THE BIG PICTURE TV SHOW

[Music] Stillwell said the last word on the campaign I claimed we got a hell of a beating we got run all of Burma and that's humiliating as hell I think we ought to find out what caused it go back and retake the place [Music] the United States Army presents the big picture an official report produced for the Armed Forces and the American people now to show you part of the big picture here is sergeant Stewart Queen we Americans take understandable pride in our roll call of heroes however something more than pride attaches to those among them who attain her right stature without losing the common touch these fire the imagination and at the same time evoke affection perhaps because it is easier to identify ourselves with them here then was such a hero General Joseph W Stilwell a man who turned back from bitter defeat to help write an important chapter in American military history [Music] Joseph W Stillwell was born in March of 1883 the place Palatka Florida his childhood and early youth however were to be spent in Yonkers New York even in earliest years he bore the stamp in appearance and in character of much we consider typically American there was a love for sports and in these he excelled there were also mischievous high spirits perhaps too high discipline was indicated and so the family decision to send Joseph Stilwell to the Military Academy at West Point the year was nineteen hundred and the decision of fortunate one few men could no as we know through hindsight that young men with qualities of courage and leadership would be needed to serve the nation's to ensuing years of crisis between the lines of a yellowed class yearbook we can read hints of those qualities for the young quarterback they were already winning a permanent niche among West Point's for fallen mortals they were destined to serve him on fields broader than the gridiron graduation from the Academy did not end Joseph's Stilwell's association with West Point the newly commissioned second lieutenant of infantry was to spend 11 of the next fourteen years teaching a succession of classes his field of instruction foreign languages a natural aptitude in these subjects was to prove as fortunate for the nation as was the decision to make the military his profession in the crowded years not spent at the academy there would be assignment to service schools and tours of duty in the Philippines and at home meanwhile history was setting the stage for the first of our century's major crises worldwide conflagration in its flame untried American leadership would be tested and tempered Joseph Stilwell would be among those to receive their baptism apartment over there was the patriotic song of the are over there sailed young American manhood to fight in the first international conflict of our history [Music] with the temporary rank of major Joseph Stilwell disembarked in France during the Bleak disheartening December of 1917 there followed a brief period of service with a British division then with his fluency in French he became liaison officer with a French 17th Corps [Music] for the young major there was no action at verdun l'affaire do Sammy for service in this last engagement still well now assistant chief of staff fourth Army Corps received the Distinguished Service Medal for military attainments of a high order read the citation with the war's end it was now Colonel Stillwell who went on to serve with the Army of Occupation within Germany [Music] there he remained until July of 1919 by now the enthusiastic scenes welcoming American troops back to civilian life were past history nor for the returned professional soldier would there be any termination of service in full recognition of his talent for language Joseph Stilwell's next assignment of duty was to take him to peek in there to study and attain fluency in the many Chinese dialects with him went his wife and their three children two more would be born during the years in China the comfortable Stilwell home came to reflect his growing appreciation of oriental bar it was to earn him recognition as a connoisseur to the Chinese people around him the perceptive Stilwell brought his own humane understanding out of it came mutual respect and warm regard one day in the future these would help forge military victory but before that day there were to be years of service for Joseph Stilwell now he must return to the United States beside him at fort benning x' infantry training school fellow future general officers taught and studied George C marshal Omar Bradley names that were to become household words in a nation at war at Fort Leavenworth command and General Staff school there were additional years of study then once again it was back to China this time as military attache to the United States Embassy and peek in here he remained as the clash of conflicting interests between Japan and the awakening giant China led inevitably to incident and incident to all-out war the incident was Manchuria the military machine of The Mikado required no organizing for the military cleek which then held power had long anticipated this day the overall plan was to decimate China reduce her province by problems [Music] Japan's modern Air Force would meanwhile be destroying China's sources of power to resist [Music] [Music] [Music] Chinese courage proved no defense against the perfected military efficiency of the enemy on hand as American observer was Colonel Joseph Stilwell it became his growing and unshakable conviction that the Chinese soldier was a first-class fighting man he needed only first-class equipment first-class leadership john kai-shek the one leader able to preserve Chinese unity was by now forced to withdraw to the interior city of Chongqing from here he sought endlessly to enlist the aid of other nations there had already occurred the pan I incident in which an American ship in Chinese waters have been sunk by Japanese bombers this had crystallized the American sentiment that had long inclined to sympathy for China [Music] [Music] aid had come as young Americans volunteered their services acting unofficially as private citizens one such group the Flying Tigers were winning faint as they took impressive toll of Japanese playing [Music] for China's armies engaged in their unequal struggle arms and equipment were now made available to cut off these sources of material aid Japan systematically occupied or blockaded one after another of China's port cities in effect she built her wall around China deprived of need and supply from without a weakened China would be vulnerable to the heavy blows of the invading forces once shattered she could be conquered peace me [Music] the former American observer was now back home again serving at California's Presidio a Major General he commanded the 3rd Army Corps step-by-step history was setting the stage for its climactic tragedy out of that tragedy Joseph Stilwell would emerge to play a heroic role [Music] from a country stunned by disaster general Stilwell was sent to China there to serve as chief of Generalissimo Chiang kai-shek's allied staff and with a small American staff to take nominal command of China's 5th and 6th armies the new responsibilities brought him his third star in the absence of clear-cut allied command lines general Stilwell's first job was to help in the defense of Burma Burma offered the only route by which material aid could be fed into China China must be built up made stronger and stronger until her allies could join her in going over to the offensive that would be a far off day for her allies were preoccupied with other theatres of war [Music] the burma which was to no Stilwell's exploits had ceased to be a modern Eden of song and romantic fiction it had become a battle tea general Stilwell in his Chinese together without number British free French and Dutch fought on but the effort [Music] the Japanese steamroller pushed on it had administered humiliating defeats to the Allies in the Pacific and elsewhere in Southeast Asia it had taken over thousands of square miles together with people's and resources now it rolled across Burma India's borders lay open to attack worst of all that last vital land route the Burma Road lay useless [Music] once again the old lesson must be learned courage alone is not enough [Music] for the allies withdrawal became retreat retreat a nightmare route [Music] in the ordeal Joseph still Wells full stature revealed itself refusing the comforts his age and rank might have claimed he personally conducted one group of 400 battered troops burmese nurses and civilians to the safety of india there at new delhi he was to utter the now classic admission of defeat and announced his determination to go back and wipe it out here was the honesty the directness the tough moral fiber that characterized the man [Music] the battered campaign hat and shirt sleeves now became a familiar sight as the job of regrouping and training began [Music] supply for besieged China cut off from her allies must now depend on a limited number of transport planes the few that Allied command could make available forced into around-the-clock system these were also bringing out of China the manpower that would be needed for that return to Burma in one such operation fourteen thousand troops were carried without loss or mishap limited to in number where the planes needed for the thousands of Chinese Flyers and training and even for those units which must continue aerial warfare against the enemy within China American Flying Tigers were now a part of regular fighting forces and these still flew for their old leader general Chennault and now another of Joseph Stilwell's goals must be pressed nothing less than a new road to bypass the severed link of the old Burma Road modern machinery and trained manpower could clear at the Indian end of the projected loop at the China end it was a far different story here it must be back-breaking manual labor with primitive tools men women and even children threw themselves into the Herculean task China knew what was at stake and China responded then from Quebec Canada came heartening news allied leadership in conference authorized greater aid and a newly organized Southeast Asia command Supreme Commander was to be Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten his deputy Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell the increase in material aid was making greater demands upon Air Transport suddenly the hitherto ignored operation captured the imagination of the outside world flying over the hump became a familiar phrase behind the phrase lay the reality of every type of plane available many lacking modern instruments flying back and forth in unpredictable weather their rule over uncharted and treacherous the stock file for this the stepchild of the war effort was mounting the tools of battle were now ready and waiting to help settle an old score the sideshow war had been remembered air power opened the prelude to attend and to sustain it fighters and bombers of the newest types arrived in increasing numbers soon the prelude to attack was no longer a curtain raiser but the first stage of fiery assault [Music] the day had come men from China from all parts of the British Commonwealth from India and Burma and from far off happen men of many races many tongues were on the March and with general Stilwell's polyglot army a growing number of American humans among them were general Merrill's troops experienced fighters from the Pacific Theater Merrill's Marauders was to be their popular name as they helped make history in the two years of preparation general Stilwell had molded a machine to beat the enemy at his own game Mountain and jungle warfare man-made weapons would exact casualties but losses even heavier were inflicted by malaria dysentery hepatitis and a wide range of propagule diseases for the men who fought enemy metal could hit as hard sickness could be as crippling as in any other theatre for them Burma was no sideshow supply for the men in their isolated pockets of warfare often had to come by air drop in twisting mild deep canyons and jungle covered terrain amidst by a few yards could be as bad as missing by a few hundred miles [Music] seemingly everywhere was lean raw-boned Uncle Joe as he was referred to generally bluntness had also earned him the title vinegar job doubtless there were saltier names coined in the ranks doubtless to Joseph still will chuckled over them in private the overworked term soldiers soldier has lost much luster but Joseph Stilwell sharing the hardships and dangers of his men gave the phrase real meaning his was the unique capacity for commanding respect and obedience while evoking a genuine affection perhaps no group regarded the general and the man with warmer feelings than did the Chinese troops in his command it was no secret that generals sir as he was called had consistently extolled their courage and promoted their welfare often in the face of averse opinion from above [Music] repaying that faith now were unbroken Chinese victories in the field [Music] we're in southern Burma names like the salween and Irrawaddy rivers were back in the news but now these were scenes of successes it was the enemy who yielded as British led Allied forces reclaimed more and more of Burma's soil north and south it was the same story an old humiliation was being erased it was now two years since the retreat from Burma and the 61 year old general could see his timetable for victory working out on schedule in the circumstances a birthday celebration was a pleasant and well-earned respite the presence of a Sun Colonel Joseph Stilwell jr. marked it a family occasion as well [Music] but however welcome such RESP it's must be few and far between [Music] The Forgotten war in both South and North had reached its climax [Music] [Music] the enemy knew well that each mile of ground lost in northern Burma another mile added to the link between India and China the Ledo Road was growing on the heels of combat troops often under enemy harassment came the men who must hack out that road the land itself fourth back jungle growth would completely reclaim and obliterate in two weeks time the work that neither the enemy nor disease nor climate could hold against the enemy there was the rifle always close by to fight the soil every weapon from the axe to explosive charge was employed the work went on General Joseph Stilwell was almost literally dragging his road behind him yet as he pushed on and the enemy grudgingly yielded the mule trail became a road in relative safety engineering could expand the road into a solid truck route as it neared completion the derisive phrase impossible Road was heard less often across jungle-covered plateaus it stretched across rivers untamed since the creation yet now they have been harnessed and bridged across mountain ranges are traveled to narrow the gap between India and China then inevitably came the great day the day when a first convoy could move along its 1044 mile length the enemy had been pushed out of Northeast Burma and the way lay clear considering the difficulties and the hardships that had been born in shaping its tortuous route there seemed merit in the words of an American Colonel who at the outset had said you don't have to be crazy to do this job but it helps yet the Ledo Road was now a reality the first convoy rolled into cooming a token of the supply flow to follow honoring the man who had weathered all opposition to build the route it was renamed the Stilwell Road four months later allied command could announce victory in Burma what of the man what built the road and forged that victory the tides and cross currents of events had taken him far from what would have been his hour of triumph receiving his fourth star general Stilwell came home to serve as commander of ground forces then after the Pacific for a tour of battle fronts and installations in the course of those next months he became commander of the 10th army later he was to serve as commanding general at Okinawa [Music] but wherever the assignment the Stilwell story remained unchanged he was still blunt unassuming Uncle Joe the general with no patience for pomposity and pretense he was still the gaunt typical American who somehow reminded of the symbolic figure Uncle Sam more important he was still the Joseph Stilwell with an understanding of the men in the ranks and a talent for winning their affection it was of course his own feelings being reflected as warm feelings always are summer of 1945 was ending and so too history's most devastating war like another great military leader who had vowed to return to the scenes of earlier defeat and erase its humiliation general Stilwell would welcome the date September the 2nd aboard the battleship Missouri on that day general of the army Douglas MacArthur submitted the formal surrender terms to a defeated enemy an end had come to the Agony's of a tortured world peace had come in victory and with on once again for general Stilwell there was assignment to the presidio but now as a prelude to well-earned retirement [Music] at nearby Carmel was his family in the home he loved here he had planned to pass the rich remaining years that lay ahead but now a new enemy sprung this was the enemy within one who would not be defeated on October 12 1946 after a short illness stout-hearted Joseph Stilwell died by his own instructions ceremony was omitted his ashes strewn out on the Pacific whose waters play against the shores of beautiful Carmel today at West Point the generals old campaign hat and combat boots are treasured mementos there hangs to a portrait to recall Joseph W Stilwell's career of service to his country to the men he led an example and an inspiration to greatness [Music] this was General Joseph W Stilwell blunt honest unassuming and at the same time brilliant and leadership a magnificent in personal courage a man perfectly cast in the hero's role he was called to play upon history stage now this is sergeant Stewart Queen your host for the big picture the big picture is an official report for the Armed Forces and the American people produced by the army pictorial centers presented by the Department of the army in cooperation with this state