Documentary Review: Design for Peace; Victory at Sea

This is the last of 26 episodes produced by NBC.  This episode was first released in 1953.  This episode starts with the introduction of a new age.  First the detonation of an atomic bomb in New Mexico, and then the two in Japan.  At that point the emperor for Japan announced to his people that they were going to stop fighting the war to avoid the annihilation of the Japanese people. This was August 14, 1945. 
The formal surrender took place aboard the USS Missouri on September 2 1945.  Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigimitsu signed the surrender instrument for the emperor of Japan.  General Douglas MacArthur signed the document for allied powers, and Admiral Chester Nimitz for the U.S. 
Before showing pictures of the victory celebration, the documentary showed scenes from the horror of war,I am sure using shots from the previous episodes in the documentary series.  Finally there were images of celebration around the world presented.

Documentary Review: Victory at Sea: The Road to Mandalay

This film was originally produced by NBC News, and first presented in 1953.  It has more recently been released by the History Channel.  
This is a film about the allied effort to build a road through the jungle, going around the Japanese occupation of Burma, Siam, Southeast Asia; to eventually reach China, and get needed supplies to these people before they would be compelled to surrender to the Japanese.  Mandalay is a large city in Burma.  There were people from all over the world taking part in this effort, Australia, U.S., England, New Zealand, Burma, China, Africa, India.  This was a worldwide effort to rescue this people, and turn the tide of the war.  This movie starts with sea resupply, but this resupply had to land in India.  The were still hundreds of miles from where the supplies needed to arrive, through jungle and over the Himalayas.  The first step was to retake enough territory from the Japanese for the building of the rode.  This was then followed by engineers and road builders.  However they did not only build a road, but also a pipeline to supply needed oil.  On several occasions they quote from a Rudyard Kipling poem, "
"Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!" http://whilhelmsthoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/poetry-i-like-rudyard-kipling-mandalay.html

Documetary Review: Victory at Sea: Full Fathom Five

This is part of a series of TB episodes about WWII.  It was produced by NBC NEWS and first presented in 1953.  It is released now by The History Channel.  There is an added narrator, Peter Graves which seems to have been added after it aired originally as he is in color and the rest in black and white.
This film makes a point that within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the submarine force was given orders and the go ahead to do what ever they could to stop Japanese shipping.  This included the go ahead to torpedo any Japanese vessel.  This documentary talks about the success they had in doing this, and shows many of the torpedo shots.  It also describes the vessels overcoming counter attack by the Japanese destroyers.  52 submarine vessels did not return during the war and were mark lost, presumed dead. 
The original narrator has an attitude of glorifying war, which is OK for 1953  but not so much for today.  However it is fascinating to see men in their environment, doing what they had to do.