1981 United States

About this footage

Sailors work on the deck of a warship at the San Diego naval base, a crew gathers near a gun turret, and a naval worker in an orange vest stands on board. Navy cargo ships run at sea. Another vessel sits docked in San Diego Bay. At Beale Air Force Base in California, personnel board a military transport plane, one shot looks out from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight, and families look over military helicopters. Hawaii has reels of its own, with visitors at a war memorial above the ocean, a blue ferry in tropical water and high-rise towers over a marina full of boats.

Most of the California footage is family life. Girls play soccer while a coach supervises, a youth team huddles on the field, green and orange teams meet in a match, and a woman serves drinks to the players. Parades fill several reels: a marching band in green plaid in Oakland, a lion dance at a Chinese New Year parade, antique cars in a small-town parade, and a band and cheerleaders sharing the route with a Cadillac and a man dressed as George Washington. Children ride a red sled down a snowy hill, sometimes backward and once on a tray. Christmas comes to living rooms in Malibu and Hollywood, and to Lansing, Michigan, where a Santa doll sits under the tree and a grandfather holds a sleeping child. In San Diego, a child drives a go-kart down a suburban street.

Useful for stories on the Navy in San Diego, small-town parades and youth sports, or Christmas at home in 1981.