The 82nd & 101st Airborne Divisions 1942-1970

Nine restored films in a 2 DVD set

* The 82nd Airborne Division (1948-B&W-21:00) Produced right after World War 2 this documentary is an excellent summary of the 82nd from its inception as “The All American” 82nd Infantry Division' (home of Sergeant AlvinYork) during World War 1,through its reactivation as an Airborne Division in 1942 to the surrender of Germany in May 1945. Along the way you'll see memorable footage, supplemented with maps & graphics, of the 82nds drop behind the landing beach at Gela,in Sicily, fighting at Salerno, liberating Naples, landing in Anzio, preparing for D-Day & dropping on St Mere Eglise in Normandy, securing the Nijmegen Bridge in operation Market Garden, in the Battle of the Bulge taking on an SS Panzer Division, crossing the Rhine & accepting the the surrender of 125,000 Germans at the Elbe river in May, 1945. Action packed!

* 82nd Airborne – The All American Division (1970, Color and B&W-28:00) After a brief summary of the Division's World War 2 record, the film moves on to show the unit's multifaceted role as a rapid reaction force through the Vietnam War. Instead of being sent to Korea, the 82nd underwent training to perform a wide variety of missions including jungle, arctic, counter insurgency and how to fight on a nuclear battlefield. In April 1965,they were deployed to the Dominican Republic in a successful “peace keeping role” that often turned violent, seen here in rare color film. In 1968 3rd Brigade rushed to Vietnam to the fierce fighting in Hue. You'll also get an inside look at their “long Range Recon” training and all aspects of training in their”Advanced Airborne school for specialized assignments.

* Bastogne (1945-11:00-B&W) This is a short film, but its action packed. Lt. Claire Hess gives a first hand account of his participation in the siege of Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge, as a front line officer in the101st Airborne Division. Great footage & a memorable story.

* The 101st Airborne Reborn (1956-29:00-B&W) This film was produced as part of the celebration of the reactivation of the 101st in 1956. Army Chief of Staff' General Maxwell Taylor, who had jumped into Normandy as commander of the 101st, is master of ceremonies, addressing the divisions new role as a rapid reaction force in a nuclear world..The film then moves on too show memorable scenes of the “Screaming Eagles campaigns in World War 2 from training in England to D-Day, Operation Market Garden, the epic defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, ending with their drive through Germany at Hitler's Alpine lair in Berchtesgaden.

* The Screaming Eagles in Vietnam 1965-66 (1967-Color-30:00) The 1st Brigade 101st Airborne was deployed to Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam in July, 1965, Their first task was to secure ground for the establishment of a base camp for the 1st Air Cavalry Division near Ahn Khe in the Central Highlands. They then moved in 1966 to their own base of operations in Phan Rang on the coast for operations Van Buren & Harrison securing the strategically important rice growing area around Tuy Hoa from VC control. Elements of the Division were also deployed for added fire power against the NVA in April-May at Nhon Co on the Cambodian border north as part of operation Hawthorn to Dak Toh to relieve a besieged Special Forces outpost- very fierce fighting ensued with NVA regulars. From July to December the 101st units were back in Tuy Hoa for the rice harvest and tor open sections of Highway 1.

Volume 2

* Exercise Arctic Night (1956-30:00-B&W) In 1956 at the height of the Cold War, conflict over the early warning radar stations stung along the Arctic Circle was a real possibility. In 1956, the 2nd Battalion of the 504th of the 82nd Airborne flew 1400 miles in C-124s from Fort Bragg, N.C, to the Air Force base at Thule, Greenland for “Exercise Arctic Night” for specialized cold weather training and to perform the Northernmost large unit parachute drop in history in temperatures down to 35 below zero Fahrenheit. You'll see all aspects of this fascinating mission, including planning, logistics, transport, testing of arms clothing and gear - plus infantry survival & tactical training in the ice bound frozen North.

* The Parachute Rigger (1967-25:00-B&W) This in depth film covers all aspects of parachute rigger training, including 3 months of camp, jump school, laying out, rigging, packing and repairing chutes using a variety of specialized tools, jump master duty and rigging & dropping heavy equipment including jeeps & artillery using multiple chutes.

* Exercise Swift Strike (1961-30:00-B&W) What if the 101st Airborne and the 82nd Airborne squared off against each other on the battlefield? Well, you'll see what happens in this detailed documentary on “Exercise Swift Strike,” staged in North and South Carolina in the summer of 1961. This massive war game, involving more than 30,000 troops operating over 5,000 square miles, pitted these two legendary formations against each other to test out new theories of air mobile warfare. You'll see the brand new STOL C-7A Caribou transport used for the first time along with a number of other early '60s mobile weapons systems. The Air Force flew over 2,000 to support the exercise which included parachute drops, vertical helicopter envelopment, ambushes and lightning flanking maneuvers.

* The Airborne Soldier (1963- 30:00-B&W) This film is fascinating look at the theory and practice of Airborne Warfare circa 1963. You'll learn about the creation and deployment of “The Strategic Army Corps' (STRAC), a rapid reaction force consisting of the 82nd & 101s Airborne and 1st and 4th infantry Divisions. This involved reorganizing divisions from the World War 2 three regiment format into smaller, more agile “battle groups” and the development of new weapons and tactics that could be used both on a nuclear battlefield and quick reaction fighting around the World. This was the birth of the “Air Mobile” concept that was an essential component of strategy and tactics in the Vietnam War. An added bonus is a segment on the training and development of “Green Beret” Special Forces units.