This unedited, raw footage captures the 1951 cornerstone-laying for the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. The cameraman does not use a telephoto lens, and the whole effect is panoramic, with poor lighting through most of the film. The color guard and the Marines are present, along with a military band. President Truman approaches in a flag-draped Cadillac, a touring car bearing a handful of Secret Service men standing on the running boards just behind. The first car stops behind a gigantic American flag, and the agents run toward it. From a distance we see the gray-suited Truman shaking hands all around. Though difficult to recognize, Surgeon General Dr. Leonard Scheele is one of the two speakers in addition to President Truman. Oscar E. Ewing, Administrator of the Federal Security Agency (the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was not founded until spring 1953) and Dr. Detlev Bronk, then President of Johns Hopkins University, are also present.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)