i'm john donvan for "nightline." >> how do i get on your gift list, john?hanks for that. >>> coming up a veteran returning home from battle with big hollywood dreams gets a very unexpected mentor. i have what science calls the nightly stuffy nose thing. i can't breathe, so i can't sleep. and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed and turned... i even vaporized. and then i fought back with drug-free breathe right. these nasal strips instantly open my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better. [ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com. hey it's your right to breathe right. >>> more than 200,000 troops are expected to retire from the military this year and when they come home they face another kind of battle, breaking into a new career. many are looking for a helping hand. when one soldier with hollywood aspirations went looking for a mentor he never dreamed who would answer. here's abc's bob woodruff. >> reporter: gabriel posey is about to get the bigges

abc's john donvan has their stories. >> reporter: there are homes that know nothing of the reality ofaising a troubled child. and then there are those that do. liza long put her home in the second group in a blog posting this weekend called "i am adam lanza's mother" that rocketed around the world. "i love my son," she wrote. "but he terrifies me." >> my biggest fear is that some day he'll fly into a rage and hurt me or hurt himself. >> reporter: he is mientally ill," long writes, and as threatened her at times, even pulled a knife on her. she called it a cry for help. one that was immediately echoed in a remarkable way by other parents to abc news today. >> i'm afraid for my daughter. >> i am fearful for what will happen to her or what will happen to anybody that's around her if she snaps in a public place. >> would this be her that i'm getting a phone call about? >> reporter: it was connecticut that triggered this. yet, these parents' fears conflict with virtually all expert opinion about the mentally ill. statistically, they are not dangerous to the community at large, nor do perpe

john donvan, abc news, washington. >> money again the issue.gh the next couple of days, all this talk about taxes and budget cuts, you would hope they say let's not cut from whatever pot of money goes towards mental health services. particularly in schools with our young people with an attempt to save them and treat them while they're young. we'll see how it plays out in d.c. >> that's going to bring us to our facebook question of the day. we've been asking your advice as they discuss the gun control laws. >> first up, jennifer, who notes that connecticut has some of the toughest gun laws in the entire country, she says, "it's not about gun control. it's about getting a country to embrace valuable character traits and practice them. >> paul is straightforward in saying, deterrence is the answer. not more gun laws that criminals won't abide by. his facebook profile, by the way, shows a man firing a rifle. >> comforting. and calling it a complex issue, lisa says congress needs to be the public servants they purport to be by banning assault weapon