SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA WWII NEWS PHILIPPINES CAMPAIGN &
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Year Published: 1945
Format: 16mm
Description: This is a 1945 era, black and white movie is presented by – The Commanding General South West Pacific Area, the "S.W.P.A. News". It has several installments and the first one is about the insecticide, "DDT" sprayed by C-47’s in liberated Manila to fight a deadly Typhus plague. The movie opens with C-47 Pilots going over a map and loading up with DDT to fumigate the city of Manila, 1:00. Planes fly over the city and deliver DDT to the city of Manila below, 1:14. DDT pseudonyms, Deadly Dust Treatment, Double Delirium Tremens, 1:45. The Air strike on Luzon, in the Philippines, 2:25. Hill 2380 in Luzon, 2:50. Shelling of hill 2380, 3:10. Commander orders air strike on hill 2380 in Luzon, 4:00. Bombs land on hill 2380 in Luzon, 5:15. Aerial view of bombing of Luzon, 5:36. Infantry dig into the hillside in Luzon, 6:40. Battle for Baguio Falls, Philippines, 6:48. Explosions and fighting in Baguio Falls, troops move in, 8:00. Troops move into the city of Baguio and capture enemy, 8:20. Philippine puppet President Jose Laurel and Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita escape U.S. forces, 8:30. Children and other Philippine citizens return from hiding in the hills, 8:51. Ruins of Baguio, 9:10. Troops ride victoriously through Baguio, but the town is in ruins, 9:54. South West Pacific Area[note (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies (excluding Sumatra), East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA. General Douglas MacArthur was appointed as the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, on its creation on 18 April 1942. He created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines. The last command disappeared when Corregidor surrendered on 6 May 1942, while USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA). In 1943 United States Army Forces in the Far East was reformed and assumed responsibility for administration, leaving USASOS as a purely logistical agency. Both were swept away in a reorganisation in 1945. The other three commands, Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces, remained until SWPA was abolished on 2 September 1945.
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Transcription
[Music] it's time for last minute briefing for a new kind of air attack these c-47 pilots have done plenty of biscuit bombing but this mission is something different a special kind of ammunition is required before taking off mission is to spread powdered death on manila's insect population a new kind of blitz fumigating an entire city from the air you've heard of crop dusting back in the States well this is the same idea applied to a large city in Italy this stuff prevented an outbreak of typhus plague in Naples now the death-dealing dust floating in the air over Manila will prevent the spread of epidemics over here [Music] these Filipino kids have seen plenty of their eggs in their time but never anything like this that stuff they're spreading is DDT the deadliest insecticide ever discovered DDT stands for a chemical compound with a name so long nobody can pronounce it the bugs of Manila DDT means double delirium tremens of a deadly dust treatment anyway it's a fine white powder made of alcohol chlorine sulfuric acid and benzoyl and the combination is concentrated TNT for flies fleas lice bugs typhus ticks and malaria mosquitoes but perfectly harmless to men and animals first we had to exterminate the Jets from Manila and now the fumigation is complete remember the name soldier dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane okay DDT to you [Music] this is Hill's 2380 a military designation for a piece of high ground in Southern Luzon the hill is full of Japs and men of the 11th Airborne Division are out the takin variety of weapons is used to crown the hillside [Music] [Music] but mortars rockets and artillery are not enough something more is needed that power it's up to the air liaison officer to keep the planes hitting that hill we're gonna try and catch what he's saying the sound won't be perfect but this is no training film this is the real thing [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] creating into the target area is bombs release the bombs really very nice very nice still too much on the west side of the target but ours are in a good spot [Music] was oldest weapon fire and was newest weapon leaflets are showered on the Japs this is how it looks to the pilot very very nicely played flying morning 70 degrees it'll be better but they're doing a nice and the last pass with Jeff bond a little bit over the target [Applause] [Music] there goes the infantry you know it's the payoff when these boys move out digging their heels into the hillside they go up to meet the enemy face to face the infantry is taking over Hill 2381 more milestone in the fight to liberate all of Luzon [Music] he's man of the thirty-seventh division fighting of the approaches to baguio former summer capital of the Philippines the battle for Baguio proved to be one of the most grueling of the whole Luzon campaign for more than 60 days I Corps troops inch their way over thickly forested mountains and raise the back ridges to baguio the Japs put all they had into this fight Leggio was their main headquarters and also the home of the Philippine puppet government at the bottom of a natural Bowl 5,000 feet high Fangio office board offensive prospects with the approach has taken the Jeff main body goes over the hill but there are still strong pockets of resistance left p38 paved the way for tanks and infantry by passing them out of existence we enter the city the fall of Baguio leaves the Jeff out on a limb in northern luzon aperi the only port remaining to them is sealed up by air and sea blockade [Music] we captured some small fry but the Big Shot got away like Philippine puppet President Jose Laurel and Jeff general Yamashita the once ferocious tiger of Malaya it's safe now for the civilians to return to captured back away some of them have been hiding in the hills without food or water for 72 hours [Music] there's not much left of Baguio once the finest resort town in the Philippines but buildings have no real permanence it's the spirit of the people that live [Music] these people have what it takes courage and undying devotion to what they believe is their duty [Music] Fangio will be rebuilt into something finer a few scars of war may remain but in time they will become symbols of a great victory over a ruthless invader [Music]
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