♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, crisis in afghanistan. five days after falling to the taliban, one marine's relentless mission to rescue his interpreter, left behind. making connections in kabul from his kitchen table. >> it was like our death, and that's what combat's life, life or death. >> as america's longest war spirals out of control. >> stop thrill ifilming, just p down. hitting the road, the ral-life know mannedland. >> we fell in love with wide-open spaces. >> the van life inspiring people to leave their worries behind for a home on four wheels. >> our living room turns into a

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at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from '73. and even his kids. and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their families. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join. ♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, one marine's mission to get his interpreter out of from the front lines of chaos in afghanistan. as confusion and mayhem broke out in kabul this week, after the taliban took over.

now this marine's fight to make sure no man is left behind. what that is this week been like for you? >> like a deployment. felt a lot like a deployment. it was like our death. and that's what combat's like, combat is like our death. >> reporter: 7,000 miles from the chaos in afghanistan, marine corps major thomas schuman has been operating on two time zones. working day and night, desperately trying to get his former interpreter, zach, out. >> zach was with me literally every step of the way through firefights, ambushes, casualties, you name it, zach was there. >> reporter: zach is just one of thousands of afghans and americans caught in a week from hell. >> let me be clear. any american who wants to come home, we will get you home. >> reporter: today, promises from the white house. but the reality on the ground is much worse than anyone could

have imagined. including new reports of the taliban harassing and beating americans. >> i actually got whacked with one of these fan belts for not moving fast enough. >> it's been another tense, difficult day here in kabul. people are still struggling by the thousands to get through those checkpoints to the american side of the airport, onto those evacuation flights, and away to some sense of liberation, some sense of freedom, at least release, away from the danger here in the city. >> reporter: tonight, two decades of american fight seemingly erased in roughly two weeks. last weekend, chaos throughout the country as the taliban took province after province, with the main prize, kabul, clearly in focus. by sunday the u.s. embassy was being evacuated, and the afghan president fleeing. >> that's the situation. the taliban just come to kabul.

>> reporter: zach trapped without any assurances from the country he had fought alongside and risked his life for for years. >> this is worse and worse and dangerous situation now here in kabul too. >> i don't anticipate this scary situation getting better in the morning. i anticipate it getting worse. >> reporter: halfway around the world on a quiet street in rhode island, major schuman commanded his base of operations from his table. >> i have two points of contact at the abbey gate. it's an hour and 20 minute walk from his location in kabul. >> reporter: with few options, zach and his four kids, under the age of 5, start the longest walk of their lives. >> praying for you, buddy, stay safe. >> reporter: that plan foiled. >> we just returned back to our apartment because there was gunshots fired everywhere. that's why we are returning back to our house. >> reporter: on monday, president biden addressed the nation. >> any u.s. military involvement in afghanistan now was the right

decision. american troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. >> reporter: admitting the taliban retook the country much more quickly than anticipated, but standing behind his decision to leave afghanistan. >> our current military mission, short in time, limited in scope, focused in its objectives. >> reporter: and yet disturbing videos like this showing a crush of afghans trying to get into the international airport in kabul raising questions about the administration's evacuation plan. the desperation illustrated by these crowds of people, putting their lives in danger in their attempt to flee. >> it certainly seems like they could have had a better plan to get the afghans who helped americans out of there, to get americans out of there.

there may have been chaos in some cases no matter what, but the degree of chaos, seems that should have been thought about long ago. >> reporter: on tuesday, zach and his family make another attempt to get to the airport. the taliban had erected checkpoints. but when zach arrived to a chaotic scene, he was unable to get through. this as the taliban gave their first press conference since seizing power, promising amnesty for all those who worked for american and nato forces, vowing not to hunt them down or secret ra bution. >> what guarantees will you give to the afghans who are now hiding at home, who want to leave the country, who the americans will transport? >> we are assuring the safety of all those who have worked with the united states and allied forces, whether as interpreters or any other field that they worked with them. >> reporter: but washington was taking a wait-and-see feud.

>> what matters, the only thing that matters to us, are actions and not necessarily just words. we're going to be looking for the follow-through, we'll be looking for the deeds. >> the taliban is ruthless, they have been ruthless in the past. it is yet to be seen whether the taliban has changed. >> reporter: as wednesday dawns, the voices growing more desperate. >> they told me that anywhere i go, they will find me and they will kill me. >> there is going to be a massacre, i'm telling you that there is going to be a massacre. >> why are the american soldiers forgetting about us? after everything we did? i don't want to be killed by the taliban. they're going to cut our heads off if they find my location. please help. >> reporter: but for zach, seemingly a miracle. major schuman has tracked down an american soldier at the airport willing to find zach's family and bring them past the checkpoints.

he messages zach to look up at the tower and put his son on his shoulders as a signal. 40 minutes later, a response from schuman's contact. got him. after those failed attempts, zach, his wife, and four young children finally secure precious seats on a plane. >> zach was living on borrowed time. a dead man walking. he sent me a picture with his kids on the airplane. he said, i'll see you in america, sir. that felt so good. it -- it was -- i knew he wasn't going to die. >> reporter: near the airport, my colleague, ian pannell, encountering some taliban interference. >> tell him we have permission, we have permission. yes, abc, abc. taliban permission. >> reporter: even though they were allowed to be recording the scene, the situation escalates with more taliban appearing. >> stop filming, just put it down.

>> reporter: by thursday, hundreds of afghans have landed at a u.s. air base in qatar, including zach and his family. two of his children are exhausted, dehydrated. now they're waiting on more paperwork before they can continue. zach and his family are just a few of the lucky ones. countless others still stuck in afghanistan, defiantly celebrating their independence day. bravely waving their national flag. [ gunshots ] before the taliban broke it up with gunshots. >> good afternoon. since i spoke to you on monday, we've made significant progress. we've secured the airport, enabling flights to resume. not just military flights, but cvilian charters from other countries and the ngos, taking out civilians and vulnerable

afghan -- vulnerable afghanis. >> reporter: although the president sought to reassure, many aren't convinced the americans are going to be able to pull off this most audacious mission. >> though the numbers who have been flown out of the country have gradually ratcheted up, there are still far more people stuck here in kabul than have managed to escape. we're also starting to hear worrying reports about the taliban, some elements within the taliban, at least, going door to door, trying to hunt down people who had worked together with the u.s.-led mission here. >> it was only through a miracle and incredible individual effort by a few marines and airmen that, through their heroism and courage, we were able to pull zach out. >> reporter: although zach and his family are out, major schuman working around the clock to rescue others still stuck in afghanistan. >> he's not getting here till he has his siv. and the deal is not to get him

in a tent in qatar. i want to hug him here, on american soil. >> the past week has been heartbreaking. we've seen gut-wrenching images of panicked people acting out of sheer desperation. they're frightened. they're sad. uncertain what happens next. i don't think anyone, i don't think any one of us can see these pictures and not feel that pain on a human level. now we have a mission. a mission to complete in afghanistan. >> be sure to stay with abc news for continuing coverage of the crisis in afghanistan. coming up, leaving it all behind and living in a van. welcome to the real-lif truthfully, it's frustrating to see how fast dust reappears. but dusting with a cloth is a pain. and dealing with a bulky vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!!

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when most people think of their dream home, it usually doesn't involve something on four wheels and an ever-changing view or the chance to just pick up and move on to the next town. here's "nightline's" ashan singh with another look at the people living the van life and loving it. >> reporter: what if your backyard could look like this? or this? your commute to work, paying rent, all in your r? >> our living room turns into a dining room with just a simple slide of our table. >> reporter: trade it in for a metal box on wheels. >> anybody looking for an adventure, for an opportunity to

explore? this is a great way to do it. >> reporter: this is van life. aka the real life nomadland where the open road beckons. and for thousands of people, living simply is the only way to live. >> there's kind of a joke in van life that you really never know where you're going to go more than a few days in advance, and that's really very true. >> reporter: even celebrities like captain marvel herself. brie larson joining the movement. >> this is incredible. >> reporter: with a tricked-out nissan with fancy amenities. >> wow! this is so cool! >> reporter: but the real og, meet bob wells. he's the real-life van guru who played himself in this year's oscar-winning film "nomadland." his current home, a 2011 chevy diesel engine ambulance. >> you want to tilt your head back?pthere it is. >> right back there is my current vehicle. ambulances are really big. ambulances are built to very

high standards. so it will last forever. >> reporter: decades before he hit the screen, wells lived in a van out of desperation. after a bitter divorce upended his finances. >> on my way to work every day, i drove past this old box van. it was ugly but ran great. and i bought it. here i was doing exactly the opposite of what society told me to do. according to society, i was a total failure. >> how did your outlook shift and you kind of became proud of the way you chose to live? >> i fell in love with it. i fell in love with the freedom, the choices. i fell in love with how cheap i could live. everything about my life improved. >> reporter: wells has since become van life's biggest evangelist. >> this is all my clothes -- >> reporter: his youtube channel, cheap rv living. >> this is full of extra stuff, cold-weather clothes, it turned cold on us all of a sudden. >> reporter: encouraging others to find the freedom he's found.

>> you can come, you can go, you can be anywhere you want, any time you want. everything in your life will change. >> since we are traveling with our dog, we built this custom wall for storm for his crate. >> where are you guys right now? >> chatfield state park south of denver. beautiful state park, nice and sunny, open skies here. >> reporter: after six years working as tech consultants in washington, d.c., corey and jennalin said good-bye to rent checks and joined van life. >> we fell in love with wide-open spaces. as for everyone, the pandemic flipped our life on its head. the life we were living was opposite of what brings us joy, of being in our apartment all the time. >> reporter: august 2020, the couple bought this 2003 mercedes sprinter on craigslist. they knew it needed sprucing up. >> once we bought it, we knew there were changes we needed to make. kind of did the work ourselves. taught ourselves everything we needed, from solar electricity and battery power to plumbing to

vehicle maintenance. >> reporter: 25 states and counting, nine national parks, documenting it all on their instagram. for those who aren't do it yourselfers, enter dave walsh, owner of denver-based van life customs. he'll bring your van life fantasy to life for a price. >> it's a big investment. having that plan and being set on it before you sign on the dotted line and commit to a build slot is really important. >> reporter: the cost for dave's average buildout starting at 70 grand. walk me through the process of a build. >> we're going to talk about your hopes and dreams, we're going to talk about layout, we're going to figure out everything from what lights you want in it to where you want your switches. do you want a heater, a fan, air conditioner? we're just swamped right now. >> reporter: it may seem like it, but van life isn't just a

permanent vacation. natalie and abigail rodriguez have been out and about since 2019. >> come on in. right when you walk in, you've got our kitchen. we wanted a galley kitchen, so we've got it on both sides. >> reporter: they set out for a year of exploring. but that wasn't enough. now they live in their van full-time and make ends meet. >> i'm a photographer. natalie's a chef. we pick up gigs whenever we can. we have little side hustles online, we have our youtube channel, we have a website. all of these things bring us a little bit of income. and a little bit goes a long way. >> absolutely. it has allowed us so much freedom. it has allowed us to live more intentionally and really think about what it is that we want in life. >> reporter: their home, 82 square feet of ingenuity. pure diy magic. >> if you flip around, we've got this custom-made storage that we did. it's got a secret door here, and abby woodburned this beautiful art on it.

you open it, it keeps some of our stuff. >> reporter: for corey and jennalin, they never left their jobs. 9:00 to 5:00 east coast time, this are van doubles as their office. >> our number one priority was to maintain our jobs. so we use our cell phones and a hot spot to give us service. the further west we go, the earlier we start. >> reporter: and every van lifer will tell you it's not perfect. those insta-worthy moments come with its struggles. but it's all worth it. >> there's always tough toughness around the chores. doing laundry isn't fun. doing the dishes isn't fun. sometimes you can't escape those. >> reporter: whether you're taking a break from society or looking to redefine your life, these nomads will tell you the open road awaits. >> here's to the open road. >> our thanks to ashan. up next, after a year benched by covid, the band back in full swing.

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♪ finally tonight, in full swing. after a year ofchy the pandemic, the huskers marching band of the university of nebraska lincoln back out on the field, back in the groove, playing uptempo tunes of hope and happiness. ♪ go big red. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you i'm so glad you're ok, sgt. houston. this is sam with usaa. do you see the tow truck? yes, thank you, that was fast. sgt. houston never expected this to happen.