by v.c. was indicated by food still being cooked. despite all precautions, an ambush resulted in the wounding of two men.despite all precauti ambush resulted in the wounding of two men. on the river, the navy was having its own taste of the viet cong, receiving harassing fire from the thick jungle. in return, they opened up with their .20 millimeter cannon. as soon as the battalion arrived at the site of the sdc post, they started digging in to set up the perimeter on johnston's recommendation. he explained some of his other recommendations to the regimental commander and kahn, realizing it wasn't enough to say this is the way the american army did things. following a conference they burned the brush to uncover many traps laid by the communist viet cong.

with security established, the first lcm was signaling to come in. johnston lent a hand in tying it to the bank. the battalion was now ready to begin its basic mission, construction of the sdc post following the plan drawn up by johnston and his counterpart. the wall of the triangular post would be of mud, would become almost hard as concrete when it dried. a blockhouse was constructed at each corner of the triangle. captain kahn personally supervised many phases while johnston was everywhere, observing and advising.

one of his recommendations was for use of conner is tina wire. their joint plan also included the digging of a most surrounding this entire post. construction was inter erupted by fire from the v.c.s. casualties were sustained by both sides. this sdc soldier received mortar fragments and an armored mortar killed this soldier. viet cong harassing fire during the post's construction led to a disagreement between adviser and counter part when johnston recommended clearing fields of fire in the captain wanting to

save the crops. johnston won his point and members of the sdl burned fields of fire on both sides of the canal. the following day another battalion soldier was critically wounded by sniper fire at 1150 hour, a significant time since it was ten minutes before virtually all a.r.v.i.d. troops took a two-hour siesta. deeply concerned, johnston radioed a request to the regimental adviser for a u.s. piloted helicopter. he received a regretful refusal because only when a.r. vin refused a mission, could u.s. pilots be sent. three hours later an a.r. vin helicopter landed.

the wounded man lost his right eye and was paralyzed on the right side. johnston, deeply involved, helped load him on the helicopter. with the sdc post almost completed the battalion assisted in the construction of a watchtower. while being loaded it became stuck in the soft mud. johnston and his counterpart hurried to the scene. having experience with track vehicles, johnston felt he had the zugs, but kept it to himself to allow the captain to direct operations.

the commander's methods were suitable for wheeled vehicles but succeeded in bogging down the tractor more. the battalion commander earn his u.s. adviser were worried. the troops were under harassing fire and the deadline of tet was drawing closer. delay could well cause the men their holiday and morale could become dangerously low. as he later admitted, johnston's concern for the men led him to use poor judgment. he attempted to advise his counterpart in front of officers and men leaving kahn to recommend the solution. the acceptance of advice in front of others would have caused him to lose face so he continued to use his own methods. even procurement of a second bulldozer and use of all available men didn't help. finally johnston in private issued an ultimatum to kahn, use the method he recommended or he

would make a report to regiment. this would result in even greater loss of face and possibly disciplinary action for kahn. the battalion commander reluctantly gave in. johnston's method was to anchor the bottom of the track to a stationary object so the tractor to would pup itself out of the hole with its own treads and out of the hole it had dug for itself. his method worked. the men threw their hats in the air in a spontaneous expression of joy. they made it. a few days later their mission was fully accomplished. the sdc post was completed. the sdc men and their families moved in to man the post and set up housekeeping, bringing in firewood for cooking and

drinking water. it was a scene of domestic tranquility against a backdrop of anticipated violence. with the post fully completed in ten days, the battalion headed back to the village. the viet cong, unsympathetic as always, hit them with an ambush. it was quickly met with small arms and mortar fire. kahn directed the action. more first battalion casualties were added to the price of the sdc post.

captured v.c. prisoners showed there was another side to the balance sheet. now they could complete the final leg of their journey back to duke roy. a few days later, captain johnston received orders for reassignment to the united states. he lad had said good-bye to all the men except the wounded. his good friend kahn was with him on his last mission. there was a heart-warming mutual respect between adviser and counterpart and between officers and men. at least one advisory technique burned itself into captain kahn's subconscious. these were, indeed, his troops. it was time for him to return to the united states and for

lieutenant clement to replace him. the new battalion adviser had already learned as johnston had that a careless word or action could not only jeopardize the success of a mission but could cost the united states dearly in good will and cooperation. he recognized that the rapport developed by captain johnston had been achieved at great personal sacrifice and at considerable cost to the united states. inevitably there would be problems. it would be up to him to work them out as johnston had. however, one fact was certain. all else being equal, he would have an easier time of it because his predecessor had laid the foundation of a workable relationship with his counterpart and the rest of the battalion.

each week "american history tv's" "reel america" brings you archival films that help to tell the stir of the toth century. released in 1938 and sponsored by the farm security administration, "the river" is a 31-minute documentary about the mississippi river valley and its vital role in american commerce. the role shows various dealing commerces. during production of the film, a catastrophic flood hit the ohio river and extended to the mississippi valley leaving about a million homeless and hundreds dead. the filmmakers captured many scenes of this flood and incorporated them into the documentary. the film was made in conjunction with many including army corps of engineers.

♪ >> from as far west as idaho down from the glacier peaks of the rockies, from as far east as pennsylvania down from the tury ridges of the alleghenys, down from minnesota, 2,500 miles, the mississippi river runs to the gulf, carrying every drop of water that follows down 2/3 of the continent, carrying every brook and river,

and creek, the mississippi runs down to the gulf of mexico. down the yellowstone, the milk, the white and cheyenne. the cannonball, the mussel shell, the james and the sioux, down the judith, the grand, the osage and the plant. the black, down the rock, the illinois and the allegheny, down the miami the kentucky and the tennessee, down the wichita, the red and yazoo. down the missouri, 3,000 miles from the rockies. down the ohio, a thousand miles from the allegheny. down the arkansas, 1,500 miles from the grade divide. down the red, a thousand miles from texas.

down the great valley, 2,500 miles from minnesota, carrying every rivulet and brook, creek and rill, carrying all the rivers that run down two-thirds the continent, the mississippi runs to the gulf. ♪ new orleans to baton rouge. baton rouge to naches. naches to vicksburg. vicksburg to memphis. memphis to cairo. we build a dike a thousand miles long. men and mules, mules and mud. mules and mud a thousand miles up the mississippi. a century before we bought the great western river, the spanish

and the french built dikes to keep the mississippi out of new orleans at flood stage. we continue to levee the entire length of the delta. the valley built up for centuries by the old river spilling her floods across the bottom of the continent. a mud delta of 40,000 square miles. men and mules, mules and mud. new orleans to baton rouge, naches to vicksburg, memphis to cairo a thousand miles up the river. and the planters brought their planks and their plows and their cotton over the river. down through the boom trace. down through cumberland gap over from georgia and south carolina.

over from the tiedtidewater. over from the old cotton land west of the big river. west of the steam boat highway. down the highway to the sea. ♪ corn and oats down the missouri, tobacco and whisky down the ohio. down from pittsburgh, down from st. louis. hemp and potatoes, pork and flour. we sent our commerce to the sea. ♪ we made cotton king. we rolled a million bales down the river from liverpool and leads. 1860, we rolled 4 million bales down the river. rolled them off alabama, rolled them off mississippi. rolled them off louisiana.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪ we fought a war. we fought a war and kept the west bank of the river free of slavery forever. but we left the old south impoverished and stricken. doubly stricken because besides the tragedy of war, already the frenzied cotton cultivation of quarter of a century had taken toll of the land.

we mined the soil for cotton until it would yield no more. and then moved west. we fought a war. but there was a double tragedy. the tragedy of land twice impoverished. ♪ black spruce and norway pine. douglas fir and red cedar. scarlet oak and shagbark hickory. hemlock and aspen. there was lumber in the north. the war impoverished the old south. the railroads killed the steamboats, but there was lumber in the north. head's up, lumber on the upper river. head's up.

lumber enough to cover all europe. down from minnesota and wisconsin, down to st. paul, down to st. louis and st. joe. lumber for the new continent of the west. lumber for the new mills.qfzh ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> there was lumber in the north and coal in the hills.

iron and coal down the monogelia. iron and coal down the ohio. down to pittsburgh. down to wheeling. iron and coal to the steel mills, for the railroads driving west and south. for the new cities of the great valley. ♪9ii÷ ♪ ♪

♪ >> we build new machinery and cleared new land in the west. 10 million down to the gulf. cottons for the spools of england and france. 15 million bales down to the gulf. spools to italy and germany. ♪ we built 100 cities and 1,000 towns. st. paul and minneapolis. davenport. moline and quincy. cincinnati and st. louis. omaha and kansas city. across to the rockies and down

to minnesota, 2,500 miles to new orleans. we built a new continent. ♪ >> black spruce and norway pine. douglas fir and red cedar. starlet oak and shag bark hickory. we built 100 cities and 1,000 towns. but at what a cost? we cut the top off the allegheny

and sent it down the river. we cut the top off minnesota and sent it down the river. we cut the top of wisconsin and sent it down the river. we left the mountains and the hills slashed and burned. and moved on. ♪ ♪ for the water comes downhill,

spring and fall. down from the mountains, down from the plowed off slopes. from as far west as idaho, and as far east as pennsylvania. down every brook and rill, rivulet and creek. carrying every drop of water that flows down 2/3 the continent. 1903. 1907. 1915. 1916. 1922. 1927. 1936. 1937. down from pennsylvania and ohio, kentucky and west virginia, missouri and illinois.

down from north carolina and tennessee. down the judith, the grand, the osage, and the platte. the rock, the black in minnesota. down the mononelia. the miami. the warbash. the green. the white, the cash, the black. down the corn cascadie of the red. down the tennessee. down the ohio 1,000 miles fromd pittsburgh. down the arkansas a thousand miles from texas. down to the mississippi.

new orleans to baton rouge. baton rouge to natchez. natchez to vicksburg. vicksburg to memphis. a thousand miles down the levee, the long vigil starts. 38 feet in baton rouge. river rising. memphis, river rising. river rising. a thousand miles to go. a thousand miles of levee to hold. coast guard control needed at paducah. coast guard patrol needed at paducah. 200 boats wanted at hickman.

200 boats wanted at hickman. levee patrol, men to blytheville. levee patrol, men to blytheville. 2,000-?wanted. 2,000 men wanted at cairo. 100,000 men to fight the old river. we sent every branch of the river down the river to help the sleepless engineers fight a battle on a 2,000-mile front. the army and the navy, the coast guard and the marine corps. the ccc and wpa, the red cross, and the health service fought night and day to hold the old river off the valley.

♪ food and water needed at louisville. 500 dead. 5,000 ill. food and water needed at cincinnati. food and medicine needed at lawrenceburg. 55,000 homeless in evansville. food and medicine needed in aurora. food and medicine and shelter and clothing. 750,000 down the valley. last time we had the levees. she backed into tennessee and arkansas and illinois and missouri. she spread her arms over thousands of acres of land and

she left farms ruined. stuck ground. houses torn. 1903. 1907. 1915. 1916. 1922. 1937. we built 100 cities and 1,000 towns. but at what a cost? ♪ >> 1937, the entire nation sent help to the stricken people of the valley. congress appropriated millions to aid the flooded cities and villages and to rehabilitate the flood victims.

but spring and fall the water comes down, and for years the old river has taken a toll from the valley, more serious than ever she does in flood times. year in, year out. the water comes down. down from 1,000 hillsides. washing the top off the valley. for 50 years, we dug for cotton, moved west when the land gave out. 50 years we plowed for corn and moved on when the land gave out. we planted and plowed with no regard to the future. and 400 million tons of topsoil, 400 million tons of almost valuable natural resource, have been washed into the gulf of mexico every year.

♪ ♪ and poor land makes poor people. poor people make poor land. for a quarter of a century, we have been forcing more and more farmers. today 40% of all the farmers in the great valley are tenants.0/ 10% of sharecroppers. down on their knees in the valley. the share of the crop their only security. no home. no land of their own.

aimless. foot loose. and impoverished. unable to eat even from the land, because their cash crop is their only livelihood. credit at the stall, their only reserve. ♪ and a generation growing up with no new land in the west. no new continent to build.

a generation whose people, kings mountain, and shiloh. a generation whose people knew fremont and custer. but a generation facing a life of dirt and poverty, disease. growing up without proper food, medical care, or schooling. ill clad, ill housed, and ill fed. and in the greatest river valley in the world. ♪

♪ there is no such thing as an ideal river in nature, but the mississippi river is out of joint. dust blowing in the west, floods raging in the east. we have seen these problems growing to alarming extremes. when we first found the great valley, it was 40% forested. today, for every 100 acres of forest re found, we have ten left. today, 5% of the entire valley is ruined forever for agricultural use. 25% of the topsoil has been shoved by the old river into the gulf of mexico. today, two out of five farmers

in the valley are tenant farmers. 10% of them sharecroppers, and we are forcing 50,000 more in cropping every year. flood control of the mississippi means control in the great delta. that must carry out water brought down from 2/3 of the continent and control of the delta means control of the little rivers and the great arms. flowing down from the uplands. and the old river can be sb controlled. we had the power to take the valley apart. we have the power to put it together again. in 1933, we started. down on the tennessee river when congress created the tennessee valley authority. an authority commissioned to develop navigation, flood control, agriculture, and industry in the valley. a valley that carries more rainfall than any other in the country. the valley through which the tennessee used to roar down to paducah in flood times. with more water than any other tributary of the ohio.

swift came the dams. up on the clinch at the head of the river, we built norris dam. a great barrier to hold walter in flood times and release water downriver for navigation in low water season. next, guntersville and pickwick. a series of great boulders that eventually would transform the old tennessee into a link of fresh water pools, locked and dammed, regulated and controlled.

down 650 miles to paducah. but you cannot plan for water unless you plan for land. the eroded hill. the gully. waters unchecked down to the river. the ccc working with the forest service and agricultural experts have started to put the warm fields and hillsides back together. black walnut and pine for the worn out gully hillsides. roots to hold the water in the ground. black walnut and pine for the new forest preserves. soil conservation men have worked out crop systems with the farmers of the valleys. crops to conserve and enrich the topsoil.

so that today, millions of acres of land today. you cannot plan for water and land unless you plan for people. down in the valley the farm security administration has built the model agricultural community. living in homes they, themselves, built, paying for them on long-term rates. the homesteaders will have a chance to share in the wealth of the valley. more important, the farm security administration has loaned thousands of dollars to farmers in the valley. farmers who were caught by years of depression and in need of only a stake to be self-sufficient. and where there's water, there's power. where there's water for flood control, and water for navigation, there's water for power.

♪ power for the farmers of the valley cut off for years. power for the villagers and cities and factories. west virginia, north carolina. tennessee and mississippi. georgia and alabama. power to make a new tennessee valley for a new generation. power enough to make the river work.

♪ >> you can view this and all other "reel america" programs at c-span.org. enter "reel america" in the search engine. this is what's today known as the anacostia river. back then, 200 years ago, it was known as the eastern branch of the potomac. it's a tributary of the potomac, and this plays a key part in everything that happens at bladensburg. this used to be a deep water

river. in fact, when bladensburg was founded in 1749, this was a deep water port with ships coming from around the globe to take away tobacco that was grown in the country around here. but by 1812, silt had really filled in a lot of the eastern branch. so bladensburg was no longer any kind of a major port but it was still important by virtue of all the roads that cross there. and the river up there was quite shallow and whereas the eastern branch downriver from here is a pretty major river still that you need to have a bridge pretty much to be able to cross it. certainly the british wouldn't have been capable of crossing it

without a bridge. and this first bridge that we see right in front of us was the location of the -- what was then known as the eastern branch bridge. it was not that far from the washington navy yard. and in order to get into washington from a more direct approach, the british would have to cross the river at this bridge. and the american commanders had set up forces and explosives underneath the bridge ready to blow it when the british approached. so ross opted to cross the river at bladensburg, a few miles upriver from where we are now. and august 24th at noon, after he sends his forces across the river, the first ones to cross on the bridge at bladensburg

which the americans had neglected to blow, just in the chaos and confusion of the moment, and led by colonel william thornton, one of ross' brigade commanders, they hit the maryland militia head-on. took some initial casualties but pretty quickly were able to envelope the americans, get around them and force the mi militias to stop retreating pretty quickly. the militia retreated to a second line of defense and the british kept on coming. they also had concrete rocket. this was a relatively new weapon at the time. to burn had used them with quite a bit of effectiveness in his chesapeake campaign. most of the american militia troops hadn't seen them before. and these rockets were notori s

notoriously difficult to aim, but they were really weapons of terror because they were almost like, you know, huge skyrockets that would flare up in the sky and cause damage where they hit. because they were so difficult to aim, they were, you know, difficult -- they weren't a very reliable weapon for the british. but they were good at frightening the american troops. and the british were able to use them with great effectiveness at bladensburg nafor that reason. they started firing these. many of them were going over the heads of the militia troops, but that was enough to cause some of them to start turning and running. in fact, president madison has ridden up from washington. his headquarters was down here near the navy yard where the general winder had convened on the morning of august 24th, madison and most of the cabinet had come there as well.

madison had ridden by horse out to bladensburg there to mostly to observe and to make sure his secretary of war, john armstrong, would give general winder the support he needed. madison, when he gets to bladensburg before the fighting has started, almost runs directly into british lines. the british are just arriving as madison gets there, and he -- madison actually rides aross the bridge into bladensburg before being told by a scout who was up front that mr. madison, the british are in bladensburg, and madison and his attorney general, richard rush, turn around and head back to american lines where they're observing the battle. once the fight starts out, madison is initially encouraged by the first resistance that the

militia is showing. the british when they start firing rockets actually fire one that fwogoes right over the heaf madison and the rest of his cabinet officers. it was, you know, sailed high harmlessly, but madison at this point becomes the first american president to come under fire on a battlefield. madison moved back at that point to a somewhat safer distance. in the meantime, the american lines are starting to collapse. as the british start crossing the river in force. some are using the bridge. others are wading across the water. and pretty soon they have enough of a force that the second line of militia defense is collapsing. one of the problems the americans are encountering here was command interference. you had james monroe who was

secretary of state. he had come to scout out the lines. he had basically been serving as a scout for several days for madison, even though he was secretary of state, he was pretty much throwing himself into danger's way. but he directs some of the militia troops to move further back from the front line. this leaves them out of support for each other. so monroe didn't really do the at bladensburg much of a favor by his attempts to reorganize them. so you have two lines now of militia that are collapsing. they're all starting to retreat but with no fixed point in mind% general winder hadn't saved or hadn't designated any kind of rally point. winder already had a lot of experience at retreating now as

they advanced on washington. he ordered his troops back a number of times. he really botches this retreat. as the maryland militia are falling back, a lot of them start heading north toward baltimore. others are heading toward georgetown, and really none of them are heading back to the third line of defense which has been formed by joshua barney and his navy men and the district militia which had raced up from washington during the course of the morning. in the terrible heat. in fact, the maryland militia commanders hadn't even been informed there was a third line. no one had told them that joshua barney and the district militia had formed behind them. so they're retreating in a chaotic fashion. winder is losing his nerve and he ends up ordering a general retreat. and this even as the british are starting to approach the third

line of defense which is made up of3"y barney and the district, militia. now, the british at bladensburg have to move uphill to attack this third line. barney is situated on a strong position right on the maryland line. he had big guns. 18-pound weapons that he brought with him. he also had some of the u.s. marines from the marine corps barrack here in washington which had come up to support the men serving as infill tri for them. the british, as they're trying to move into the space with these guns take quite significant casualties. the frontline troops from the 85th light infantry are taking one-quarter casualties. so, very significant bloodshed, and it appeared to barney and some of the district militia commanders that they were on the verge of maybe turning the tide here.

winder with the maryland militia in recruit has ordered a general retreat. barney doesn't get this word. he and his men keep on fighting and then he sees that the district militia has pulled back under orders from winder. ross manages to get high ground over barney and his flatoolmen. some of the british sharp shooters are able to take down a number of the men including some of the gun crews and barney, himself, is hit in the hip ander is ve iser is ve severely wounded. tries to disguise the wound from the british and his own men because he doesn't want them to lose faith. very quickly, barney is also running out of ammunition. all the crews that were bringing his ammunition, civilian crews, they had joined in the general retreat, so barney was running

out of ammunition. it was pretty clear he was surrounded or close to it at this point, so barney then orders his men to surrender and retreat. and he orders them to leave him on the battlefield. one of his officers stays with him. most of the men are able to escape back toward washington. barney is left on the battlefield and pretty soon he's found by some of the british soldiers who run and get admiral coburn. barney, over the course of the previous several months, had been really the one american officer who had really offered strong resistance to the british. and both to burn and ross were quite impressed with him. and ross comes up as well, and they -- they agree to pardon barney on the spot. meaning that he wouldn't be officially held in british

custody, but he was out of the war at this point until he could be traded for another prisoner. the americans are now in full retreat back toward washington. the british own the field at bladensburg after several hours of combat. you know, this is sometimes called the bladensburg races because of the way the militia retreated so kchaotically. in a sense, it's an accurate term, but it also does discredit to a lot of the brave fighting that did happen here. particularly from barney's men and the marines who fought bravely, took heavy casualties and at one point seemed like they might be able to turn the tide of the battle. and certainly, you know, the british fought bravely, fighting uphill against those guns in that type of heat. but these guys were known as wellingtons and visyules for a

reason. they had fought the french in europe and the forces they met here at bladensburg just were not a match for them ultimately. tonight on "american history tv" in primetime, the war of 1812 and burning of washington. at 8:00, it's a panel discussion on the battle of bladensburg. that will be followed by author anthony pitch on his book "the burning of washington: the british invasion of 1814." and later, steve vogel, author of "through the perilous fight: six weeks that saved the nation" tells the story of the burning of washington through a river tour on his boat. that all gets under way tonight at 8:00 eastern here on c-span3. 200 years ago british soldiers invaded washington, d.c., and burned down the white house and u.s. capitol while president james madison and first lady dolley madison fled the city. this week, live coverage of the two-day forum with historians and authors marking the anniversary of the british burning of washington and war of

1812. all starting tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern. and day two of the conference on the war of 1812 also live thursday here on "american history tv." the white house historical association and the u.s. capitol historical society starting at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. each week, "american history tv's" "reel america" brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. 45 years ago on july 20th, 1969, as millions around the world watched on live television, neil armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon. next, a half hour nasa documentary chronicling the "apollo 11" mission from liftoff to splashdown. >> okay. engine stopped. command override off. >> we copy it down, eagle.

>> the eagle has landed. >> roger, tranquillity. we copy you on the ground. you got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. we're breathing again. thanks a lot. >> we're getting a picture on the tv. there's a great deal of contrast in it, and currently it's upsidedown on our monitor, but we can make out a fair amount of detail. >> okay, neil, we can see you coming down the ladder now. >> sunday july 20th, 1969. around the world, nearly a billion people watched this moment on television. as the first man from earth prepared to step foot upon the moon. >> foot on the ladder. the surface, one or two inches. although the surface appears to be very, very fine grain as you

get close to it. it's almost like a powder. step off now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> i believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. all that we have accomplished in space, all that we may accomplish in das ays and years come, we stand ready to share for the benefit of all mankind, . >> as we explore the reaches of space, let us go to the new world together, not a new world to be conquered, but a new

adventure to be shared. >> since the earliest time, man has imagined this moment. the moment when his fellow man would make the first journey to the moon. now the time had come. in the sixth decade of the 20th century, the ancient dream was 0y the flight of "apollo 11" was the culmination of many years of planning, working, building, and testing. thousands of people had contributed toward this day of accomplishment. the great "saturn 5" rocket and complex "apollo" spacecraft had been assembled together and moved to the launchpad. the equipment and techniques and personnel had been proved in earlier missions. and now they were ready. the astronauts chosen for this mission had flown many times in

simulators. they'd all been in space before. they'd trained carefully and well. and now they, too, were ready. astronaut michael collins would pilot the "apollo" command module. astronaut edwin auldwin jr. would pilot the lunar module. and astronaut neil armstrong would serve as mission commander. armstrong would be the first man to step upon the moon. july 16th. the day had come. the moon awaited. the men rose early, ate breakfast, and dressed in their spa spacesuits.

other astronauts had made this journey to the launchpad but never with such anticipation. 9:32 a.m. july 16th.

♪ >> three hours later, the "apollo" command module moves forward to extract the lunar module from the third stage of the launch vehicle. both are moving at more than 17,000 miles an hour. docked together, they will sail a quarter million miles across the sea of space and into orbit around the earth's nearest neighbor. >> loud and clear, mike. we understand that you are docked. >> during the three-day journey

to the moon, the astronauts kept busy. checklists. navigation and observation. housekeeping. they must work in a weightless environment, keeping the spacecraft and themselves in good condition. data must be collected and reported. experiments must be performed. including photography both inside and outside the spacecraft. because of the film speed, these actionslxcx appear faster than actually were.

july 19th. apollo 11 slow downs and goes into orbit around the moon. the bright blue planet of earth lies 238,000 miles beyond the lunar horizon. astronauts armstrong separates from the command module. astronaut collins remains behind. preparation for the lunar module descent to the moon now begins. ♪

the command module assumes a new name, "columbia." the lunar module will be called the "eagle." from "columbia" the camera sees bright rays of the sun reflecting patterns of color from the surface of the eagle. in this strange metallic bird rides the ancient and endless dream of all mankind. the command pilot can see detail which his camera cannot record. the four landing pads of the lunar module are fully extended and locked in place. the "eagle" is poised and prepared for its descent to the lunar surface. ♪

the moon landing craft rocket engine fires to slow it down and to place it on the pathway to the landing site in the sea of tranquillity. there is tension and caution as the "eagle" flies lower. warning lights blink on as the computer tries to keep up with the demand for control data, but the status remains go. >> "eagle"eagle," we got you no. looking good. >> roger, copy. >> another questionieagle, hous. you all, plus 1, 8. >> roger. you're go to continue power descent. you're go to continue power descent. >> altitude now 21,000 feet. p r(t&háhp3 velocity down now to 1,200 feet per second. >> you're looking great, eagle. >> give us the reading on the 1202 program alarm. >> roger, we're going at alarm.

>> great radar data. we're now in the approach phase. everything looking good. altitude 4,200. >> landing. over. >> go for landing. 3,000 feet. altitude 1,600. 1,400 feet. still looking very good. 700 feet. 21 down. 33 degrees. 100 feet1h 12:01. >> roger, 12:01 alarm. same type. >> altitude velocity light. down. 220 feet. 15 forward. come down nicely. 200 feet. 4 1/2 down. 5 1/2 down. 60 seconds. lights on.n]ç> down 2 1/2.

forward. forward. good. 40 feet down. 2 1/2. picking up some. four forward. four forward. drifting to the right a little. back right. okay. engine stopped. >> we copy you down, eagle. >> tranquillity base here. the eagle has landed. >> through the window of the eagle, armstrong and aldrin see what no human eyes have ever seen before. their spacecraft casts a long shadow against the undisturbed dust of centuries. seven hours after landing, after careful preparations for later

ascent were completed, armstrong opens the eagle hatch and against his climb down to the surface. ♪ ♪ >> the first footsteps on this strange new world must be taken cautiously. the moon has only 1/6 the gravity of earth. the nature of its surface was still unknown. >> step off now.

it's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. >> once on the surface, armstrong scoops up a small sample of lunar dust and rock. precaution against the possibility of an emergency takeoff. ♪ according to plan, astronaut aldrin now descends from the eagle. he and his equipment would weigh 383 pounds on earth. here they weigh about 66 pounds. ♪

♪ ♪ for a brief moment, the first men on the moon stand and look at this dark, lonely landscape around them, an experience which no one before them can share. but there's much to be done in the limited time which they can stay on this airless, cloudless satellite of earth. this sheet of metal foil traps and holds particles from the sun, the so-called solar wind, or barrage of solar energy which constantly strikes the moon's surface. results of this experiment will be taken back to earth to reveal new secrets to anxious scientists.

an american flag is left behind on the moon. together with medals honoring american and soviet spacemen who lost their lives in earlier space tests. and a small disk carrying messages of good will from 73 nations on earth. a plaque on the lunar module reads, here men from the planet earth first stepped foot upon the moon july 1969 a.d. we came in peace for all mankind. to a specially made television camera, viewers and people on earth were able to watch the astronauts as they walked and worked on the moon. despite the bulky spacesuits and

backpacks containing oxygen, temperature control and communications equipment, the "apollo 11" crew found they could move easily about the surface. ♪ because there's no wind or rain on the moon, these footprints will remain for centuries. ♪ in addition to collecting rock and soil samples, the explorers leave behind a size mom ter. this highly sensitive device would send back valuable information on external meteoroid impacts as well as internal lunar movement.

♪4eñ a 100 prism laser reflector would help man to measure the exact distance from earth to moon to an accuracy of six inches. these were the first of many experiments which will be taken to the moon to provide man continuing and increasing knowledge about the moon and the vastness of space beyond. after 2 hours and 31 minutes, the first lunar explorers had completed their research on the moon. a night of rest and ton the lun module, countdown, they were ready to come home. >> you're cleared for takeoff.

>> i do understand. beautiful. very smooth. very quiet ride. there's that one. >> 1,000 feet high. 80 feet per second vertical rise. eagle, you're looking good at two. all agree. >> eagle houston going right down the track. everything's great. horizontal velocity approaching 2,500 feet per second. >> roger. >> some 120 miles to go.

>> july 21st, the eagle and its two-man crew lifted off the moon perfectly and climbed slowly to rendezvous and dock with the mother ship, "columbia." ♪ while armstrong and aldrin explored the moon, astronaut collins had kept a long and lonely vigil in the "columbia." the approaching eagle was a welcome sight. later the three men would share their reflections on this adventure with the world.

>> i believe that from the early space flight, demonstrated a potential to carry out this type of a mission, and again it's a question of time until this would be accomplished. >> i think it's a technical triumph for this country to have done what it was going to do a number of years and then, by golly, do it. >> a relative ease in which we were able to carry out our mission which, of course, came after a very efficient and logical sequence of flights, i think this demonstrated we were on the right track when we took this commitment to go to the moon. >> i can see it as)i! the beginning. a beginning of a new age. pz֖

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♪ once again, the bright blue planet of earth rises over the lunar horizon. for those who had witnessed man's landing in the sea of tranquillity, the moon would never again appear quite the same.0r july 24th. dawn in the pacific.

"apollo" blazes across the heavens, coming back to earth at 25,000 miles an hour. president richard nixon who had talked with the astronauts by telephone while they were on the moon was waiting aboard the recovery carrier to welcome the returning voyagers. the president later expressed the nation's response to this historic mission. >> some way, when those two

americans stepped on the moon, the people of this world were brought closer together. that it is that spirit, the spirit of "al help to bring to relations with other nations. the spirit of apollo transcends political differences. it can bring the people of the world together in peace. >> to protect against any possible lunar contamination, the astronauts put on air-tight special garments before coming aboard the rescue ship. they transferred directly from the helicopter to a mobile quarantine van, in which they would be flown back to the manned spacecraft center in houston, texas.

july 27th, the journey was ended. they were home again.

♪ >> ahead lay three weeks of isolation, medical tests and mission debriefings. then visitsvv to major cities america and abroad. the details of their unique mission would be relived and remembered so that others might learn what they had learned. and that future travelers in space might build upon their experience. ♪ the rock and soil samples brought back would be examined and analyzed by scientists in many lands. they would reveal new insights into the origin and the age and the composition of the moon, and perhaps new knowledge of the earth as well. already experiments left on the moon were sending back revealing new information.

the mission was successfully completed. the eagle had landed the first man on the moon and columbia had returned them safely to earth. whatever journeys tomorrow across the ocean of our universe, history will remind him that apollo 11 was mankind's first encounter with a new world.

each week, american history vtv's reel america bring archival films that help to tell the story of the 20th century. in an attempt to control the colorado's river's flooding in california and arizona, the u.s. government began construction on hoover dam in 1931. one of the largest when it opened in 1936, the project employed over 21,000 workers. and was completed two years ahead of schedule. next, a 1955 department of the interior film about the planning and building of hoover dam. the story of hoover dam explains the engineering feats necessary for construction and promotes economic and recreational benefits provided by the structure.

♪ >> this is the story of hoover dam, one of america's seven modern civil engineering wonders. >> build a dam in the wilderness and the world will beat a path to it. for many centuries this was a lonely canyon, unseen and untouched by man. scorched by a desert sun. scolded by an angry river slashing its way to the mother sea. now it lies peaceful and silent except for the gentle hum of a hydroelectric power plant, the  bubbling up of water as it

leaves turbines, cheerful sounds of america and world on the move to see this pioneer multipurpose reclamation project man built in black canyon. millions come to this once desolate spot to see this engineering wonder, to hear the story of hoover dam. >> ladies and gentlemen, we're now standing on the powerhouse ramp, 560 feet below the top of the dam. this is black canyon where nevada and arizona meet, where the colorado river once flowed uncontrolled. here is where man conquered this mighty river placing a concrete yolk about its neck to harness it's tremendous water and power. >> through the ages the river has gathered to the snow rivets of the rockies flowing southwest ward in its wild descent to the pacific ocean,

gouging great canyons, piling up great deltas of silt in the valleys. early settlers were at the ñnt7÷ mercy of this untamed giant. melted snow from the mountains each spring swelled the colorado river into a raging torrent. flooding fertile valleys along its banks. destroying farmlands, homes and cities. in 1905, the colorado cut through its banks below the mexican border and for two years poured unchecked into the saltin sink forming an inland sea.&úñu after each spring's flood when the river had spent its fury it dried to a trickle. krons withered and died. man and his livestock thirsted.

all living things suffered. settlers along the river were discouraged. and aroused. some gave up and went elsewhere. others stayed to fight. the river had to be regulated. controlled in a year round flow if they were to succeed. no more floods. no more droughts. arthur powell davis first reclamation director and chief engineer understood their problem. for years he traveled up and down the river, surveyed, studying. s canyon up stream to control the river he reasoned. in 1918 davis reported his findings and proposals to congress. congress responded in 1928, passed the boulder canyon project act, authorizing construction of hoover dam to control and regulate the colorado river. and the all american canal system to deliver water to farmlands on the lower river. in 1930, president herbert

hoover for whom the dam is named signed the appropriation bill to begin construction. under a contract awarded in march 1931 to six companies incorporated a combine of six major construction firms, men and machines went to work to build this dam of unprecedented size. this modern civil engineering wonder, reclamation engineers rushed to completion specifications and design drawings. crews at the dam site completed their surveys and investigations. the thunder of man's determination to conquer the colorado reverberated between the sheer cliffs of black canyon as construction got under way. the first major task was to divert the river around the dam site. to do this four tunnels two on each side were drilled through the canyon walls. each 56 feet in diameter they

averaged 4,000 feet in length. drill holes were packed with dynamite and blasted. after each explosion, shovels and trucks entered the tunnels, mucked off the shattered rock and dumped it nearby gulches. workmen excavated over 1.5 million cubic yards of blasted rock material from the four tunnels in 13 months. tunnels then were lined with concrete three feet thick. explosions rocked the canyon almost daily for almost two years before actual placement of concrete in the dam began. acrobatic workmen called high