merry christmas for all, and all good night! [laughter] >> they got it done. i don't know what take that was, 28, 30. that does it for us tonight. a very merry christmas to you at home and thank you for watching, i'm doug, good night from washington. ♪ ♪ >> welcome to a special hour of an american journey. i'm jon scott. we are on ellis island, gateway to the american dream for so many millions of immigrants. just a stone's throw from here you can see the beacon of freedom in america offers the rest of the world, the statue of liberty. and, just a bit to the northeast, the brooklyn bridge. it took 14 years and 600 men to build that magnificent structure connecting brooklyn to manhattan. at least two dozen workers died in the effort. the bridge spans new york's

east river, which played an important role in the american revolution. well before the bridge existed a young general named george washington crossed over to manhattan and boarded a british advantage. without that has store crossing our first work at have at a much, and our nation might not exist. this hour we are taking you on a journey through america's proud passed via some stories we brought you this year. our journey begins in chatham township new jersey with a stort mismatched engagements in the history of warfare, when a ragged bunch of angry yet hopeful colonists signed on with a charismatic young general to battle an army that was trained, disciplined and well-equipped. against all odds, general george washington and his troops won the american revolutionary war. today, more than 240 years later, we are still uncovering new secrets of that time. and a pair of history buffs, father and son from new jersey,

might have figured out the answer to one of that war's most tantalizing mysteries. ♪ >> if the conflict that gave birth to the united states of america, the war for independence. the young general, george washington, leading his men in a courageous fight against the red coat army of the british king. washington's daring crossing of the delaware christmas night, 1776, allowed him to surprise and overwhelm a force of 1400 hired hessian soldiers. they brought victory in the battle of trenton and a critical morale boost for his troops. washington's duly inspired army forged ahead pushing the brits back north through new jersey and into new york. >> it was almost a recruiting -- a great recruiting tool that they realized they had a chance to win back and beat the britis british. so many people flocked to the colors. they joined washington and his

army actually grew after the victories at trenton and princeton. >> william stiefel is a noted historian, author and editor of more than 20 books on american history. >> this is a ragtag army of shopkeepers and merchants and farmers who are going to join up with george washington and take on the mightiest military in the world. they were patriots, but although they did have terms of enlistment and for many of them third terms of enlistment ended in may of 1777. washington entice them to reenlist and try to create the army but his biggest fear that his army would melt away. >> this famous scene took place in the winter of 1776. the winter of 1778 1778 saw washington's troops trying to survive the bitter cold of valley forge, a time also memorialized on canvas. but much less is known about where his army endured the winter of 1777.

william styple is now convinced it was here in what is remarkably still an open field in chatham new jersey, just 20 miles west of newark airport. >> everybody knows about george washington crossing the delaware but not a lot of people associate this place with george washington. >> the 1777 encampment was largely overshadowed by the following winter at valley forge. in the year after that in new jersey, marx county. those horrible encampments, very hard on the army, hard on the men, became well documented and the chatham encampment more or less became forgotten. >> jon: forgotten until styple located in 1855 newspaper article quoting a reverend samuel tuttle. also we historian from new jersey puts washington's camps here along what is now treadwell avenue in chatham.

>> in 1855 he interviewed people that were in their 80s but had remembered the encampments when they were young. >> jon: you are convinced this is the place? >> according to reverent title this is the place. the camp of washington, armies were on both sides of this road. >> jon: and they would have used this world? >> as their company street where they would have their formations and morning roll calls and whatnot. >> jon: styple's son brad decided to do more digging as part of his eagle scout project. in the dusty archives of the morristown library at the- the-16-year-old found a few photographs from 1890. taken more than a century after the revolutionary war they appear to document the stories told to reverend tuttle. >> according to 19th century photographs taken of the site we can pinpoint the location of those photographs and the encampment.

>> jon: this house dates back almost to the revolutionary war. >> built right after the revolutionary war in the 1790s. >> jon: this house help to pinpoint the location? >> it appears in photographs that were taken in the 1890s and on the backs of those photographs were written descriptions mentioning the encampment and pinpointing the location of the liberty bowl. >> jon: so you can go back now and look at this and say this is the place. >> this area has not changed much since the revolution. >> jon: as far as you can tell the liberty bowl stood, what, 5? >> 50 yards right along this road, treadwell avenue. >> jon: that had such a ring to those soldiers. >> it was a beacon of hope, it was a promise, it was a dream. it was something that came from within. they wanted liberty, they wanted freedom and they were willing to sacrifice all for liberty and freedom. and it wasn't called a flagpole.

it was known as the liberty bow liberty bowl. it meant a lot to them. >> jon: the british had all the advantages. the world's most powerful army and they were safe and warm in houses in manhattan that they had forced the colonists to give them. washington's troops had this, an open field in the wilds of new jersey. the property remains mostly untouched in a bustling suburban area because it became part of the sprawling rockefeller dodge estate. now these nearly 200 acres are owned by the town of chatham. their history waiting to be revealed. and that's what the styples discoveries have prompted, and archaeological search using ground penetrating radar of a small portion of the site. among the finds, cooking utensils, clay pipes, led slide for molding musket balls and personal items like this button from a coolie overcoat. >> there's a lot more to search. we are just scratching the surface here. >> jon: that button is kind of

specialty you? >> it means a lot. it was found just south of the search area by my son and i, my son brad. amongst other things it is just something that you think of the person who dropped it, from the coat it came from. it means something to us, that special to bring it up to light again and study it and hopefully it's another clue to the encampment. >> jon: but it doesn't say colonial army, united states army. >> nothing did in 1777. washington's men -- it wasn't really a country. the proper military insignias came about really in the following years into the war. but this was again very early o on. >> jon: washington's men face terrible conditions that winter with frigid temperatures and dwindling food supplies. they battled just to stay alive as they struggle for freedom on a shoestring budget. it now from this open field in chatham township new jersey, bill styple is telling their

story one artifact at a time. >> obviously there are people who say so what? washington's army was here, what's the big deal, how do you answer that? >> you have to remember the sacrifices that were made for us. it marked the ground the sacrifices took place and pass it down to the future generations of americans. what brought us to where we are today? these men who freely give up their health and their lives were patriots, they loved this idea of a democracy, a new country and were willing to easily give up their own lives for this future generation. >> jon: freezing temperatures and sparse food supplies were bad enough but the presence of an invisible enemy worried george washington perhaps even more than the british did. up next, we will take you inside a home or revolutionary war soldiers were housed as they battled the army's unseen foe,

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>> jon: during the six turbulent years of the revolutionary war general george washington led his troops were more than 230 skirmishes and battles. he saw thousands of casualties in the fight for america's freedom, but there was an invisible killer that the young general once that was perhaps a bigger threat than "the sword of the enemy." smallpox. it's a disease doctors of today have eradicated but in washington's time, smallpox tore through his army, killing many. to try to stem the losses, afflicted soldiers were often taken from their encampments and sent to nearby homes to try to protect them from the elements give them a a chance to recover. one such home still stands today in chatham township new jersey. its placement largely unchanged from the time when smallpox-infected soldiers took refuge there. here's a look inside this clinic

for george washington's army. ♪ >> jon: it was the winter of 1777. george washington's army camped out in a field in northern new jersey facing incredible hardships. winter was frigid, they were hungry and battle weary but washington had bigger concerns. >> it was probably washington's greatest fear that disease would destroy his army, soldiers, so he took necessary means to have his armies inoculated against smallpox so the men who were sick needed to be placed under a roof and taken care of. it was a very hard time. >> jon: they would deliberately expose the soldiers to smallpox to try to prevent it from spreading within the wider army? >> the regiments were ordered,

certain regiments at certain times to be inoculated. he didn't want his entire army sick with smallpox so small portions were designated to receive the virus and hopefully when they got well the next regiment would be inoculated and so on. >> jon: historian bill styple says there is evidence, accounts of colonial families that this type of treatment took place nearby, colonists who allowed afflicted troops to receive treatment in their homes. soldiers suffering from the dreaded smallpox. one such home till stands today on the edge of what styple believes was washington's revolutionary war encampment. we were invited into take a look. >> it was built approximately 1770. this is in the basement. the soldiers suffering from smallpox were brought here and suffered here while the families live upstairs. >> jon: this was the treatment room where you and i are where you can barely stand up?

>> barely stand up, the foundation is all original from the time period. >> jon: why did they have soldiers in here? >> to get them out of the weather. those harsh conditions january, february winter of 1777. the suffering or brought indoors in washington had asked the community, the people to allow the sick soldiers to come into their homes. >> jon: this basement would have been a smallpox treatment center, a hospital if you will? field hospital. >> and army hospital. >> jon: there's barely room for the two of us, how many people would have been in here? >> unknown. as the soldiers were brought in and out, suffering for several weeks and then another group of soldiers would be brought in. perhaps it was a little bit taller because of the roof, it looks like it might have in addition, but these beams are original. 1700s.

>> jon: if smallpox doesn't kill you, what's the lengthy wear down? >> i don't know how long it would be ill with that, i would say at least several weeks. another treatment killed quite a few. it wasn't a give me that you were going to survive. >> jon: despite the harsh conditions and their battles with deprivation and disease, washington's men rallied to overcome not only smallpox, but also the occupying british army. >> they wanted liberty, they wanted freedom and they were willing to sacrifice all for liberty and freedom. >> jon: incredible, the resilience of those who built this country. next to galveston, texas, began as a beautiful day 117 years ago but when it was over an estimated 10-12,000 people were dead, victims of the storm of 1900. it is still the deadliest natural disaster in u.s. history that the people of galveston

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: the 2017 hurricane season was a bad one with storms like harvey, irma and maria

inflicting hundreds of billions of dollars of damage to the u.s. and its caribbean islands. it's believed roughly 220 people died. awful as those numbers are, they could have been far worse. one need only look at what happened to the texas gulf coast in september of 1900. at the time the weather service did not name hurricanes, but even without a name as we look at these beautiful images of galveston, texas, today, the storm of 1900 will never be forgotten. neither will the people who came together in a time of devastation to rebuild their open window rate at city. ♪ >> jon: the idyllic beaches of galveston, texas. more than 6 million vacationers come here it's your frolicking on the serene shores on the gulf of mexico. it's hard to believe seeing it today that this peaceful place was the epicenter of the greatest natural disaster in the history of the united states. ♪

it was 1900 and galveston was driving, the largest city in all of texas, a booming population, building fortunes from galveston's busy port shipping cotton and receiving goods from europe. >> galveston was on an incredible growth pattern. it was without a doubt the queen city of the gulf. it rightfully earned that title. >> jon: september 8th 1900 began the day a lot like this one with clear skies and calm seas. but the skies suddenly turned black, the weather took a terrifying turn, the good people of galveston had virtually no defense against the great storm sweeping in from the sea. a category four hurricane lashed the island communicate communi. it carried no name, as was the practice at the time. winds up to 140 miles an hour and a storm surge of seawater 1e

unprotected city, leveling buildings and homes. >> the 1900s, the storm of september 8th came across the island and pushed back, pushed water and pushed wind across the island, destroying most of the houses and many lives were lost. ♪ >> jon: in an instant, half of galveston was gone, homes along the shoreline ripped off their foundations. the storm smashing them into kindling. one of the heartbreaking stories of that terrible night took place at st. mary's orphanage, a catholic home for children built right on the shoreline. nuns, terrified by the rising seas tether themselves to their children, determined to protect the little ones from being swept away. >> the nuns decided it would be safer to tie the children together in groups of ten. >> jon: but the sisters's attempts would be in vain. >> jon: by the time the howling winds subsided and the ocean return to its normal level, an estimated 12,000

americans were dead, 6,000 of them right here in galveston. it is still to this day the deadliest natural disaster in u.s. history. a horrible event commemorated by this poignant statue on the galveston seawall. when the storm passed, dazed survivors emerge to a galveston they could not recognize. city streets filled with mounds of rubble. >> the degree from the houses and property and animals acmulated during the course of the storm became a wall of debris that protected the northern part of the island from the rest of the storm and water. we know that that debris line extended for maybe 2 miles and at some places as much is two stories in height. >> jon: galveston only is dug through the rubble desperately searching for survivors, but they found only bodies. among them ten catholic nuns and 90 orphans still tied together, only three of the st. mary's orphans survived the storm.

>> i often think about what they would have experienced walking out the door on the next day and looking at what had happened and what was around them. >> jon: but this better communicating would not be beaten. neighbors pitched in helping neighbors and finding solace wherever possible. >> it became a place of priority because it was a place of healing. it was a place that was nonreligious, nonpolitical. it was a place where people came together. >> jon: galveston's grand opera house, though severely damaged in the storm, became a source of comfort and hope for the shaken residents of a once grand city. >> they could weep together over the horrible loss of life and the devastation of that storm, or they might, and left for a moment, forget about their problems. >> jon: though the great storm of 1900 bought this booming city to its knees, the people of galveston rebuild and fortify it, constructing a seawall bolstered by granite boulders 1o

face the gulf and protect them from future storms. they also pumped sand on top of obliterated sections of their city, raising the island as much as 18 feet near the seawall. any surviving buildings that could be jacked up off their foundations were lifted. some were simply too large. >> jon: the ceiling that we are standing over is very low but it wasn't built that way. >> it would have actually been acting feet, the floor is 8 feet higher than it would have been in the original structure and they filled in the island as much as 18 feet at parts so it feels like the ceilings come down on the floor has gone up. but it was a phenomenal project. >> jon: talk about that, in those days they didn't have caterpillar tractors and excavators and things like that. >> it's amazing what they did. they used horses and manpower and pulleys and wagons, and somehow they raised so many

buildings in the city and protected them from future storms. >> jon: the great storm took the lives of one out of every six galveston resident. some who did survive simply moved away. galveston would never again be the biggest city of texas. but in the months and years after, the determination and ingenuity of those who stayed breathed life back into a community that mother nature left for dead. >> the spirit of the people of galveston is really what's important to remember. that spirit we are not going to give up. we will make this our home. we will handle the storm if it happens, but we will come back and we are still going to be a great city. >> jon: our nation has seen some tough times this year, but certainly not the worst we've endured. we will look back in time from the home of an american president tested by war and the worst economic crisis in our history. >> the only thing we have to

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>> live from america's news headquarters i'm doug mckelway. millions of americans dreaming of a white christmas got their holiday wish from washington state to the northeast snow was plentiful this christmas day. even seattle and portland saw a rare snowfall. but the rockies and new england got the most of it, or should we say the worst of it. a blizzard accompanied by strong winds left thousands in the dark on cape cod. the snow could create more problems for travelers as they try to head home from their holiday getaway. around the world, christians gather to pay homage to jesus christ, whose birthday is celebrated on this day. from the vatican pope francis delivered a christmas message, urging world leaders to resolve conflict in the middle east and north korea. i'm doug mckelway wishing you a merry christmas and now back to "an american journey." ♪

♪ >> jon: welcome back to an american journey. this year we've seen some tense times in america with north korea and iran making bellicose threats. hurricanes and wildfires devastating millions and citizens arguing about whether to stand up for the anthem or tear down civil war statues. worth remembering that america has seen times far worse and come through with strength and unity. join us for a trip to hyde park, two hours north of new york city. the home and library of our 32nd president, although he himself faced physical challenges, he harnessed the incredible power of the american people to beat the depression and when a global war.

♪ >> the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. >> jon: they are only words, nothing more, yet they rallied a really nation. the united states was struggling to cope with the worst economic disaster in our history, the great depression when franklin delano roosevelt took office in 1933. millions of american jobs disappeared. folks who couldn't feed their families crowded soup kitchens, deposits and loans dried up leading banks to fail at an extraordinary rate. >> first thing he does is shutdown all the banks. about eight days later he gets his first fireside chat. >> i can assure you it is safer for you to keep your money in a reopened bank then to keep it under the mattress. >> that one speech changed the country's attitude so much that people did what he said, they took their savings out from under the mattress and put them

back in the bank. >> jon: that pep talk from their new president worked. americans poured millions of dollars back into the banks and just the first week they reopened. president employing his astonishing power of persuasion to reach americans on a whole new level. >> his great tool was his voice. he understood the power of radio. he used radio in a way that no one had ever used it before and if you have used it since. he understood it was an intimate meeting, and the reason they came to be called fireside chats is that when he would do though speech is on the radio and millions of people would sit around their living rooms in front of their fireplaces and listen to them. >> jon: some of those fireside chats were written this from? >> several well delivered from this room right behind that decks on my. >> jon: as fdr tried to pull the nation from economic ruin, a terrible challenge room, one that would forge a partnership strong as steel. talk about the world leaders who were in this room. >> winston churchill sat here. if they had a good relationship

beside from heading to countries of the world war. in the beginning churchill was the dominant figure. they were already involved in the war, he was definitely trying to get roosevelt to bring america into the war against the and he had a lot more experience in terms of military campaign. >> jon: suddenly roosevelt needed no more product from churchill. the surprise military strike on america's pacific fleet and pearl harbor once again required fdr to reassure a frightened nation with his charisma and self-assured attitude. >> the pearl harbor speech, he was in washington. he called his assistant and said i need to give a speech tomorrow. i want you to take the speech down. she describes in her autobiography, he sat back, took a long drag on his cigarette and then he dictated the entire speech in one pass, no stops, complete with punctuation.

>> a place which will live in infamy. >> jon: those words, among the most famous fdr spoke almost didn't come out that way. the proof is right here. >> the full stomach most famous at it in history is where he he crosses out world history and rates in infamy. >> jon: the sneak attack on pearl harbor outrage the american people and the mediation's mood quickly shifted. men rushed to enlist, eager to fight. but those left behind were frightened for the fathers, brothers, sons and husbands who shipped off to fight thousands of miles from home. now with battles raging on two fronts, fdr used one of his fireside chats to instill confidence. >> we are going to win this war. >> those fireside chats truly changed the course of this nation's history. >> absolutely. another interesting moment in february of 1942, three months after pearl harbor. the war is not going well.

the japanese have swept through the pacific, the nazis have swept through europe. stalingrad, moscow was about to fall. it gives a speech, a fireside chat and says i want to talk to about the world. he has told people ahead of time to get a map of the world. he says look at this map in front of you. don't look at the size of the soviet union. look at the size of china. look at the size of the united states. look at the size of canada. those are our allies. you look at germany, look at italy, look at japan. look at how small they are. we are going to win this war is what he was saying. more importantly he wanted people to understand the global nature of this conflict. again, it's a brilliant piece of political persuasion. he was also not pretending it wasn't going to be difficult. he wasn't creating a false sense of hope. he saying here is the situation. again at a point of great trepidation in this country he provided encouragement and a sense of accomplishment.

this is what's going to happen. it's going to be hard, but in the end we are going to win. >> jon: another notable event during the fdr years, the end of prohibition. americans had lived under its alcohol restrictions for 13 years, but in those years the nation saw a boom in secret bars were people would gather to drink and mingle, speakeasies. americans flocked to them, flouting the law in the process. up next we will take you inside a new york speakeasy and hear some stories of a time and culture that helped define our nation.

>> flappers with short skirts and bop haircuts throwing caution to the wind in a carefree era that marked the dawn of modern america. time of booming economic growth

in the united states but also a time of prohibition on folks had to sneak around to have a drink. thus the dawn of the speakeasy, secret pubs which became a fixture of american nightlife in their time. here's a look inside a former speakeasies still serving drinks in new york's west village. a hot spot for the poets, novelists and playwrights who shaped american culture. ♪ >> jon: the 1920s came roaring into the united states. the end of the world war ushered in an era of jazz, flappers and fun. it was also a time of prohibition. for those who chose to defy the national ban on alcohol consumption, that meant bootlegged booze, illegally served in speakeasies all across the countries. places where those who dared could gather with their friends to enjoy a drink in clandestine

clubs. speakeasy secrets were poorly capped and police raids frequent. bar owners are developed warning systems to try to frustrate the cops. one of those pubs still stands today in new york city's west village. welcome to chumley's. >> i don't think the legacy of any really matters, i think chumley's itself is its own animal and beast. chumley's is trombley's and we can never replace that. >> jon: opened during prohibition in 1922, chumley's was a haven for many of america's literary giants. f. scott fitzgerald, ernest hemingway and john steinbeck drink here. alex bourguignon owns it now. 95 years after it first opened its secret doors. you struggle to sort of re-created the way it was. this is in a dance bar, not a neon bar. it's chumley's. >> it's chumley's, but it had to be chumley's that were presented also us and the feeling of today. we couldn't possibly recreate every little detail as it was

before. but we did our best, we did the best that we possibly can to bring it to this time, to look and feel like it's been untouched. >> jon: when you think of these place is a speakeasy what are the stories that stand out to you? >> i can only imagine what went on here. the term 86 was created here. >> jon: 86 still used today, something to get rid of. also a secret signal cops on the take would use to tip off the owner. >> you will see it on the door, 86 bedford street. if that wasn't the original entrance. during prohibition and what would happen was the captain, which was on the payroll, or a police officer on the payroll would call in and say we are coming in, we will review, 86. everybody would go out through the 86 entrance. >> jon: james is a forensic historian who dedicates his time

to digging into chumley's rich history. >> is the store original, do we know? >> it is. it's been refurbished, but it is the door. everything about it is the same door. >> jon: 86 bedford wasn't the preferred entrance to this once illicit establishment. there was a secret side door the better-known customers would us use. >> this would have been the secret entrance. >> a little higher you will see the little window. >> oh, yeah. >> and the list of regulars who could use that secret entrance was certainly distinguished. >> it was a speakeasy but it was a writer's bar. a writers and artists bar. that relationship is the one that is carried over in the folklore and the oral history that has come down. my job basically is to uncover that. >> jon: today the walls of

chumley's are adorned with remembrances of some stars of that generation. >> some of the names on the wall here, people i was reading about in elementary school. orson welles, scott fitzgerald. they were all here. >> they were all here, and many more that aren't up on the wall. a lot of these book jackets really are part of our dna, either directly by reading some of the authors that penned them, or telnet but also by the writers inspired by those raters who you may have read. >> jon: american literature would be a lot poorer if this place hadn't existed. >> there's truth to that. the drink that was bringing them here was also sometimes the culprit in stopping their rating in book jackets that might have been there never got there. so double-edged sword, it was in some cases like with fitzgerald, they say the drink had a lot to do with his writing toward the

end. ♪ >> jon: the times were rowdy even during those 13 years of prohibition when america supposedly went dry. then on december 5th 1933 after mounting public pressure and a constitutional amendment, prohibition came to an end. ♪ >> on july 2nd 1932 franklin d. roosevelt addressing the delegates to the democratic national convention assembled in chicago made the following prophecy. from this day on, the 18th amendment is doomed. >> beer is back. -- joy as it swings in the gentle swing breeze. hop to it and throughout the lands during conception consums increased 100 million bushels. happy days are here again! >> jon: the lively days of

speakeasies are still remembered today as chumley's patron f. scott fitzgerald wistfully wrote, the parties were bigger, the pace was faster, and the morals were looser. >> he is said to have regretted the end of prohibition because a place like this lost its luster. >> that party scene and regret, sometimes i think it fed his writing. it was his characters, his whole background. the great gatsby that he wrote, the jazz age frenzy that those raucous years created were actually partial to what he wrote. probably moving ahead he didn't see the kind of excitement that he had seen back in the day. >> jon: one prohibition began, aviation was in its infancy. from world war i to today, america's aviation ingenuity has

played a crucial role in defeating the nation's enemies. up next, look at how air power, one of our military's greatest assets, has evolved since the first pilots were firing pistols out of flying machines built of wood and fabric.

>> jon: america is the birthplace of many things, including aviation. orville and wilbur wright first flew there heavier than air craft in 1973. some believe gustav actually achieved it. either way, america was first and when it comes to military aircraft the wright brothers built the right military fire of 19 oh nine, giving the world its first military plane. since those fragile early designs first took to the skies, aircraft design evolved in leaps and bounds, all leading up to the aircraft of the future, america's f35. here's a look back at the century of flight that brings us to this to this state-of-the-art fighter. >> the first powered flight by the brothers orville and wilbur wright. the first of aviation at kitty hawk north carolina.

>> jon: the wright brothers first with a primitive airplane on the north carolina coast in december 19 oh three, but for the next decade new american aviation designs barely got off the ground. world war i broke out in 1914, armies on both sides saw the utility of the airplane, first for conducting reconnaissance flights and ultimately for use as a weapon. but most of the aircraft flown in the war were of european design. when america entered the war, its first fighter pilots like famous as eddie rickenbacker flew airplanes designed and built in france. by the time world war ii broke out america's aviation designers had caught up with and even surpassed the aircraft of europe and asia. north american p51 mustangs is widely considered the best fighter of the world work, powerful, fast and nimble. they caught and shot down the german nasher summit 252, the

german aircraft that allied late in the war. >> landing in britain, i think to be seen at various british airports. >> jon: americans built bombers, the heaviest flying machine of its day. boeing built nearly 3,000 of these behemoths at its plant in wichita, kansas, incorporating the latest technology such as guns fired by remote control. its owns the pacific theater dropping the atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki, which brought japan to surrender. it's no stretch to say that absent the development of this superb american airplane, world war ii might've had a a very different outcome. another boeing product, the b-52 straddle fortress filled the skies over vietnam, designed to carry nuclear weapons to counter the soviet threat, the b-52 could also lift 35 tons of conventional munitions. though it first flew in the

1960s, it remains an air force workhorse today, often flown by pilots who weren't even born when their aircraft were built. the high-flying u-2's's biplane showed american aircraft design moving ahead in leaps and bounds after the slow start of the early 1900s. the blackbird, first born in 1966, still holds the record for the fastest cross-country flight, capable of nearly three and a half times the speed of sound. america developed stealth technology to make aircraft all but invisible to enemy radar in the 1970s. stealth makes it a possible fourth american planes to evade detection while flying rates deep into enemy territory. america's pioneering aviation design, coupled with unsurpassed pilot training, has allowed the u.s. to own the skies during the last century of armed conflict.

u.s. military forces are flying a new aircraft expected to continue american air superiority well into the futur future. afghanistan, iraq, syria, the middle east in crisis. flash points around the globe. the u.s. military at war for almost 16 years. now a state-of-the-art warplane could help u.s. forces decisively win these and future conflicts. the f35 stealth fighter. >> we got over 70,000 flight hours on the f35 model right no now. we've even got f35s deployed today to the united kingdom to reassure our allies as well as everybody in the world that the f35 is here and it's here to stay. the world can be a dangerous place. it's a very dangerous place and that's what we need an airplane like this.

>> jon: the f35 doesn't come cheap. at the pentagon recently announced it will spend nearly $8.5 billion for 90 of these single-engine stealth jets that can take on competitors in the air as well as targets on the ground. >> you know it's been criticized for the expense, the cost. is it worth it? >> i think it's work tell mike worth everything a penny. the only reason i can say that his lifelong f-16s for 20 years and i flown the f35 and this is the airplane i would want to take to combat with me. >> jon: why? >> it's because of the stealth of the advanced technology. the stealth gives you the ability to be in a place where nobody knows you're there. >> jon: do you think americans would sleep better tonight knowing this thing is out there? >> absolutely. i believe this is the airplane that will take us into the future, not just for us, but also for all of our allies and partners. >> jon: talk about the fact that it is used by all of the services. >> you have all three of the services, the marines, the navy, and the air force are all buying different variants of the f35.

they are all basically similar. we do pilot training together at luke air force base in glendale, arizona, so we actually start our training is at 35 pilots together. when we go into a flight, a joint or coalition fight, we already speak the same languages. in most cases would actually form together before. ♪ >> any nation out there have anything like it, anything that can threaten it? >> there really isn't anything out there. the chinese on the russians right now have prototypes of a fifth-generation fighter, but they are at least eight years behind us. that also means that they are trying to catch us, and they want this kind of technology for themselves. the f35 is so far advanced over everything they have, they are scared of it and they should be. jon: i was able to get a taste of the jet's capabilities. in the f35 flight simulator. >> welcome to america's newest fighter, the f35. >> jon: cool! ♪ >> you can do a roll, show the

maneuverability of the airplane. >> now you have an enemy fighters on your nose approximately 35 miles and because of the stealthily advanced avionics of the airplane you know everything about them, they don't even know you're there. that's take a missile shot at them. >> jon: all right. there it goes. >> there goes the muscle. the impact, you just shot down your first make. you've got plenty of speed, you can do a loop over the top. ♪ >> let's go back home. >> pushed the throttle up a little bit. a little more, a little more. looking good. now is the throttle back all the way. nose up to level and it will keep coming down. there you go. nicely done! >> jon: experiencing the f 351st hand, you can get a sense of what a game changer this plane is. but is it worth the billion dollar price tag? pick of the most basic

cost-benefit of the airplane is survivability. you can spend a lot of money on a cheaper airplane and you are going to die. if that's just as bold as i can be. war is an ugly business, and when we want to fly these fighters, we want not only just to going into our mission, we want to bring the airplane and the pilot home alive. >> jon: american ingenuity, perhaps no field shows that trait as keenly as aircraft design, a trait passed down from generations before, and still put to practical use today. we are back in just a moment. it's time for sleep number's 'lowest prices of the season' on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting. and snoring? does your bed do that? it's the lowest prices of the season on the queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides. now only $1199, save $400.

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>> jon: from the blood he battles of our real evolutionary war to the wars being fought right now, this nation owes its existence to the courage and determination of the original american heroes, our forefathers, who built this great country. from ellis island in new york

harbor were so many came from around the world to become americans, i'm jon scott, thank you for joining us on this american journey. ♪ define who they are. this is... okay, are we starting? i'm harvey levin. this is the story of one of the most successful tv personalities and music producers in history, simon cowell. but before he became a household name, >> this is the story of one of the most successful tv personalities in history, simon cowell that left him flat broke. it's gotta be a little humiliating at 30 years old to fail so hard. but he would bounce back in a big way, producing a slew of shows and then conquering television with "american idol." what do you think of katy perry doing "idol?" good luck. ( laughs ) harvey: his personal life somewhat turbulent. an affair with a married woman would lead to his greatest joy,