>> a rookie platoon trying to stay alive in the valley of death. ? if you thought lady gaga was done making melodies, it was just a perfect illusion. the singer has released her first pop single in three years. but first, the "nightline" 5. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight we're take a very personal and hopeful look at a disease that affects the lives of millions of americans. alcoholism. our own elizabeth vargas revealing for the first time to diane sawyer the depths of her addiction and the toll it took on her marriage, her children, and her career. and the moment she knew she had to stop drinking. >> there are days when you wake up and you feel so horrible that the only thing that will make you feel better is more alcohol. that's when people die. >> how close did you come to dying? >> i on one occasion had what i know to be a lethal level of alcohol in my blood system. and even that didn't scare me into stopping. >> reporter: for decades a network correspondent and anchor. >> tonight we're taking you -- >> reporter: "20/20's" el

>> a rookie platoon trying to stay alive in the valley of death. [ explosion ] ? if you thought lady gaga was done making melodies, it was just a perfect illusion. the singer has released her first pop single in three years. but first, the "nightline" 5. switch to centurylink and get up to 40 megs of high-speed internet for just $20 a month. that's the speed you need to stream... ...game... ...connect on social media... learn, shop and more with fast in-home wifi. get up to 40 megs of high-speed internet for just $20 a month for one ar when bundled with a qualifying home phone plan. speed may not be available in your area. call today. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight we're take a very personal and hopeful look at a disease that affects the lives of millions of americans. alcoholism. our own elizabeth vargas revealing for the first time to diane sawyer the depths of her addiction and the toll it took on her marriage, her children, and her career. and the moment she knew she had to stop drinking. >> there are days when you wake up and you feel so

but he'll be all right. >> in my platoon two guys got killed. ben chisholm and charlie high. and throughout our battalion i think we took somewhere around 30 to 40. it was a lot of guys that got killed. >> reporter: how did that impact you? >> i mean, there's really no way to describe it until, you know, you've been in combat and lost your brothers. >> reporter: do you think you or ptsd? >> yeah, i imagine we do. when you go through a traumatic event for a long period of time i don't see how it couldn't affect you, you know. >> reporter: boucher says he's learned to cope in his own way. since his tour he's left the service to become a firefighter, a job where he can help people and still feel that rush of adrenaline. taking fire for him is a chance to honor his fallen friends. >> i feel lucky to be able to have my brothers' stories ? jingle bells ? >> reporter: it is the importance of sharing stories, one of the reasons why "taking fire" has partnered with the headstrong project, a non-profit providing top-quality free mental health care to veterans. >> one of the things i lo

>> a rookie platoon trying to stay alive in the valley of death. [ explosion ] ? if you thought lady gaga was done making melodies, it was just a perfect illusion. the singer has released her first pop single in three years. but first, the "nightline" 5. narrator: fewer new hampshire students are graduating debt free, while wall street and oil companies get billions in tax breaks. and whose side is kelly ayotte on? she voted to cut funding for pell grants and all while voting for tax breaks for the special interests like oil companies that give millions to help her campaign. kelly ayotte: working for the special interests, not on our side. senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. into stopping. >> reporter: for decades a network correspondent and anchor. >> tonight we're taking you -- >> reporter: "20/20's" elizabeth vargas was known for her strong reporting from around the world. >> jerusalem. >> reporter: tough interviews and seeking out people whose stories had been forgotten. now she invited my colleague diane sawyer into herr ho

our platoon conquered the battalion objective. we did it with one rifle platoon. i was recommended for the silver star for that. it was downgraded to a bronze star. i got two bronze stars. that is all i have information about. reading the history of my division, the 27th, there were several people who got the medal of honor. the silver stars are recommended for two of my squad leaders. i don't know whether they received them or not because they were both wounded and evacuated. that i should have medic ford my platoon more than a bronze star. retake thehting to ridge. we took it once, give it up, and we had to take it again. i was leading a platoon. i had two scouts in front. i had a bar man. we ran into a japanese strong position. one man was killed immediately. the bar man was wounded. somewhere the platoon medic heard about it and came rushing up. he reached in his bag and got a bandage. as he was doing that he got killed. i only recommended him for the bronze star. looking back, he gave his life to try to save another man. somewhere along the way i believe whoe

>> a rookie platoon trying to stay alive in the valley of death. [ explosion ] >> whoa. ? if you thought lady gaga was done making melodies, it was just a perfect illusion. the singer has released her first pop single in three years. but first, the "nightline" 5. fios is not cable. we're wired differently. which means we can fix things differently. thanks for calling fios, this is ryan. you can't tell me this cord isn't in, i know it's in, it's in but it's not working. i'm sending you a link to the my fios app that's going to let me see what you're seeing. yes...mr. mcenroe. see that cord? just plug it into the connector on the right. so you can clearly see what's in and what's out? oh, absolutely. i like that. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight we're take a very personal and hopeful look at a disease that affects the lives of millions of americans. alcoholism. our own elizabeth vargas revealing for the first time to diane sawyer the depths of her addiction and the toll it took on her marriage, her children, and her career. and the moment she knew she had

>> you were the leader of an inch tree platoon -- infantry platoon. each squad was commanded by a staff sergeant. there was the platoon headquarters. was a stupid team, two people. about 40 people led by a lieutenant. >> a visit shell is how they -- big?ka shell is how hole could it put in a small? 75they had a range of about 200 yards. it would destroy a machine gun nest. it would destroy a mortar position. it did not have much penetrating power. okinawa, there is nothing to penetrate accept trees and mountains and holes and things like that. we used it if we knew where a machine gun was located. we would train it on that to destroy it. you are responsible as a platoon leader for leaving your men in ground combat. ground,.g your men in the motto was follow me. that is why i survived the military combat. i was always leading up front. i would normally have one or two scouts in front, maybe a bar team. wouldst of the team i leave behind until we contacted the enemy. you always have plans as to what you are going to do. when you contact the enemy, you h

of a rookie platoon in the army's 101st airborne. >> behind that wall, sir. >> reporter: told in a way we have never seen before, through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. >> what is that? is that a camera? >> reporter: in 2010 kyle's unit was deployed to one of the most dangerous places on earth. how did it come about that you guys started filming your lives? >> the guys wanted to have memories of the deployment. if they wanted to go back years later and say this is what i did. >> reporter: with the help of tiny, mountable cameras, for the first time, we can see war filmed by the soldiers themselves. the concept of a new series on the discovery channel taking fire. >> this is my first patrol. i'm thinking it's a beautiful country. up there when the sun comes up, and you're wondering, man, like, this is so cool. >> reporter: kyle boucher was just 22 years old when he left home for afghanistan. afghan border with pakistan, a remote taliban-held region nicknamed the valley of dealt by the bullet battered battalions stationed there. 42 american servicemen lost their lives in that valle

formations. >> platoon halt!not all problems at santa rosa require a platoon-style response, as one of the inmate workers has just discovered. >> so where are you? >> in confinement. >> why? >> got caught with some weed. >> how about your job? >> probably lose my job. it's all part of the game. just because i'm doing time, i'm not going to stop living. so, i hang out every chance i get. that's what convicts do. >> you hang out? what does that mean? >> have as much fun as possible. still live. >> john smith's fun has left his former supervisor short-handed. >> those type inmates are hard to come by, those mechanically inclined, a lot of times, especially for small, tedious work like that. so it puts us in a bind, but you know, that's the reality of prison life right there. alfredo roca moreno's latest troubles were prompted by the discovery of a lighter inside his mattress, and he has had numerous disciplinary problems over the past few years. >> 15 of them. disrespect, manufacture of drugs, fighting, another one,

during world war ii, he participated in the battle of okinawa as the leader of a platoon, the commandercompany, and as an intelligence officer. he was a staff sergeant with the 80th infantry blue ridge division. entere was selected to infantry officer school, he told many -- he held many degrees science fromitary the university of maryland, master of arts in international affairs, master science degree in administration from george washington university. he is a graduate of the army command in general staff college into the army war college. ladies and gentlemen, the distinguished kernel. james --. >> thank you very much. is an expression i learned in japan during eight months of duty with that country from the fifth of september 1945 until the 28th april, 1946. today we observe vj day, september 2, 1945. on that day 71 years ago, general douglas macarthur who appointed supreme commander of the allied forces in pacific, and assembled representatives of the nine nations aboard the battleship missouri in tokyo bay to witness the foreign minister of japan and the senior general from the im

platoon of 29 men. most of whom were 18 and 19 years old.g the first three weeks of combat, seven of these rape young americans gave their lives young americans gave their lives. 14 others were seriously wounded and evacuated. they were my life and i think of them almost every day. i was also wounded when the shrapnel was removed from my back and dressings applied, i was allowed to remain with my unit. to --actors leaving leading to vj day. president truman, prime minister churchill and sign kai-shek of china, after a conference in germany, issued a statement that as the pot stand declaration. this declaration outlined the conditions under which japan's unconditional surrender would be accepted. the sixth, 1945, a b 29 palmer, the enola gay -- gay, bond theola japanese city of hiroshima. at that time, there were different estimates as to the number of casualties. japan estimated the casualties as 240,000. u.s. estimate was between 66000 and 78,000. i received a report from the japanese embassy in washington on the 18th of august, it showed a

somewhere the platoon medic heard about it and came rushing up. he reached in his bag and got a bandage. as he was doing that he got killed. i only recommended him for the .ronze star he gave his life to try to save another man. way iere along the believe whoever read the , i believe they should have upgraded to at least a silver star. today i know that things were different in world war ii. >> is harry truman was here today, what would you say to him? >> i would like to answer that. >> he is on a roll. >> harry truman made one of the most important decisions in the history of our country. they dropped a bomb on hiroshima on the sixth of august, the death was anywhere from 120,000 to 170,000. convince the japanese to surrender unconditionally. authorized the tropic of the x -- of the second atomic bomb on nagasaki. toll there was half of what they said it was. today to people even save those atomic bombs saved becauseaved the lives, we had planned to invade japan and in the 1945 spring of 46 we were going to tokyo. it was estimated that invasion w

we asked a few of the bloggers to read what they posted, like platoon commander chris wilson, who described the burden of wartime leadership that's sti with him even after the shooting has stopped. >> you don't do your job, people will die, over and over. people will die if i mess up. nine of my guys died. it's been extremely hard to forgive myself. >> reporter: others like are combat medic jenny pacanowski described the battle they fought once they arrived back home. >> for a long time after i got back, i isolated myself in a cabin and drank all the time. then at one point i decided that i was going to try everything nothing worked, i was going to kill myself. god, this is harder to talk about than bombs. >> these folks are just as courageous as folks who do something physically daunting on the battlefield because they are bearing their physical wounds in order to help a broader community and save lives. >> reporter: headstrong's executive director retired marine captain zachary iscol teamed up with brandon the creator of humans of new york, to get the word out: recovery is possible, but y

by the the way, he made one of the greatest war movies "platoon," not to mention "born on the 4th of july." what a lot of people don't know and i did not know before doing the movie is edward snowden enlisted in the u.s. army in was the most dangerous, snowden enlisted. the movie began there, in basic training. we started our production going out and shooting these military scenes. i'm in, like, fatigues, in full battle gear doing basic training drills, shooting these sequences with oliver stone, the guy that made "platoon." i was like, okay, this is no joke now. we're really doing this. >> stephen: was should thought on digital? >> yes, this was his first tim there were any concerns somebody might hack your files and take the movie because? >> there was a guy on set, his name was ralph, who was sort of our technical consultant. he actually used to be a hacker. he's an extremely sophisticated hacker. now he works on the other side. they call him a white hat hacker, and his job on set was to protect the footage coming off of the digital cameras and make sure that no one could, you kno

the ravine so i went down as he was crying to put on a tourniquet i'll look over to my left in my platoon leader in is there i say we need to get to us safe house about 300 yards away. but we have to go into the chest high waters i'm screaming in his ear then he was shot in the upper chest said he puts a speaker inside the bullet hole to stop the blood and these are special operation guys but i freaked out everything went super slow motion i can hear and see stuff differently somebody sees me freaking out and smacks me on the helmet he says you have to kill him. that sniper had just taken out my machine gun team everythn everything i can do i will do. i am 23 at this point i dropped a few more but i was really low handguns don'tr shoot well after they were submerged. we carried out the wounded as benjamin is passing by we have to go wonder hold your breath he is losing so much blood he would be passed out we reduce cpr and tried to waking up and we did that 300 meters over about 10 minutes. forty-five minutes sleepover five days i am carrying his backpack with additional weight i would pi

the first time since last month's historic system's buildings.several schools are operating on a platoon system.... which means two schools are sharing one building.six of the district's hardest hit schools are still closed and the system's long term plan for recovery is still unclear.the superintendent says the schools are not covered by flood insurance. let's get a check of your weather and traffic a cold front will move through later this afternoon and into the night, showers and storms, leaving behind a tenth to a third of an inch of rain behind, with higher amounts in thunderstorms.with the added moisture there is the chance for some patchy fog to form by wednesday morning when any lingering shower will exit. skies will be clearing behind the cold front on wednesday but even the eventual sunshine won't help warm us up too much, highs will be stuck in at 5-15mph. more sunshine is anticipated for thursday and that will warm inland locations up into the low 70s, however a se wind will keep temps in the upper 60s along lake michigan.another storm system rolls in on friday, increasing th

once the light turns green over here and this platoon moves through. that is what it is called in the traffic business. the platoon of cars. you have to swing over to get by. we have seen on again and off again delays. this car hopped hit what was right there on the right side right beside that tree that is gone now. maybe underneath the car. not sure -- police officers checking it out. what happened here. took out the front end of the car. saw the boaters talking to the police officer. so no injuries apparently involved in this one, at least good news on that town. right now check your weather with kelly. >> kelly: thanks, tom. checking clouds as we are waiting for the sun to come up. to the day. temperatures are quite comfortable. a lot of 60s and 70s out there. pahrump, 66. overton, 76 and laughlin, 77. the kids heading to school. mostly sunny skies. maybe a light sweater. 82 degrees. 92 by the time we are getting out of school this afternoon and break out the fall sweaters and boots by next week. >>> at 6:41 check out the screen. this is the courth

charlie sheen has been a hollywood a-lister since breaking out at age 20 in "platoon." at his peak he was making $2 million an episode on the long- running hit "two and a half

i look over to my left side in my platoon leader is there. i'm saying we need to get to the safe haven. it's about 300 yards away or so. we have a go to go through the chest high waters. i'm screaming in his ear and i feel the warm water and he got shot right in his upper chest. he goes down and puts his finger inside the bullet hole to try to stop the bleeding. those are some big heroic men. i freaked out at that moment. everything is in super slow motion. he has to return fire. you have to get this guy. the sniper we had been facing had just been taken out i'm like everything i can do i will do i'm 23 years old at this point. it didn't work out. the guns don't shoot will after they bed underwater. as he's passing by his pale white at that point in time. we take him under and pulled him back up. they wake them up. we did that for 300 meters. i'm smoked at this point. i'm carrying his backpack. i picked up the rear. i want the whole thing to be over with. i don't want my mom to see that i just contemplated taking went to the head to enter the

. >> reporter: this is the story of a rookie platoon in the army's 101st airborne. told in a way we have never seen before. through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. >> what is that? is that a camera? >> reporter: in 2010 kyle's unit was deployed to one of the most dangerous places on earth. how did it come about that you started filming your lives? >> the guys wanted to have memories of the deployment. if they wanted to go back years later and say this is what i di >> reporter: with the help of tiny mountable cameras, we can see war filmed by soldie themselves. the concept of a new series on the discovery channel taking fire. >> this is my first patrol. i'm thinking it's a beautiful country. up there when the sun comes up, and you're wondering this is so cool. >> reporter: kyle was just 22 when he left home for afghanistan. he was sent to the afghan boarder with pakistan, a remote nicknamed the valley of death by the bullet battered battalions stationed there. 42 american servicemen lost their lives in that valley. hundreds more wounded. >> where's it coming fro

>>reporter: richt stotz is sergeant the third platoon and like any sergeant through the ages, marches according to orders. >> being in the american army, you got to be ready for anything. so, doesn't really surprise me that we have changed our mind-set and trying to get back into it? >>reporter: the cold war suddenly heating up. i'm scott thuman for "full measur >> thanks, scott. ahead on "full measure," we're calling out the government for wasting your money. know this man? of course you do. walt disney. father of mickey mouse. find out why the federal government spent 600,000 of your tax dollars to make a film on a life story already so well >> follow the money, maddening examples of tax pair waste in a report called america's most wasted run away spending. senator john mccain gathered the examples, 51 of them, totaling 27 billion of your tax dollars. we started by asking him about a $25,000 national endowment for the arts grant for an art project entitled "something rotten." >> it's garbage art is what they were, happened to be paying money for. and the a of garbage in a certain lo