes together, and standing alongside one another in formations pronounced this as the new army way of life, an example to follow, even as the nation as a whole was still struggling to accept the integration of its own schoolhouses full of children.

By 1970, the APC had produced a more comprehensive look at the WACs. In an episode titled “The Feminine Touch” (TV-780), The Big Picture focused on the continued integration of women into the military. Although they were not yet fully absorbed into the regular army, the duties and responsibilities of the women in uniform had increased significantly from the early 1950s. The female narrator emphasized that the military no longer relegated women solely to clerical duties and that more than one hundred occupational specialties were available.⁵³ Concurrent film footage showed images of women working as computer programmers, warehouse specialists, and instructors. The episode featured WACs in a variety of leadership roles as officers and noncommissioned officers, managing, instructing, and leading other women. Racial integration appeared frequently as well, in groups of women marching, training, and sharing off-duty time. One of the most interesting aspects of this Big Picture episode, however, was the time it spent describing the WAC’s involvement in training women of other nations. The script discussed how the army had stationed American WAC advisors in South Vietnam to train the women of that nation to serve in many of the same roles. These included clerical duties, computer programming and security positions at military airfields. American WACs were also assisting in the organization of an OCS for female recruits in South Vietnam. The film noted that the United States was concurrently conducting a similar assistance program in South Korea for women in that nation. This particular Big Picture episode offered viewers a comprehensive review of the contemporary Women’s Army Corps, complete with recruiting enticements such as unique job positions, opportunities for leadership, and travel to exotic lands. It also touched patriotic sentiments by offering a chance of “belonging to something with roots that reach deep.”⁵⁴

Consequently, one of the most important aspect of these episodes was their utility as a recruiting tool to fill the ranks of the military. In June 1968 the army published the Army 75 Personnel Concept Study.⁵⁵ One of the key assumptions of the study was the continuation of the draft into the 1970s. As historian Beth Bailey notes, understanding the public’s “mounting anger over the draft,” the army leadership considered how they might “reduce the number of unwilling soldiers in its ranks.”⁵⁶ The reality they came to was that “the future of the Army . . . might very well depend on women” to fill the rolls.⁵⁷ By 1971, expressing concerns that the soon to be all-volunteer force (AVF) might suffer shortfalls in its manning goals, the secretary of the army, Robert F. Froehlke, supported a plan to “double the size of the Women’s Army Corps to 23,800 enlisted women by June 30, 1978.”⁵⁸ The army then raised that goal to 50,400 by the end of 1979.⁵⁹ As the Big Picture episodes had noted, it was the changing nature of warfare during the Cold War that increased the availability of new occupational specialties for men and women both. In that regard, a need to fill the ranks appeared by the 1950s, and the sales pitch through all available means, including The Big Picture, intensified. As Beth Bailey observes, in some regard, “the move to an all-volunteer force jumpstarted a gender revolution in the military.”⁶⁰

Although it is interesting to note that a visual record of women in uniform does exist in the Big Picture episodes, continuing to unpack this production initiative introduces some other considerations. For example, it is evident that the army was reacting to a manpower shortfall and that women offered a largely untapped resource. So the APC crafted several Big Picture episodes to draw their attention to possible enlistment. However, there is no evidence that the APC planning board specifically set a goal to further the women’s rights movement or set that as a framework for development of future story lines. While that visual imprint of inclusion is laudable, assessing this series of films as anything other than a reflection of institutional or societal changes is difficult. The scripted narration in a number of the episodes is in terms that are less than affirming of fuller gender inclusion and equality. For example, the narrator for “The WAC Is a Soldier, Too” (TV-277) condescendingly refers to female enlistees as “every girl” and notes that the WACs place great value on “meticulous grooming and feminine grace” while in uniform.⁶¹ The accompanying film footage for this episode shows new enlistees giggling as they try on gloves and hats, which the narrator notes were styled for them by a well-known designer. This was certainly not a concern for male enlistees. The music that follows the video footage is lighthearted and dances along like a Disney feature full of woodwinds, flutes, and strings, absent the martial brass-and-bugle fare of other Big Picture productions. By 1970, little had changed in the treatment of women in uniform with the production of “The Feminine Touch” (TV-780), which still featured a patronizing narration and appeared to treat women as little more than augmentees to men in uniform.

The Big Picture followed its focus on the WAC by airing a different perspective of women in the service through episodes about the Nurse Corps. This alternate tack was more respectful and considered the longer history of the nurses’ association with the military through numerous wars. In 1954, the APC aired “Nurses in the Army” (TV-290), the first of several films to explore the responsibilities and duties of women in that key role. It also carried a celebratory tone from the beginning, honoring the “great and heroic achievements of our army nurses,” who braved “the same dangers endured by the troops which she accompanied into combat.”⁶² Similar to the WAC episodes, it too included video footage of mixed-race groups of nurses living and working together, in a manner that was much more purposeful and intended than in the Big Picture films featuring male service members. These were candid shots, not structured scenes, and they transmitted a message of accepted racial inclusion and diversity. But in contrast to the WAC episodes, those that featured the army nurses were more somber and spoke of their significant contributions made during World War II and the Korean conflict.

Subsequent episodes about army nurses sent other important signals. The Big Picture film “The Army Nurse Story” (TV-516), which aired in 1961, presented several nascent concepts of women’s rights. In this half-hour docudrama, nurses and actresses shared the story of some nurses’ decisions to join and remain in the service. Each nurse appeared on screen as a commissioned officer, in ranks varying from lieutenant to colonel, in a position of responsibility. The episodes portrayed higher-ranking nurses in positions of independent decision-making. The producers also wove into the background story line the concept of a single-parent family headed by a strong woman. Most interesting was the presentation of a scene in which a nurse considers rejecting a marriage proposal to remain in the corps, which she confessed was a personally fulfilling career decision. This script presented some groundbreaking ideas that contradicted the contemporary expectation of assigned gender roles. These portrayals ran counter to the exceptionalist consensus that framed traditional ideas that endorsed prescribed behaviors. In this context, and at least in this one instance, The Big Picture had adopted a very progressive position.⁶³ The episodes “The Army Nurse: Soldier of Mercy” (TV-667) followed in 1965, and “The Army Nurse” (TV-783) in 1970. Each reiterated the key points about the history of the Nursing Corps and exhibited the same displays of inclusion and integration as earlier films. Although they did back away from the edgy social commentary that was found in “The Army Nurse,” they did both include scenes with groups of racially integrated nurses, white, Black, and Asian, performing duties in the service of sick and injured soldiers. Just as important, they showed images of female officers in positions of leadership and women braving the dangers of field service in Vietnam. The last episode expanded the concept of inclusion by addressing the “common bond men and women” share in the nursing profession, as it showed both male and female nurses engaged in duties together.⁶⁴

Figure 5.2. The episode “The Army Nurse” (TV-516), which aired in 1961, featured women serving in leadership positions and making choices that placed career above traditional roles. In this scene a nurse refuses a proposal of marriage that could jeopardize her career progression. The producers of the Big Picture series embraced gender inclusion more quickly than racial integration.

The Big Picture provided a window into the emergence of increased diversity and inclusiveness in the army, and in this regard it also served as a model of democratic behavior in terms of public relations. Although the APC produced no single episode to address these challenges directly, it is apparent through study of the films that the military was moving in the proper direction to amend this deep fault. In this context, The Big Picture revealed the successes, as well as the continuing shortfalls, but it did also offer the example of a system that in one way was a step ahead of the rest of American society. This provided an important, and encouraging, view of army life.

Dispelling Morale Problems

The one nonprofit organization that is most readily identifiable for its relationship with the armed forces is the United Service Organizations Inc. (USO). Popular images abound in print and visual media of entertainers traveling to wartime locations to practice their talents for the amusement of American service members, sponsored by the USO. Created in 1941, at the direction of President Franklin Roosevelt, to provide for the morale and recreation services of uniformed personnel and their families, the USO first saw service during World War II. As historian Sam Lebovic notes, during that war “Americans were quick to interpret the shows as evidence of the uniquely democratic, free, and liberal nature of the U.S. war effort.”⁶⁵ One contemporary entertainer observed that “under the stress of war, entertainment is more and more being thought of as a part of our way of life.”⁶⁶ Between 1941 and 1948 the USO camp shows entertained more that 212 million soldiers, in forty-two countries, more than 428,000 times.⁶⁷ The relationship between the military and the USO was well established. After 1950, the USO found life again in supporting troops involved in the Korean conflict, then Vietnam. Many well-known contemporary entertainers joined the organization’s entourages during these years as Hollywood rushed to prove its patriotism during those trying times. Along with collaboration in the film studios, this formed yet another tight connection between Hollywood and the military. Most important, the USO’s presence on the battlefield maintained a morale-boosting connection to home for service members who stood in harm’s way or at isolated locations. The Big Picture series captured the essence of the USO through a collection of several episodes that proffered a salute to its contribution to the military way of life. This was as critical during times of conflict as it was during the times of tenuous peace during the Cold War. As Lt. Gen. William E. Hall of the Continental Air Command observed, “Today’s servicemen do not have the satisfaction of occasional action of some kind, which in itself frequently dispels morale problems.”⁶⁸ Instead, he noted, they bore the strain of simply being “vigilant watch dogs of our security.”⁶⁹ The need for boosting morale was just as critical, as General Hall added: “My feeling is that the USO’s mission is quite as urgent under the ‘cold war’ conditions in which we live today.”⁷⁰ For those service members, the USO was a necessary palliative to feelings of boredom and disconnectedness from home.

The first Big Picture episode that focused on the entertainment organization was “United Service Organization (USO): Wherever They Go” (TV-467), which aired in 1959. Relying on footage captured by army cameramen during World War II and Korea, it offered a general background on the origins of the USO and its mission. Opening the episode was film of Bob Hope, whose name became synonymous with the organization, conducting one of his iconic comedic monologues before a crowd of amused servicemen in Alaska. The important message communicated throughout the show was that the USO was possible only through the generous support of the public, as the narrator noted: “The story of your own efforts” made the organization a success.⁷¹ A follow-on episode, with a similar title (TV-697), aired in 1967 and reiterated many of the same highlights about the USO’s past. A 1971 episode, “USO—30 Years of Service” (TV-817), carried the same message and the same uplifting scenes of entertainment and support to service members, both on and off stage. All three episodes opened with introductory routines by Bob Hope, but none recycled older footage, instead incorporating new scenes and new videos from entertainers in Korea, then Vietnam. It carried the same familiar reminders, directed toward the public, that “today the USO is on active duty with our troops all over the world.”⁷² In addition, the Big Picture script also informed viewers that during the previous three decades the USO had entertained “more than twenty million Americans of all services.”⁷³ This established a nostalgic link with many veterans watching at home who shared warm memories of the many al fresco overseas performances. At the conclusion of the second episode the chairman of the board of the USO, Harvey Firestone Jr., provided an acknowledgment of gratitude with his comment: “We are most grateful to the army for this truly ‘big picture’ of the worldwide activities of the USO and their effect on morale and military performance.”⁷⁴

The Big Picture served to tell an important story about army life, and it continued to elicit public backing for the USO’s untiring efforts. Much of the cinematography told the story. Cameras framed the appreciative stares of service members gazing up at entertainers on stage, or captured them crowding around a celebrity to grip their hand. Films recorded scenes of effusive performers giving their all for the troops, with the video record of The Big Picture telling the story to the public and potential donors. Clips of comic routines or songs provided the soundtracks, as did the cheering throngs of troops. These high-energy audiovisual productions from the APC sold the USO while making connections with veterans and the folks back at home.

Figure 5.3. Bob Hope entertaining the troops in Vietnam in 1968 as part of a USO tour. By the late 1960s, Hope’s name had become synonymous with the organization. The Big Picture catalog listed at least five separate episodes featuring the USO. Hope headlined each of them. Altogether, he appeared in seven episodes, more than any other entertainer. (Image Source: US Army)

The women that the USO brought to the various theaters of military operations came out of patriotic duty and with the hope of bringing a touch of home to millions of service members. But the presence of these female dancers, actors, musicians, and singers also served as a contrast to those other women serving there in uniform or as nurses. The USO, and the military, expected the costumed women to perform a gender-specific behavior on stage. It was a representation of prevailing notions of sentimental sexuality that was a norm of traditional behavior, and The Big Picture accommodated it. Just as the show offered a view into advancements made by women toward greater inclusion and increased equality in the military through episodes about the WACs and nurses, it also provided contrasting snapshots of women still bound by the expectations of traditional gender roles during the first half of the Cold War. In these moments, through episodes about the USO, The Big Picture unintentionally provided visual evidence of the contradictions existing in the military, as well as in society.

A special episode honoring all entertainers who traveled overseas to combat areas during World War II aired in 1964. As actress Celeste Holm, the narrator, noted, it was “a documentary thank you note” to the performers from the army.⁷⁵ They were in her words “soldiers in greasepaint,” which was also the title of the film.⁷⁶ It featured many popular performers of the time, including comedians Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Joe E. Brown, whose son died while in the service early in the war. Many of these performers appeared in other episodes as well, but the army produced this special edition to offer thanks to them all. The episode also included footage of Hollywood stars working to sell war bonds from coast to coast on the home front. Like other films from the Big Picture catalog, the APC released this production to underscore the close relationship between American entertainers and the military, promote their patriotic efforts, and ensure their continued support in the future. As the narrator reminded viewers, “the Cold War can be just as hard to fight as any kind.”⁷⁷

Bob Hope’s association with the USO entertaining troops is noteworthy because of his dedication but also because of his undaunted exceptionalist patriotism. His support of the military, and by association the nation’s foreign policies, gained recognition through close personal relationships with several presidents, including Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, and Johnson. The last two leaders bestowed on the entertainer the Congressional Gold Medal in 1962 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969. But it was Hope’s “hawkish determination to support the troops no matter the righteousness of the cause” that eventually drew criticism, especially during the Vietnam conflict, when the public began seeing his brand of patriotism as mawkish and over the top.⁷⁸ Still, his work with the USO and his love of country “became an ingrained part of his brand and a symbol for the larger imbrication of the American war machine, capitalism, and the entertainment industry.”⁷⁹ The military needed him to sell their way of life and American ideals, and as The Big Picture revealed, Hope delivered.

The 1968 episode “To Serve a Soldier” (TV-744) offered another perspective of entertainment and recreation for soldiers in their off duty time. It focused on the Army Special Services and the facilities, service clubs, and rest and recreation activities they provided. As the film emphasized, the Special Services were there to support the army both in the States and overseas. In particular, the episode included many minutes of footage addressing the recreation services available in Vietnam. Scenes of smiling soldiers playing sports, enjoying showers, watching movies, dancing, or swimming at the Vung Tau beachside resort provided the public a view of the army caring for its own. But, in a way, these same scenes might also suggest a dissonant understanding of the war in Vietnam when compared with the raw colored combat footage of other Big Picture episodes such as “Screaming Eagles in Vietnam” (TV-714). In that context, the APC released “To Serve a Soldier” in the midst of eight episodes that year that featured army units engaged in various missions in that country. For this reason, it had the potential to offer the public a bifurcated view of soldiers at war and at recreation that may have appeared disconnected and difficult to resolve. It offered a contrast between the brutality of combat and “suffocating luxury” just miles apart.⁸⁰ Nevertheless, this episode hewed closely to a theme of rest, relaxation, and care. In that fashion, it also included footage of the USO visiting the country with its key emissary Bob Hope once again in the lead of a troop of popular contemporary performers.⁸¹

Not all of the army’s talent came from the professional guild. As The Big Picture showed, much of it came from within, by the soldiers themselves. Two particular episodes, “Army Talent Show” (TV-315) from 1955 and “The Song of the Soldier” (TV-725) from 1968, offered a view into this unique aspect of army life. They described a historical perspective of soldiers performing for themselves over the course of years. But they also introduced the public to the way that “professional talent finds its way into uniform” in the contemporary army, not as actors in APC productions, but rather on the stage before live audiences of the public and peers.⁸² A case in point from the first episode was the popular contemporary comedic actor Ken Berry, who got his start performing in uniform before his peers.⁸³ “Song of the Soldier” was unique because it featured the US Army Chorus and Band in a well-orchestrated and performed production in Washington, DC, that won an Emmy award in 1968. If these types of episodes didn’t attract interest for their entertainment value, they did offer a way in which The Big Picture was able to put a human face on the individual in uniform, show another dimension of life in the ranks, and show that the military cared about the service members. However, as much as morale and welfare were a means to ensure that soldiers were fit to fight, so was physical readiness.

Fitness for America

Both President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his successor, President John F. Kennedy, appreciated the attribute of physical fitness. Each had experiences with that dimension of military training from their service during World War II, and each understood that a fit nation and a fit military were requirements driven by the exigencies of the new postwar world. In 1956, Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10673 that launched the President’s Council on Youth Fitness to revamp, create, and oversee a new series of fitness initiatives.⁸⁴ Kennedy followed with his own project to improve the fitness of America’s young people with the White House Committee on Health and Fitness. During the 1961–1962 school year it published a booklet, U.S. Physical Fitness Program, that outlined a fitness test to challenge students at all grade levels.⁸⁵ These two sets of presidential initiatives came at a time when Cold War tensions between the East and West were at a peak, and the government brought all national resources and goals to focus on besting the competition. The Big Picture reflected this dynamic and the army’s efforts to prove that it was up to the physical standard of the demanding times.

An episode titled “Sports for All” (TV-248), about army intramural sports, was the first mention of physical fitness by The Big Picture. Cameras captured soldiers at training, “harder than most athletes,” and learning to “play as a team so they will fight as a team.”⁸⁶ The Olympic Games was another arena where The Big Picture featured the American military’s physical prowess, in the episode “Helsinki Olympics” (TV-250). At Helsinki, Finland, in the summer of 1952, Signal Corps cameramen captured the competition, focusing on the various events in which the army and other services participated. Nearly every sport had military team members, but the episode followed those events where service members excelled. This included crew, pentathlon, track and field, and boxing. By the end of the film, the narrator proudly proclaimed that the military had totaled over thirty medals, with the army alone capturing nine.⁸⁷ The timing of the episode, near the end of the Korean conflict, provided appropriate ammunition for the ongoing propaganda war between the East and West, and it showcased the level of fitness that the president expected of all the American armed forces.

Subsequent episodes, such as “Shape of the Nation” (TV-582), “The Army’s All-Americans” (TV-568), and “Operation Scoreboard” (TV-656), celebrated the fitness of the armed forces and used their physical proficiency as an example for the rest of the nation. “Shape of the Nation,” which aired in 1963, answered President Kennedy’s call for the country to invest in its own health with his concern that “we were getting to be a nation of spectators,” who were grown too dependent on labor-saving conveniences of contemporary life.⁸⁸ This Big Picture episode, starring repeat narrator comedian Bob Hope, served as the president’s clarion call for all citizens to “join in a great national effort to build a strong and better America.”⁸⁹ To shake viewers into awareness, the script touted the superior physical fitness of Eastern Bloc nations and included footage of their successes over the West in a number of sporting and athletic competitions. Also sobering were the statistics that of civilian men called up for service during the 1961 Berlin Wall emergency, the military rejected three out of five for physical reasons.⁹⁰ “The Army’s All-Americans” also from 1963, celebrated those American athletes who set an example by donning a uniform during World War II and the Korean War. During various on-screen interviews they underscored the need for physical fitness and encouraged the building of a “nation-wide team of All-Americans.”⁹¹ In a similar manner, “Operation Scoreboard,” which appeared a year later, was a salute to the military’s efforts to maintain the fitness of its fighting forces as a “regular and necessary part” of its daily life.⁹² The episode included interviews with several well-known contemporary sports figures, announcers, and coaches who praised the army for sponsoring athletic programs for its soldiers, and it celebrated athletes who over the years had served in the military during times of national mobilization. The Big Picture show was more than a simple salute to the military, however; it was a public service announcement in support of President Lyndon Johnson’s mandate on physical fitness and sports that followed a line similar to that of his predecessors.⁹³ Each leader had witnessed a softening of Americans living in a post-1945 culture of leisure, and each used the military lifestyle of physical readiness as an example for the nation to follow. For this, The Big Picture served as a convenient, available platform.

Civilian Partners Support the Troops

Although it was not until 1968 that the APC had dedicated a specific episode to the army’s civilian partners, they had been supporting the United States’ military since the earliest days with George Washington, filling roles such as teamsters, gunsmiths, guides, and scouts. “The Army’s Civilians” (TV-726) was an attempt to share the scope of that partnership and “the many ways in which they contribute to our nation’s security.”⁹⁴ At the time of the airing of this episode, in June 1968, the army was employing 416,280 civilians globally, in a variety of service and support roles, including those deployed in support of the armed forces in Vietnam.⁹⁵ This included 20,000 positions converted from military to civilian in that country.⁹⁶ In this regard, the army was employing more civilian employees than any other government agency except the US Post Office, “to perform essential but non-combat tasks.”⁹⁷ The spectrum of jobs at home and abroad, for men and women, included maintenance and lab technicians, computer technicians, clerks, medical professionals, and schoolteachers for the worldwide Department of Defense Schools System. The contributions of the civilian partners working alongside the uniformed members were intrinsic to the success of the army’s global military mission by introducing skill sets and experience that military members did not possess. They also provided stability through contracts that often required them to remain onsite for up to five years, when normal military rotations were annual.⁹⁸ The Big Picture provided a lens into this unique and seldom understood union that bound the military more closely to the American government employees.

From early in the series, during the period of the conflict in Korea, The Big Picture had featured footage of army civilians using their skills to support the military. The first episode to discuss the essential roles they performed was “Tools for a Modern Army” (TV-208), which aired in 1952. In this film, which focused on evolving machines and weapons systems, it was clear that the army’s success in the fields of science and technology depended on a capable corps of civilian technicians. As the narrator somberly noted, by the end of World War II, “scientists and engineers became as important as the military commander.”⁹⁹ The episode depicted the work done by civilians as the key to modernization in an increasingly dangerous world, as they strove to provide “better tools for a modern army.”¹⁰⁰ This was at a time the army was beginning to grapple with the other services for diminishing resources and to ensure its relevancy during the Cold War. Subsequent episodes continued to make the public and service members aware of the close working union between civilians and the military.

“Science Moves the Army” (TV-668) and “Pioneering for Tomorrow” (TV-815), aired in 1966 and 1971 respectively, emphasized the way that the efforts of civilian scientists, engineers, and technicians continued to be central to the army’s modernizing efforts. Comments such as “military and civilian personnel are facing space age problems” and “tomorrow’s battle may well be decided by students in college today” served as evidence of that solidarity of effort, as well as a recruitment pitch to entice the next generation of American scholars to become involved in the adventure of the future, through the US Army.¹⁰¹ “Pioneering for Tomorrow” focused on the network of army laboratories and research facilities spread across the nation, and it included footage of activities at the Natick Laboratory near Boston and the Harry Diamond Laboratories outside Washington, DC. In this film, The Big Picture showcased the research and development efforts of the US Army Materiel Command (AMC) and its essential core of professional civilians, disclosing that they were at the time involved in over 500 ongoing projects.¹⁰² This series of episodes was important for making viewers aware of the ways in which the work of the civilian scientists, engineers, and technicians complemented the life of the contemporary military. That was a cause to celebrate, however, as it also suggested that the army was welcoming an even closer collaboration between the military and civilian industry, as elements such as the AMC were operating on the margin between the two. This ran contrary to outgoing President Eisenhower’s fears expressed in January of 1961 when he warned of the possibility of “an incestuous relation between the military, Congress, and industry.”¹⁰³ In that regard, The Big Picture provided a testimony to the former, while acting as an inadvertent witness to the latter.

Another view of civilian interaction with the military that The Big Picture provided was the use of foreign nationals at military facilities overseas. As with many of their civilian counterparts in the United States, the military employed foreign nationals in a variety of support services and technical roles, as managers and skilled workers. As the episode “Foreign Nationals” (TV-314) explained, the use of this source of civilian manpower at overseas facilities in the early postwar years freed American soldiers for training and missions. Focusing on the occupation army in Korea, Japan, and West Germany, the film qualified the use of foreign nationals as a money-saving strategy for the United States, which paid host-nation workers at the lower local wage rates rather than at salaries comparable to those of Americans. As the narrator also explained, this bolstered the recovery of those occupied nations, thus forestalling the intervention of communism, which often worked to exploit nations with struggling economies. At the time of its airing in 1955, the episode noted that the US Army was employing approximately 100,000 Japanese, “thousands” of Korean citizens, and more than 130,000 nationals in Western Europe.¹⁰⁴ The narrator also expressed the hope that this additional interaction between the Americans and the local populace would continue to foster stronger relations among the nations and friendship between individuals. Eventually, foreign nationals began filling other positions, such as security guards monitoring access points to American military facilities and workers in post exchanges, movie theaters, and other recreational facilities. Employment of local nationals (LN) also suggests that linking their livelihoods with the United States military would encourage their support of an American presence in their country. Codification of that commitment to employ certain numbers of non-American citizens in specially designated jobs began in the 1950s and is still part of the specially negotiated status of forces agreements (SOFA) between the United States and those nations hosting the US military, such as South Korea, Germany, and Japan.¹⁰⁵

Although the episode “Foreign Nationals” did feature the close working relationship between LNs and Americans, it did not cast a light on the occasional moments of tension that arose. These usually occurred during periods of increased unemployment in the host nation, when American civilians and military dependents were competing with the local populace to fill any available slots in American military facilities. This sometimes resulted in the renegotiation of employment contracts between host communities and local American military commanders who retained the hiring authority. The absence of any mention of labor disputes between LN employees and their American managers suggests that the series producers felt their appearance in Big Picture films could tarnish the image of bonhomie they were working to project between the military and civilian workers and between the United States and its allies.

The Big Picture revealed the emphasis the government placed on the tight relationship between the army and its civilian employees around the world. It served to celebrate their contributions, attract their participation, and inform the public of this unique association. Footage captured President Johnson as he described the civil servants in laudatory terms: “men and women of broad vision with new answers and good ideas,” who were “building sound and satisfying personal careers making their own positive contributions to the country’s strength and security.”¹⁰⁶ At a time when the military was drawing heavy criticism for its involvement in the Vietnam conflict, episodes such as “The Army’s Civilians” went a long way to cementing the bonds between the civilian community and the army.

The Military as a Good Neighbor

Throughout the Big Picture catalog there were episodes that addressed the interaction of army units with surrounding communities both as partners and as a resource in times of need. The military was always proud of its participation in this type of relationship and used it as a valuable public relations tool to exhibit the ways soldiers did “work with, and for, local populations.”¹⁰⁷ The episode “Operation Noah” (TV-318) recounted the catastrophic floods that swept through the northeastern United States in the wake of a series of hurricanes in 1955. Noteworthy was the assistance that the army, through its Corps of Engineers, provided to help communities recover, including providing food and shelter for those who suffered losses.

Another film, crafted specifically to tell the story of civil-military cooperation was “Alexandria: City of Understanding” (TV-375), produced in 1957. Inspired by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, it told the story of that city’s close historical relationship with the military. It also celebrated the military’s place in the modern life of the community. The narrator claimed that the average citizen of Alexandria “finds daily contributions made by the military to his community life. In turn, he has been welcoming the military man to a fuller participation in his own activities.”¹⁰⁸ Scenes showed military facilities that employed numerous Alexandrians, as well as service personnel attending religious services and participating in other group activities. It was the citizen who “has come to recognize the military as a cross-section of his own American neighbors,” a comfortable position for the army.¹⁰⁹ Following that theme, “Your Military Neighbor” (TV-675), produced in 1966, listed the ways that the soldier was present in the ongoing lives of many other communities. It contained images of servicemen participating in disaster relief efforts, organizing Armed Forces Day parades and activities, working with local youth in sports or Scouting programs, providing medical assistance when needed, attending religious worship together, and “raising his family in the best American tradition.”¹¹⁰ That theme of soldiers serving as “double-duty Americans” was particularly evident in certain episodes about army reserve units and was central to selling the army as a reliable neighbor.¹¹¹

Several Big Picture episodes—“Alaskan Earthquake” (TV-670) from 1964 and “The Army’s Other Role” (TV-812) and “Citizen Soldier—Community Leader” (TV-816), which both aired in 1971—were also attempts by the army to continue to market itself and its reservists as good partners and neighbors and to exhibit the close link between units and the local communities. The first two films addressed the army’s wider participation in disaster relief and assistance operations, identifying military units as perfect for the job with their personnel, equipment, and training. The second episode provided an admirable history of the army’s response to various catastrophes, beginning with the 1871 Chicago Fire and following through a litany of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards. The narrator applauded the army for “extending its helping hand to people everywhere in their hour of need.”¹¹² This episode also emphasized the close cooperative relationship that the army and the American Red Cross shared in supporting disaster relief efforts. As an acknowledgement, retired army general Alfred M. Gruenther, who was then serving as the president of the aid agency, commented that “time after time I have seen the army respond promptly and effectively in disasters,” and “as president of the Red Cross I want to thank the army for this magnificent service.”¹¹³ The third film in the series focused on the army’s participation in community service, featuring soldiers from reserve units constructing Little League baseball fields, working with Boys and Girls Clubs, serving as leaders for Boy Scout troops, building parks, roads, and schools, and cleaning up rivers. It was emphasized that reservists “live, work, and train in communities throughout the United States” and were excellent neighbors.¹¹⁴ The army drew much-needed praise from all these episodes.

The APC producers introduced the disaster relief films with dramatic music and scenes of rushing tsunamis, collapsing buildings, floods, and raging fires. Scripted narration describing the suffering and anguish of civilian communities accompanied footage of desperate attempts at rescue by individuals and local authorities. But as viewers would expect, the army soon appeared on location with the same timing of the cavalry come to the rescue in a Western film. Stark videos showing the army participating in search and rescue operations, providing shelter and food, transporting supplies, and clearing roads on heavy equipment–filled television screens. Images flashed by of dirty-faced, blanketed children receiving care from uniformed personnel. The Big Picture was on the job capturing the actions of the contemporary army as it worked shoulder to shoulder with civilian partners to save lives and salvage the day. As a public relations vehicle, episodes such as these were well worth the cost of their production.

This collection of APC efforts was important to the army as it was beginning to lick its public relations wounds from the tarnished image it suffered during the height of the Vietnam conflict. Although it was clear in the films that reserve units did occasionally deploy to Vietnam, usually in support roles, the overall focus of the soldiers’ responsibilities in these episodes was on national and community service, not combat. In this context, Army Reserve units offered a possible alternative for young men seeking to avoid the draft and active-duty service that might place them in harm’s way in the waning days of the war. That understanding fed the waiting lists for acceptance into Army Reserve units that grew longer as the war dragged on. In parallel, the episodes that focused on community service also gained importance as the army began to look toward its future and cast about for ways to continue to fill its ranks as the projected end of the draft loomed in June 1971. In February 1971, however, President Nixon and the Department of Defense petitioned Congress to extend conscription. Although it was a politically contentious issue, the request passed in Congress, and the draft continued for two more years. December 1972 saw the end of an active ground combat role for the United States in Vietnam, and the last conscripts reported for duty in June 1973.¹¹⁵ Unfortunately, the impact of these films on the army’s recruiting and retention efforts could not be fully realized when the military turned to an all-volunteer force because the APC terminated the Big Picture series in late 1971. However, as some of the last episodes produced, these provided the viewing audience with positive parting images of the soldier as a reliable community partner and neighbor, bringing “concrete evidence of his friendship wherever he serves.”¹¹⁶

A unique connection the army had established during the postwar decades was with young men. One of the earliest was the military’s long-standing association with the Boy Scouts, especially the army’s invitation for Scouts to share in the adventure at Camp Century in the northern reaches of the globe in the “U.S. Army and the Boy Scouts” (TV-520). But the connection with young Americans was more extensive. One example was with a special community depicted in the episode “Boys Town, U.S.A.” (TV-346). After explaining the purpose of the home and organization, the film focused on the army’s 353rd Military Police Company, a US Army Reserve unit. Recent graduates of the Boys Town School filled most of its ranks. Created purposefully by the army, in conjunction with the faculty and clergy, the unit afforded an opportunity for the members of the student body who had recently turned eighteen years of age to participate in the military as reservists. It was one of many options offered to the young men who might have been lacking clear future goals and was another way the army was supporting a local community by producing “young citizens of whom the nation may be proud.”¹¹⁷ Although public reaction was generally positive, some criticisms were directed at the program. An example was a reproach the dean-registrar of Freed-Hardeman College, Tennessee, a private Christian school, fired at the APC. He charged that the film’s producers had intentionally scripted the episode on Boys Town to “publicize the Roman Catholic Church.”¹¹⁸ A letter from the acting chief of the R-T Branch of the APC sought to deflect the dart by emphasizing that “the Army is non-sectarian.”¹¹⁹ This assurance seemed to mollify the dean’s concerns.

A second association between the army and young men appeared in the 1959 episode “Army Digest No. 3” (TV-479). It described a long-standing relationship between the Second Squadron, 102nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, of the New Jersey Army National Guard and a group of teens between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. Attracting these youth from the local West Orange, New Jersey, area, the unit formed the Junior Essex Troop. Aside from its ascribed purpose to “keep alive a tradition and a way of life” through training its young cadets in horsemanship skills, it also trained them in the basic military craft.¹²⁰ This additional skill set included drill and ceremonies, marksmanship, discipline, and leadership. All of this was to prepare them for their role “as citizens, both military and civilian, of tomorrow.”¹²¹ Although the episode made no mention about the number of these young cadets who eventually pursued a military career, it was evident that the army was investing a significant amount of time and resources in shaping their thoughts about a future career in uniform. As these Big Picture episodes suggest, the army’s efforts through its Boys Town initiative and the Junior Essex Troop were about not only cultivating community relations, but also developing a recruitment pool at a time that enlistments and retention among the ranks were sagging in the late 1950s.

The Big Picture series dedicated a significant portion of its catalog to episodes that informed and educated service members, their families, and the public about the army way of life. It provided windows for viewers into how the army was educated and led, how it was trained and entertained, and who filled its ranks. Just as important, The Big Picture showed how the army was dealing with contemporary issues such as integration and diversity, and its successes and shortcomings as it faced each challenge. It also created a narrative that projected the army as a service of the people and for the people through episodes that featured soldiers extending a helping hand when needed and being good neighbors. This third subject category of the film series stands separate from the other two in that it was less about selling an ideological message or describing a strategic vision in a Cold War geopolitical sense. It was, instead, more about telling the story of who the individuals in the army were, what their way of life was, and how they worked to improve community relations and public opinion about the military. By doing so, it placed a human face on the person in uniform, with the purpose of making their presence more acceptable in communities throughout the nation and in locations around the globe.