our destination: attu. two plane stops and 1,500 miles from anchorage, attu is so far west that if you drew a straight line down from the island, you'd hit new zealand. we had taken off, not knowing if our plane could land on attu. >> mark obmascik: attu's home to some of the worst weather on earth, there's only eight days a year when the clouds and fog lift. >> wertheim: mark obmascik, a pulitzer prize-winning reporter, spent seven years going through archives and soldiers' letters while researching his book, "the storm on our shores." he accompanied our team for the trip. only minutes from the island, a dense fog threatened to force our plane back to the nearest air strip 400 miles away. then, the fog suddenly parted like curtains, and there it was: attu. >> wertheim: when you finally got there, what was that like? >> obmascik: it was so gorgeous. it was so green and wild and raw. >> wertheim: no one lives on attu today. the coast guard abandoned its station and the island nine years ago. >> obmascik: i j