3:00 eastern, noon pacific, on fox news channel, and when the news breaks out, we'll break in. >> welcome to a special hour, an american journey. i'm jon scott. >> hi everybody. we're at the southern tip of manhattan on governor's island, once an outpost to protect new york city from attack. we're in the shadow of the statue of liberty and a stone's throw from ellis island. this hour we'll take you on a journey that highlights america's proud past through the lens of modern stories we reported on this year. >> our journey begins just up the hudson river, and george's

creation, west point: is there that you can now experience the major battles that shaped our nation, on a golf course, the course at west point allows you to tee up while you take in a history listen that unfurls one hole at a time, beginning with the american revolution and ending with afghanistan. i had the opportunity to play the course while honoring the men and women who have gone to war to keep the rest of us free. >> you'll find it 50 miles north of new york city. and 250 years back in the history of this nation. >> george washington found this to be what he called the key to the continent and thought if he could control west point and control the hudson river against the large e navy and army the world, the british arm andoffy, we could secure the united states. it was an eight, year would are in the revolution. [drumming] >> west point, george

washington's brainchild. the nation's oldest military academy. known for its distive stone architecture and iconic cadet chapel. it trained grant and lee, pershing and patton, macarthur, eisenhower, pat threat and owedaire know, and now a place where america's wars and those who fought are enemy momentized in one of america's favorite games. >> perfect. >> you got that, right. >> crash into the granite hills the golf course, it's the product of the legendary course designer robert trent jones, sr. and built during the world war ii years using an unusual

labor source. german prisoners of war. transported from the battlefield 0s of europe to this american army post. eye recently played a round at west point with brigadier general malcolm frost in 1983, he was a lowly plebe, a freshman entered west point. now a few decades later he served all over the world, including combat deployments to bosnia, iraq, and afghanistan. these days he is the army's chief of public affairs, and in that position, one of his concerns is how american civilians and military personnel relate to one another. >> we do have a growing military and civilian divide within society. less than one percent of the population has servedded in the military and so as we're coming off the end of the last 14 years of warfare, although there's a lot of concern and danger in the world and forces that are deployed around the world, we do want to ensure that the civilian society and the military

society, that they come together and this is a great place to do that, at the united states military academy. >> one west point classmate and soccer team member is dan rice. >> i would have bet he would be a general but not that i would be in this position now. >> after west point, rice entered the boston world then re-enlisted during the iraq war. back in the states and back in business, rice and fellow graduates saw an opportunity west point. the hotel around by the u.s. government bull managed about as well as, oh, the federal budget. >> then it was struggling, and after 9/11, and a group of graduates took over the manage. the hotel and have just revived the hotel, and we have corporate strategy meetings here, we have over 100 weddings a year. it's just a great place. it's part of america's history and really owned by the american

public. >> which brings us back to the golf course. it, too was in need of some spit shining. so the they're donated and west point dedicated markers for each of the 18 holes on the course, commemorate can the major wars in american history. number one is, of course, the american revolution, war won by the man who gave birth to this place. as golfers battle the course they're reminded of the military battles that shaped our nation, through the war of 1812 and the civil war, our nation's bloodiest, in which west point educated generals led the armies on both sides. >> a lot of soul searching whether to toe stay loyal to the union or secede to the south and for cadets it took their states to secede. >> the significance of the brother on brother, the bunting and the esprit you get, how close everybody is here, and its incredible although you have the

north and south, and the confederacy and the union, and they understand their strengths and weak in thes and it's significant. >> through world wars one and two, korea and the cold war, golfers arrive at the 13th 13th hole, commemorating vietnam. still america's most controversial war, that raging conflict cost the lives of 58,200 americans. among them, 273 graduates of west point. after the paris peace accords ended the war in april 1973, american forces would see more than a decade of quiet. until communist cuban troupes overthrew the government of a tiny caribbean nation and in response, president ronald reagan ordered the invasion of grenada. >> grenade was friendly island paradise. it wasn't itch it was a soviet huuban colony being readied to export terror and democracy.

we got there just in time. >> for joan malcolm frost and dan rice, both west point graduates the 16th hole has particular meaning. >> it's an honor of operation desert storm. >> u.s. forces under general norman schwarzkopf, class of '56 from west point, liberated kuwait under the direction of president george h.w. bush. >> turning a blind eye to saddam's aggression would not have avoided war, would only have delayed the world's day of reckoning. >> the one west point graduate who was killed in action was lieutenant donny tiller who was our classmate. he was shot town on the last day of the war. >> so brings it home to you guys, the sacrifice of so many of the men and women who have gone to thursday constitution. >> that's what helped to motivate me to continue to stay in the united states army, continue to serve through bosnia and the last couple of wars which we have seen those on the 17 and 18, the great monuments for operation iraqi freedom and

operation enduring freedom. >> the west point course is unusual in that the final two holes are both par-5s, long in golf speak. it so happens they also commemorate our nation's two longest wars, iraq and afghanistan. >> in those wars, combined, 95 west point graduates have been killed in action, 93 men and two women, and over 5,000 soldiers, and so those two markers are really two of the first monuments to those wars. >> is resonates with us, whether it's soldiers or classmates, whether it was those we knew and served with on the soccer team, but the sacrifice 4,477 who have died in iraq and 2,351 in afghanistan. >> reading the markers and remembering the fallen, add some time to a round of golf, but here that's expected and perfectly acceptable. >> so no course marshal is going

to be hustling people along if they're maaing to reads the marker is. >> those markers are there for a reason you. get a lot of different aspects. you get a great outing with buddies or maybe with your company or just with friends or family but you also gate tour of history and you do it at a national landmark here at the united states military academy at west point. >> itself might surprise you to know that this course, rich in history, and historical markers and on west point property, is tone the public. -- is open to the public. >> the fact that west point has been in place, have chosen to honor the current wars we have just recently served in as well, it's pretty significant the host from -- the significant history and the golf course on historic west point, the united states military academy, is open to the public, and we hope to see a lot of the folks here. >> those men and women who gave their lives for our freedom did so to protect all of us, and to

honor the stars and stripes. >> a holiday a special flag is flown over the george washington bridge. the large e frees-flying american flag in the world. how do they fly it? some very special access. >> i'm glad i didn't wear high heels for this. didn't need that type of equipment. i didn't need that kind of equipment. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count.

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to the george washington bridge spans the hudson river, the site of fight between the country and the british. >> the busiest bridge the the entire world and houses the largest free-flying american flag. we were able too witness how a supervised old gloryis proudly flown. >> this is the world's busiest judge more than 600 feet to the top. and we're going all the way up there. >> ever get a little afraid up here? >> you have to have a little fear. if don't feel it, you're dangerous. you have to have a little fear. >> pretty high. not going to lie to you.

>> the sheer size of the brig means for the flag to appear majestic it has to be massive. >> i want to get an idea how big the flag is. you're 6'2". you're two stars. >> i'm two stars. a star is three foot. so you're a star and a half. >> a star and a half. >> i don't mean anything bad by that. >> i'll take half a star. why not. >> stars are three foot across, just shy of three foot across, point to point. the flag is 60-by-90 to give you a perspective it will cover a full size basketball court. 60-by-90, and it weighs just under 500 pounds. >> wow. >> it's something we take a lot of pride in. >> this is the tube that the flag is stored in. this fiberglas tube runs from the bottom of the arch, up top. >> this flag is actually living in this tube all year long. >> yes. the flag is always up in the tower. and then we actually lower it and deploy it.

it comes out of this tube. >> the tube helps shield the flag from the elements and from thousands of drivers who pass under it and likely don't even know it's there. >> oh. >> that goes straight down to the roadway so we're very conscious of that to make sure that nothing can fall in there. >> you have to see this. >> although moe of the flag flying operations are high-tech, i found out repairs can rely on some good old-fashioned handywork. >> any patches or anything like that have to be sewn on. if the flag is ripped in the wind, we have to do any sewing, we do that. >> you do the sewing yourself. >> i have done sewing. >> i about you didn't think of that as part of your job description. >> i have three daughters and i do the sewing at home. my mother taught me, and -- yeah. >> but to really understand the height and marvel of the flag, i had to get a new perspective. and luckily, i was given some

amazing access. >> we have to do a climbing. have you seen these? these are my claws. nice. >> make your nervous. >> okay. it's a little nerve wracking. >> make sure here's are on the right way. >> okay. see you guys later. >> are you all right? >> i'm okay. i don't really know how far i need to go to experience it, but -- >> you're going all the way. >> i don't think so. >> my legs are shaking a little built. >> oh, my gosh. right now i'm standing right above where they fly the world's

largest free-flying american flag. >> how was it? >> awesome. >> now that we have seen the flag from all angles, it's time to get to work and actually unfurl old glory. >> when i hit the button i'll be lowering the actual boom arm and flag. >> got it. >> after the work of three strategic placed teams and a dozen men, it's all worth it. >> good job. >> good teamwork. >> after having to do this task in the early morning hours on holidays win most of america has a day off, and collect it late

in day, year after year ahead to ask this question. >> do the guys like putting down the flag, a little hassle. >> it's not a hassle. it's a great thing. it's tremendous. every time you get a chill every time when you see it fly. something that enormous, we take pride in it. >> as you see, flying the flag is no small feat, and those who do it feel especially honored. >> up next, we'll talk to some of those responsible for putting this very special symbol of america on very public display. >> people walk by, they see the flag up and they look at us and they say, wow, this is terrific. this is america. this is a good thing. and it's a very positive result that we get, positive attitude from the people walking on the bridge. truckers beeping the horn. gives you a sense of accomplishment. >> you smell the pride when that

flag comes out. it's just incredible. incredibl.

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the world's largest free-flying american flag is hard to miss when it's flown of special holidays.

>> what is hitten from public sight this heart and soul of the men who make it happen. hearst their story. '. >> the fleet passes hawaiian shores bound for the united states. >> the tradition of hanging a giant american flag on the george washington bridge dates back nearly 70 years, to veterans day 1947. as a sign of victory and honor for those who served in world war ii. the flag hanging today is the largest free-flying american flag in the world, and remains a sign of american pride on major national holidays. >> we do it like every holiday, memorial day, labor day, veterans day, we should do it more than they let us, but that's not up to us. >> for this team of men, it's more than just another day at the office. >> i think it's a -- i believe it's one of the few countries proud of their own flag. for me, from another country, be adopted to this country, very

emotional. >> the height, the danger, all just a way of life. >> you're out there when you're on the cables, food on you and everything, how did you get to do that. >> we pay for everything. never know how long time we be there on the cables. got water, food, coffee. >> ever get afraid? >> no. >> are you afraid offing offingh heights? no enjoy my job. >> the heart of this team reflects the unity of the flag itself. >> we put our trust in each other when we're out there. i depend on them and they depend on me. so it's a great family another moss fear to -- atmosphere. >> on those dags the flag is unforward, the response makes it all the more worthwhile. >> people who walk by think see the flag up and they look at us and say, wow, this is terrific. this is america. this is a good thing. very positive result that we get, positive attitude from the people on the bridge. they're happy to see it.

truckers beeping the horn. gives you a sense of accomplishment, like you're doing something good, especially in tough times, with afghanistan, and the isis, and everything going overseas, we're proud of america, proud to fly the flag. and people appreciate it. >> only once in the 67 year history of the hanging of the flag did it fly for more than just one day. >> we flew it for 30 days after 9/11 to let everybody know, although volunteers and the workers going down to ground zero, we took one of our old frags and repaired it, and brought it down to ground zero and hung it on a school to let everybody know, we're here, and this country is strong. >> from high above the bridge connecting new york and new jersey, over the hudson river where the first americans bravely fought the british, the resolve of these men remains. >> when 9/11 happened, we wanted to put the flag out right away, and there was a concern that

there might be other targets and us being one of them. and we wanted to get it out there. we wanted to let everybody know that we may have gotten a kick but we're not down. >> from world war ii to 9/11. >> u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a. >> to today, on national holidays, a special flag is lowered to be raised, a simple act that provokes deep reflection on what our country was, is, and will be. >> you swell with pride when that flag comes out. it's just incredible. and it is just a great honor to be able to do that for the people forks the port authority, for the veterans. it's just a great honor. >> that symbol has flown over battlefields all across the world. >> in world war ii, the powerful call of patriotism led some of

the biggest sports heroes of the day to trade in their flannels for fatigues so they could fight under that flag. >> there were 500 major league players who served. >> yes. almost everybody of consequence did serve. either they were stars before the war or stars after the war. ! did you say 97? yes. you know, that reminds me of geico's 97% customer satisfaction rating. 97%? helped by geico's fast and friendly claims service. huh... oh yeah, baby. geico's as fast and friendly as it gets. woo! geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more.

live from america's news hawker. hello and merry christmas. i'm ed henry in washington. tens of thousands of people in michigan are without power this christmas after strong winds topping 60 miles-per-hour swept through some areas. utility crews are working right now to get the power back on, but some people may stay in the dark through the entire weekend. the outages also extending to some provinces in canada. some fedex employees are getting an unexpected call to show infor work today after shipping of holiday packages was delayed. fedex blaming stormy weather in tennessee and larger than expected shipping volumes. a company spokesman says fedex will be working late into the night to get as many gifts as possible delivered before the end of christmas. see you at 6:00 p.m. now back to "happening now, an american journey." >> imagine the biggest stars of

america's favorite pastime leaving the diamond and donning new uniforms, leaving the baseball fold for the battlefields. >> from dimaggio to berra, the nation's baseball heroes answered the call, giving up careers and families and sometimes their lives in order to fight in world war ii. >> imagine the biggest stars of america's past time leaving the field and it opening very different uniforms. heroes headed to a batfield in the armed forces of the united states. it happened in the early 1940s. >> joe dimaggio at bat the yankee clipper swings for a home run. >> wasn't a game every boy played and every town hat a team and the minor leads were thriving. >> john thorn is major league baseball's official historian. >> baseball was it. >> it's a home run. >> the game was going strong.

but war was brewing across two oceans-about to change everything in america, even our leisure but there were five 500 major league players who served. >> yes. almost everybody of consequence did serve. either they were stars before the war or stars after the war. >> yet you read some of the names of those who served, ted williams, joe deimagine joe -- dimaggio, bob feller, hank greenburg, pea pea reese, stan musial, yogiber ya, bill dickey, biggest names of the day. >> sometimes were drafted rather than enlisted. that's not true of greenburg. >> detroit slugger hank greenburg left first base for the army, served his time and then went back in. >> greenburg who was drafted in 1940 and when his draft year hads been given and pearl harbor was bombed he enlisted the next

day. >> baseball legend ted williams is every bit as legendary the marine corps where he serve as a fighter pilot during the war. the skills he played in the batter's box witheven more value in the cockpit. the set records that still stand in the marine corps to this day. >> people like ted williams went over, served, okay. back and seemed to pick up where they left off. >> most players were able to do this. williams and feller and greenburg returned to major league action after years away and picked it up. but there were those who didn't. people who lost their skills or lost their appetite for the game because of what they had seen in the war. >> it's also true that a lot of these guys weren't out there necessarily in frontline combat roles but there's a reason for that. >> dimaggio doubles to left understand. >> you couldn't put joe dimaggio in a situation where he would be wounded, killed, or

from a propaganda standpoint, worst of all, captured. so, the most of the men who -- most over the major league baseball players who join the military spent their time playing ball for the navy team us. >> for the fighting men a rare gift, chance to watch nine innings of normalcy to call to mind sweet memories of home and the freedom odd of the country that are were struggling to protect. >> was there something different about players of the world war ii era. >> not that much different but the times were different. the war was different. the perceived threat to our liberties. there was no point in having a national pastime if the nation was going to be challenged at its basic tenets. the idea of baseball being a daily war, which was a metaphor -- >> pitching for new york. >> seems silly when you were confronted with the horrors of actual war.

>> so players turn warriors. serving their nation with honor. distinction, and good old american pride. america has given birth to baseball. now baseball returned the favor, a country scared by war, but stitched together in part bylov. >> you've might disagree with your neighbor about religion or politics but it seemed that everybody agreed that baseball was a blessing in america. >> right behind where we stand is a place so many immigrants passed through on their way to per -- pursuing the american dream most made it through ellis island but some weren't as luck. >> they started down a very specific hallway hidden from the public for decades until now. we'll take you there next. >> who determined you are free to go but you have to stay? >> well, so, there were a couple of thinged that head to happen to be admitted into the

hospital. you had to have something that could be cured and that somebody had to pay for your treatment. treatment wasn't free. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

thwith aches, chills,g. and fever, there's no such thing as a little flu. and it needs a big solution: an antiviral. so when the flu hits, call your doctor right away and up the ante with antiviral tamiflu. prescription tamiflu is

an antiviral that attacks the flu virus at its source and helps stop it from spreading in the body. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people two weeks of age and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu, tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. anti-flu? go antiviral with tamiflu. nearly half of all americans today have at least one relative who entered our country through ellis island. >> some never made it through and their stories were long forgotten until now. here's a rare look at the hidden hallways of ellis island.

>> scenes like this remeans us of our past and one of the most iconic places in america, ellis island. nearly half of all americans today have at least one relative who entered the country through the gateway to american dream, and while we can tour the hall where most immigrants spent a few hours before heading off, an untold story is just a short walk away where the less fortunate ended up, a unique path on few have walked since the doors closed in 1954. the hidden halls of ellis island. >> you failed your medical, then you were detakened in the hospital complex. >> your whole family or individuals. >> if your were a child, then a family member stayed on the island with you until the determined whether you would be

admitted into the hospital or deported back to your home country. if you were a husband or father, and you were detained, the entire family would be detained. >> this hallway is the very same path walked by immigrants who just learned the heart sinking news. they'd be admitted to the hospital. >> just like miami who came here, they had to have the right gear to be let into the country so we need the right gear to check out where we're going. >> you'll need to wear a hard hat. >> i love my hard hat. makes me feel legitimate. let's go. >> containing out -- didn't contagious differences. what were they looking for -- >> [inaudible] >> diphtheria, whooping cough. scarlet fever. >> [inaudible]

>> skeleton of the contagious disease ward still stands as it did in the 1900s. poison ivy wraps around old windows in what was once the largest hospital in the country. >> not everybody got treatment when entering the united states. you would be detained first. they'll decide whether or not you had something that could be treated and cured. >> really. >> and then find somebody who would pay for it. >> of the 12 million people who filed through ellis island at its peak, one out of every five people were detained. however, less than one percent of those detained were admitted to the hospital. serious health detension, to the infrequent, happened for many reasons. for example, a approximately 350 babies call ellis island their birthplace. though they didn't get automatic citizenship. more often health detention

happened for more common ailments. >> who determined you are free to go but you have to stay? >> well, so, there were a couple of thing that had to happen to be admitted to the hospitalment you head to have something that could be cured and that member had to pay for your treatment. treatment wasn't free. >> in fact until an immigrant could term who i would pay for their health care, the department of labor who managed ellis island sent the bill to whatever steamship company delivered that immigrant. >> how long could you stay on ellis island? let's say you had a contagious disease, days, weeks, months, years. >> yes, all of those. >> even years. >> you could have been treated here for years and then the person who is paying for your treatment runs out money and you could be deported. >> if you had a contagious diseasous could not make it. >> 3500 people do die on ellis island. >> this is an autopsy

amphitheater. >> an. a theater? this is incredible you. have to see this. so, an amphitheater. looks lying something out of medical school or something like that? >> exactly. this is a teaching hospital. and people were doing their residencies here. >> really? they were learning from the doctors here on ellis island. >> this was the best hospital in the world at the time. medical students would stand up here and observe what was happening. >> absolutely. >> so, i'm presuming the body would be put kind of where that cart is? >> yes. that's probably not the autopsy table. i'll say that was probably a table for instruments but the gentleman who cleans up these wards for us said he found that table there in 1972 and he has left it there since. >> built to hold 750 beds, the hospital treated patients in nearly identical rooms. constructed with an eye towards a cure.

>> this is an open ward. so an open ward meaning if you were suffering from something that a lot of people had you'd be in a room together weapon call most of thesewardses measles wars -- these ward measles wards. a bed in between each window. windowsout open for air flow. corners are rounded so that air flow and circulation and you cantraip dirt. >> recent live after 60 years the save ellis island foundation opened the wards for limited tours but we received some incredible access. >> now we'll go upstairs, which is where most people don't get to go. >> someplace that is special for us that no one else gets to see? >> it's true. >> okay. that's exciting. >> what are we going to see? >> you see this chair? this is my favorite ward. and when i see these chairs, i want to know who was sitting here last and why.

>> have if sat in that chair? >> don't sit in any chair. >> it looks completely different than the other wards we go into. and it's actually the next story that i'm going to try to explore with our programming, the story of world war ii on ellis island. >> while immigration flowed through ellis island in the 1930s and 40s, the hospital remained open, providing treatment to returning servicemen for shell shock. >> what is interesting is this whole place doesn't have that eerie feeling that i was expecting. knowing that there is a morgue or that people stayed here for years. i kind of expected to have that haunted house feeling but it doesn't feel that way in here. >> no. to me it's almost like i said this whole level of care that people were given and dignity and respect and how that they were treated here, and it i feel like i don't necessarily think there are goats or creepy -- goats ghosts or creepy feeling.

its more emotion. >> i'd not want to be here on halloween. >> our travels take to us one final spectacular room where immigrants from different countries speaking different languages waited to learn their fate. most made it through to mainland america. some didn't. and the american dream remained just that, an image rather than a reality. >> you have to see this. this is so beautiful. you could be in one of the beds here being treated and you would be able to look out your window and you'd be able to see the statue of liberty. >> i can't imagine that it mist be like to be here, you're so close, to being able to be free, and whatever that would mean for you, but you were detained and this is what you looked at. >> our final stop in the journey across america is where it began. >> jamestown, virginia, where

the country's first colonists landed on the shore odd the new world, and thinks to those pioneers our nation hires today. -- nation is here today. >> the sacrifices of the early colonialists here at jamestown, jamestown were to have collapsed the world would have been a completely, complete live different place. been a completely, completely different place. you owned your car for four years, you named it brad. you loved brad. and then you totaled him. you two had been through everything together. two boyfriends, three jobs... you're like nothing can replace brad. then liberty mutual calls, and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement™, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one.

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many people think of the pilgrims as the original american colonists but that's not the case. >> their path was paved years earlier. here's the true story. >> this is really first america. people don't quite remember that. i think we should. >> we think of the first people that came to america, we often think of the pilgrims. when did these settlers arrive in relation to when the fill brims provide. >> 13 years earlier you the very first. the first permanent english settlement and plymouth was in 1620. >> without a strong intuition

from an archaeologist we might not know much. americans thought the settlement were underwater but he had a hunch, and luckily for us he followed it. >> over 50 years ago i came to this spot. i was on a tour with a park ranger, and i saw exposed bank where they could actually see y could see soil layers. and one of them was a dark layer and there was, there were artifacts sticking out and i wasn't an architect at the time, but i thought it was pretty cool. i asked thet. ranger, where's t fort? he said it's washed into the river, it's way out there. and i said what about this dark layer? and he goes -- he couldn't answer me. >> without you doing that, do you think this would have been found? >> i don't think so. there's a theory that let's not disturb the past. >> but you had a different sneelg. >> i said go for it. time in my life to catch the brass ring. >> that decision to dig deeper unlocked a door into america's

past. dr. kelso is now the director of research at the jamestown rediscovery project. a group that for the last three decades has uncovered the mystery off jamestown a and the men who landed on these shores more than 400 years ago. the archeological dig essentially recreates jamestown as it was in the early 1600s. bring us back to the very first people who arrived here. in 1607. who were they? why did they come? >> there were 104 that made it to d jamestown, to be settlers,o bere actually living here. they thought this was a land of gold and silver. they really believed that. >> they would soon learn their very existencece in the new wor faced many threats. and instead of the land of gold and silver, it was the land of disease, starvation and death. >> most were dying of hunger. it took them five months to get here instead of five weeks, like

they had planned. they used t up their provisions along the way. >> the>> colonists were drinkin water from the jamestown river which in the spring runs clear and wafresh, but as the day wea on, the salt in the water strengthens. many fell to dehydration and salt poisoning. >> what was more deadly, the bad water and the tough environment or the d native american tribes? >> all of the settlers were starving. >> is that because they weren't good hunters? they didn't know what to do? >> some were. eventually they were kept in the fort, they couldn't really venture beyond the island to find fresh water and to find food. >> andis fishing? >> the fishing, well the nets rotted. the boats -- a >> out of luck. everything they tried. >> it was just like the worst storm of bad luck. >> very first winter for the settlers. what was that like?

>> the first winter was pretty brutal. a far more difficult winter was coming up in two years, the 1609-10 winter. >> the deadly winter of 1609 became known as the starving time. >> what is that time for these settlers? >> relations with the indians had started to go sour pretty fast in 1609. as the colonists were more demanding, trying to get the food. >> desperate times called for desperatest measures. the foodd sellers no longer of much touse. kind of in heart of james fort, we're in the center of the fort where we have found an early kitchen. >> can we go down there? >> yes. this is a bread oven?

>> you're looking at the brick facade in front of the oven this is the hollow cavity that will go back further. >> even though this was a kitchen where someone could be working around 1608, by 1609, 1610, it's not used as a kitchen any more? >> over 200 colonists die here in jamestown alone during that winter and only about 60 survive. >> settlers made incredible sacrifices to stay alive. forced to eat theirta dogs, the horses, and worse. >> so it's your belief that now we know that it was such a desperate time that they had to resort to cannibalism do survive? >> exactly. this iso not a ritual this is survival cannibalism. these guys had no other choice. we do know without a shadow of i doubt that cannibalism took place at jamestown that winter. >> how do you know that? >> we know from a layer of soil we found at this level, we found a mandible, which is a jaw bone. we found a fragmented skull or

cranium.m. and we alsowb found a tibia, yo shin bone. and these belonged to a young engli english woman about 14 years of age when sheof died. we saw the same markings on her bone that we had seen on the dog and the horse, which were evidence of processing. she was without a doubt eaten. >> the struggles of jamestown were verytr real there were som glimmers of hope in this newly forminged society. >> obviously the first seven years in this settlementy tremendously difficult and there was a b lot of death. but what about new life? what about children? there were women and men here, they started families, didn't they? >> there were children here pretty early on. and some of them made it to adulthood. and the colony survives. >> the men who fought, the stories of families that formed, now unearthed by piecing together treasures under the

soil. the fabric of our existence today discovered by overturning one stone at a time. >> to make that discovery and really have an idea of what these folks went through. what kind of thoughts come up for you? >> we do sort of get this connection with these a guys. wewe see everything they ate. we see their ceramics, their glass, we is see all the things they left behind. and what comes together is a more complete picture of what life was really like here at the fort. >> you have the feeling that a without them that america wouldn't be what it is today? >> yeah. without thehe sacrifices of the early colonists here at jamestown, jamestown were to have collapsed, the world would have been a completely, completely different place. i don't think you or i would be standing here today. those first bold steps taken by the earliest ancestors, a far cry from p where the nation is today. so manyy americans still work hard every day to make this the land of the free.

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from the birth of jamestown to a dozen major wars, this country owes its very existence and survival to the dedication and patriotism of our forefathers. i'm john scott. >> and i'm jenna lee, thank you for watching.

hello, everyone, and merry christmas. i'm kimberly guilfoyle. along with juan williams, eric bolling, dana perino and greg gutfeld. it's 5:00 in new york city and this is "the five." thank you for joining us tonight, welcome to our christmas special. we've got an exciting and fun show for you ahead and we're looking forward to it. especially because our secret santa has arrived and dropped off all the presents. it's finally time for us to open them. all right greg. even though you are the king of christmas scrooge. would you like to open your secret santa gift? >> i have two gifts here, he'll open the big