Big Picture: The Lodge Act Soldier

Year Published: 1952-10-20

Creator: National Archives and Records Administration

Format: 16mm/video file

Description: National Archives and Records Administration ARC Identifier 2569554 / Local Identifier 111-TV-284 Big Picture: The Lodge Act Soldier DVD copied by Katie Filbert. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984). Produced and filmed almost entirely on the sound stages of the Signal Corps Pictorial Center, Long Island City, "The Lodge Act Soldier" brings to the television screen soldiers who have escaped from the Communist into the Free World. These same men who once trained in armies behind the Iron Curtain are today showing American soldiers what life in a Communist army is like, and thereby developing a greater appreciation among all Americans for the democratic way of life. Setting the pace for this most unusual film, M/Sgt Stuart Queen, host-narrator, points up the importance of understanding the Communist enemy. In 1950, to help further this end, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge sponsored the Alien Enlistee Program, now generally called "The Lodge Act." Under the provisions of this legislation, political refugees from any country behind the Iron Curtain were given the opportunity to enlist in the United States Army for a period of five years. At the end of this time, if their record was honorable they would become American citizens. In addition to the first-hand accounts by Lodge Act soldiers, this BIG PICTURE program will include Communist training and newsreel films. In 28 minutes, television audiences will be given one of the clearest pictures about the "soldier behind the Iron Curtain" ever to be released. They will learn from men who served in Communist armies and whose first-hand knowledge of communism is an invaluable asset to our Army.