60 Minutes - 5/24/2015: Ending America's Longest War, Coming Home, A Forgotten Corner of Hell

Episode Date: May 25, 2015

For Memorial Day weekend, 60 Minutes presents a special broadcast on war stories. Correspondents Lara Logan, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper report. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Tonight on this special edition of 60 Minutes presents War Stories. Now that U.S. combat operations have officially ended in Afghanistan, it's up to four-star General John Campbell to make sure the country doesn't go the way of Iraq, where territory that was fought and won at great cost to Americans was lost because the Iraqi military wasn't strong enough to hold the enemy back. Tonight you'll hear from the general and the president of Afghanistan

as America's longest war comes to an end. Are you concerned about the rise of the Islamic State and what threat that could pose here? Yes. Yes. Lance Corporal Jonathan F. Stroud. Lance Corporal Gregory A. Posey. This was September 2009. We were there as golf companies stood rigid in a mud-walled memorial service.

It was the first time the troops had come to grips with the terrible loss signified by seven battlefield crosses. And we wondered, what's become of them? We caught up with them on a field trip, part of their Washington reunion. What do they think of their war? Was coming home the homecoming they hoped for? These heavenly-looking South Pacific islands were once known as a forgotten corner of hell. That's because more than 200 American fighter planes were lost here during World War II. But it's forgotten no more, as technology helps discover the wrecked aircraft and respectfully recover the remains of American airmen, both on land and underwater.

At the end of the game, it's not about finding wrecked sites. It's about finding the MIAs who are no longer MIA. Meet Tim's new Oreo mocha ice caps with Oreo in every sip. Perfect for listening to the A-side or B-side or bull-side. Order yours on the Tim's app today at participating restaurants in Canada for a limited time. Good evening. I'm Scott Pelley. Tonight, during this Memorial Day weekend, 60 Minutes presents War Stories. Navigating the end of the longest war in American history is the job of General

John Campbell. His mission is making sure that after the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan, the Afghan security forces do not go the way of Iraq, where territory that was fought over and won by the U.S. at great cost was lost because the Iraqi military wasn't strong enough to hold the enemy back. Could the same thing happen in Afghanistan? The U.S. combat mission officially ended on December 31st last year, but in a sign that the Afghans need more time, the U.S. agreed to still play a limited role on the battlefield. As Lara Logan first reported in January, under General Campbell's command, American forces will fly combat operations for Afghan troops when needed, and U.S. special operations forces will continue to hunt down al-Qaeda with their Afghan counterparts.

But after 13 years of fighting, the war as Americans have known it is over. America's longest war is being reduced to dust and rubble. You can see it here at Bagram Airfield. Half the base is gone. Barracks where soldiers slept torn down, bunkers bulldozed into piles of sandbags. Equipment and vehicles shipped out at a relentless pace, and close to 300 U.S. bases shut down to meet the deadline set by President Obama. Much of what is left now belongs to the Afghans. We've been at this for 13 years, been a lot of blood, sweat, tears, but I've seen some good progress as well. 57-year-old John Campbell is one of the youngest four-star generals in the army, and this is his third tour in Afghanistan. To show us what billions

of dollars in foreign aid has done to make Kabul more modern, he flew us over the city just hours after we arrived. This was among the darkest capitals in the world when the U.S. got here. Now the ancient city is ablaze with light. This is a perspective people don't get. Kabul at night here, the lights. When I came into Kabul for the first time with the Afghan forces, when they took the city from the Taliban in 2001, there wasn't a single light. Just take a look at the highway lights. But millions of people across Afghanistan are still without power, and the lack of security threatens whatever progress has been made.

Last year was the deadliest of the war. More than 5,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen killed. At this memorial down south in Kandahar, General Campbell paid tribute to some of their fallen. Afghan Major General Abdul Hamid was at his side. He lost close to 200 of his men this past year. You believe that the Afghan security forces, particularly the Afghan National Army, doesn't get the credit it deserves.

It's the number one respected institution in Afghanistan. A couple of years ago, I probably wouldn't have said that, but today it is. They've taken this fight on. They've got them through two very, very tough fighting seasons, and the last one predominantly all on their own. The Afghan government can't afford to pay for them. The Afghan army, the police, the Air Force, they're all paid for by the U.S. and its allies. Casualty rates, they're dying in huge numbers, unsustainable according to your deputy. Attrition rates, another area of concern.

Yeah, I mean, there's challenges. They know that the army they have today probably will not be the size several years from now. They just can't afford that. The casualties brought up, you have to take a look and put that in context. So in fighting season 14, their operational tempo was at least four times greater. So you expect probably casualties to go up a little bit. Leading the fight, Afghanistan's elite special operations units. The Defense Department released this video, which shows Afghan commandos on a nighttime

clearing operation. At the height of the fighting season this past summer, they carried out over 150 missions every month. Eight years ago, these forces didn't exist. So you have special police units and you have special army units. General Campbell flew us out to their main training facility in the high desert on the southern edge of Kabul, where they allowed us a rare opportunity to see some of these soldiers up close. They have their own wing of specialized pilots. And on this training exercise, the Afghan commando showed how they would assault an enemy compound. They have a PC-12, which is...

While they operate mostly on their own, they still rely heavily on the U.S. in areas like intelligence and logistics. And there are fears over what will happen when the Americans withdraw, heightened by the collapse of U.S.-trained forces in Iraq. There is a lot more talk from many of the senior leaders I deal with on the Afghan security forces about Iraq and Syria and what's going on and saying, hey, the coalition left Iraq, and a couple of years later, look what happened. Don't let that happen to us here in Afghanistan. The U.S. significantly underestimated the risks of withdrawing completely from Iraq. Do you face any of the same risks here?

The fundamental difference is that the senior leadership, both on the military side and in the government, want the coalition. They want the U.S. to stay here. But do we share any of the same risks? There'll still continue to be threats here in Afghanistan that will try to dictate that it is not stable. So, absolutely. Attention to orders. General Campbell has to weigh those risks against his orders to end this war for Americans. Here, he was pinning medals on some of the soldiers he was sending home. Under President Obama's mandate, U.S. troops are now down to about 10,000. And in December 2016, the U.S. mission is supposed to be over.

You're operating on the president's timeline here. How much wiggle room do you have? As any commander gets on the ground, he has to make an assessment and then provide his best military advice to his senior leadership. So I'm constantly making those assessments. So you don't feel boxed in? Well, I feel like I'm a four-star general. I'm not sure what you mean by boxed in.

If it means boxed in on the number of people I can have here and the timeline I'm on, again, if the administration just wanted somebody to come here and say, hey, you're not going to make any changes, you're going to do X, then they wouldn't need a leader that had the experience. They wouldn't have picked me. Deadlines concentrate the mind, but deadlines should not be dogmas. Ashraf Ghani is the new president of Afghanistan,

a former World Bank official who spent much of his life in the U.S. If both parties, or in this case multiple partners, have done their best to achieve the objectives and progress is very real, then there should be willingness to re-examine a deadline. Did you tell President Obama that? President Obama knows me. We don't need to tell each other. It took a firm hand from the U.S. to get President Ghani and his chief political rival, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, to share power after a bitter dispute over fraud in the presidential election. It's General Campbell's job to stay close to both men. He's now invited to attend their National Security Council meetings here in the palace

and says the new government is on the offensive. In our interview, President Ghani had strong words for the nation's enemies. Do not ever threaten an Afghan with violence. We will rise as one. And we will face every threat the way we have taken on thousands of previous armies and conquerors. This is the moment of destiny. Work with us to transform Asia. But should you threaten our existence,

everybody will be destroyed, not just us. You say that with a smile at the end. Well, because I want to make sure people understand who they are dealing with. Who are they dealing with? The bones of my ancestor, Gaidas. This country was not the gift of anyone. It is the results of millions of people sacrificing. What did we have? Our bare hands. One of President Ghani's biggest challenges is something John Campbell has dealt with before. When we first visited him here four and a half

years ago, he was in charge of eastern Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan. Man, this terrain sucks. During that visit in 2010, we were caught in an ambush with his troops along the frontier. Get in, get in, get in, get in. Get in, get in. A routine event for U.S. soldiers who face the impossible task of fighting an enemy that flowed freely from its safe havens in Pakistan. We've had this conversation before, 2010, when you were division commander. Three hours you've made me talk about Pakistan.

And nothing has changed on the battlefield. In fact, the Pentagon in their most recent report on Afghanistan said that the resiliency of the Afghan insurgency continues to depend on sanctuary in Pakistan. Everybody's been frustrated with Pakistan. Afghanistan has been frustrated. Pakistan has been frustrated with Afghanistan. I've seen change here just in the last couple of weeks with engagement with the senior leadership. Let's look at what hasn't changed in 13 years. The Pentagon in their most recent report said that Pakistan is continuing to provide sanctuary to America's most lethal enemies in Afghanistan, the Haqqani Network, which they describe as the most potent strain

of the insurgency, the greatest risk to U.S. and coalition forces. I agree with you. Haqqani, you brought up, they've been the greatest threat to the coalition. I've lost many soldiers because of Haqqani members. Am I frustrated because they come into Afghanistan, they go into Pakistan? Of course I am. The Pakistanis protect their leadership. They allow them to recruit. They allow them to rest.

I agree. I'm not going to tell you that I'm a friend of Haqqani here and that Pakistan is not providing them sanctuary. They are. We've known that for years. We'll either sink together or swim together. We've both become mutually vulnerable, and we both need to understand that stability in one is inconceivable without the stability in that. Can you understand the skepticism, though, given Pakistan's actions here? Skepticism is part of your job. The job

of an elected president is to overcome the past and change the playing field. My people are bleeding. It is precisely because of that that I need to make sure that peace comes. But in remote parts of the country, like these mountains in Kunar province, President Ghani's enemies are entrenched. We asked a local journalist to meet up with the Taliban fighters there. The U.S. ceded this ground to them when American soldiers were pulled out of here. This man, who goes by the name Kari Abdullah, claimed to command 150 Taliban fighters. He said we will fight against democracy wherever it is. And he used this interview as an opportunity to pledge support for the Islamic State,

which has threatened to move into Afghanistan. May we be united to spread our ideology throughout the world, he said. Are you concerned about the rise of the Islamic State and what threat that could pose here? Yes, because the past has shown us that threats, that networks change their form. But their ideology hasn't changed? Their ideology gets more radical.

How concerned are you about that threat? There have been instances of recruiting, of night letter drops. They've talked about it in different parts of the country. So they're concerned. If they're concerned, I'm concerned about that. But I think with the military they have here, with the conditions that are set,

again, this is not Iraq. I don't see ISIS, ISIL, coming into Afghanistan like they did into Iraq. The Afghan security forces would not allow that. As General Campbell transforms America's mission, there's no peace agreement with the enemy, no decisive military victory, and no end to the war in sight. His challenge is making sure the soldiers he brings home do not have to go back. The U.S. came to Afghanistan after 9-11 to defeat al-Qaeda. Thirteen years later, as the U.S. leaves, al-Qaeda is still here.

What's the question? That's the question. Are they still here? Are there small pockets? Are there leadership that we continue to go after in the network that supports them? Of course. Are they at a level that they can continue to attack and plan for the United States? We're doing everything we can today to make sure they don't have that capacity. But I think we're going to have to keep continued pressure on that.

Once you take that pressure off, it's only a matter of time before they continue to build that back up. So that's why it's so important that we do build upon the Afghan capacity to keep that pressure on. If we get to a point where I think that their capability can't do that and they're still a threat to the United States, then I'll make sure that my senior leadership understands that. Wendy's most important deal of the day has a fresh lineup. Pick any two breakfast items for $4. New four-piece French toast sticks, bacon or sausage wrap, biscuit or English muffin sandwiches, small hot coffee, and more.

Limited time only at participating Wendy's Taxes Extra. Two and a half million Americans served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we wondered, what's become of them long after they cut down the yellow ribbons and the camo went into hiding in the back of the closet? What do they think of their war? Was coming home the homecoming they hoped for? As we first told you in March, we recently joined an annual reunion of men that we first met five years ago. It was back in 2009. Golf Company, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marines, was taking the highest casualties on Afghanistan's most lethal battlefield.

When we met them again last summer in Washington, we found that their searing experience had made them brothers in war and peace. We caught up with them on a field trip, part of their Washington reunion. They fell in without uniforms, weapons, or the passing of years. They're mostly civilians now,

gathered in one place they could be together. The place they could say things that had been left unsaidaid or deliver news of the last five years. Golf companies Lance Corporal Burrow and Lieutenant Bourgeois were enlisted in the ranks of Arlington National Cemetery, each stone arch a gateway through time. Lance Corporal Jonathan F. Stroud. Lance Corporal Gregory A. Posey. This was September 2009. We were there as golf companies stood rigid in a mud-walled memorial service. It was the first time the troops had come to grips with the terrible loss signified by seven battlefield crosses.

First Sergeant Robert Pullen called the roll of the dead. Lance Corporal Patrick W. Schimmel. Lance Corporal Dennis J. Burrell. Lance Corporal Javier Olvera. Lance Corporal David R. Hull. The seven Marines had died fighting to clear and hold the Taliban heartland. Exhausting months negotiating around landmines and skeptical elders. Back then, their orders were to use restraint.

And Corporal Jonathan Kiseno told us what he thought of that. It sucks. I don't know another word to say it. It sucks because all you want to do is get that guy. You just want to get them, you know, for everything, you know, I don't, you know, for revenge, to say the least. Revenge for the death of his friend, Nick Exaros, who was killed in 2009 by a roadside bomb. Five years later, Kiseno had used his veterans' benefits for college, and now he's selling retirement plans for Lincoln Financial outside Philadelphia. He moved on, but he never let go of Exaros.

It's because of people like him that I want to continue to push harder in life and succeed because it's the good ones that pass. And I can't let that be in vain. It drives me. It motivates me. Is there anything that you miss about Afghanistan and the Marine Corps? Absolutely. The brotherhood. There's no question about that. You miss the sense of purpose, right? You had a mission. You felt accomplished with everything that you do, even at a young age. I think when you transition into the real world, you have to find out what your mission is. You know, a lot of people would think you would try to forget Afghanistan, and it seems to me you're trying to remember it. I don't want to put it behind me.

I want it to be real in everything that I do because it gives me something to live for. It gives me something to stand for. I love the camaraderie and everything that came along with it. There's nothing like it. Nothing. I haven't found anything like it. Golf company's Rory Hamill was so dedicated to the camaraderie he went back to Afghanistan for another tour in 2011. I suppose it was to try and get back at the guys that killed my brothers. Tell me about the day you were wounded. I came across a local national who gave us some intelligence on the ground that there was an IED in a compound next to his house. I took the minesweeper off my point man's back, and I jokingly said, see you on the other side.

I got about three-quarters of the compound swept, and then I stepped on a low metallic pressure plate. And my leg was instantly sheared off. I remember it seemed very surreal. My vision went gray. There was a lot of ringing, dust everywhere. When the dust settled, his right leg was gone, halfway up the thigh. At Walter Reed Medical Center, President Obama brought him an honor.

He ordered me with a Purple Heart. It was amazing. It was an amazing experience. You must have been in a pretty dark place otherwise. Oh, yeah. The first two weeks, a lot of the thoughts going through my head were, why didn't I die? What am I going to do now with my life? Were there times that you wish you hadn't survived? Yeah. I was contemplating taking my own life, but sitting and thinking about it, realizing that I have children that depend on me,

I knew that that was not the right course of action. Urged onto a different course by his father, Hamill pressed through counseling and physical therapy. He's found work managing logistics in a Navy program for wounded warriors. Having been through everything you've been through, would you do it again? In a heartbeat. You made me the man I am today. Whether they like it or not, I still feel responsible, you know, for them.

They're still your Marines. They always will be. Gulf's battalion commander was Lieutenant Colonel Christian Cabaniss. This summer of decision in Afghanistan in 2009, you are going to change history. Living the dream, one minute at a time. Today, he's Colonel Kavanagh, and he joined this reunion. Why do you think some of the Marines are still struggling after they've come home, after five years? I think in some ways we all do when we come back.

It's because we're trying to put that experience into perspective. I joked, I'm never more popular coming home from a deployment than right before the bus door opens. Superman's coming, Superman's coming, Superman's coming. The door opens, oh, it's just him. And they expect you to fall back into those roles, husband, father, brother, nephew, cousin, uncle, as if nothing changed. There were definitely times when I questioned what we were doing over there. Five years ago, Dan O'Hara was a fresh second lieutenant leading his first combat platoon. What's the biggest threat to your Marines?

The biggest threat would be the improvised explosive devices. He told us then that he joined the Marines because he didn't want to regret not serving. It turned out we met on what would be his worst day. We should be good pushing up through here until we get near that IED site. It was a mission to defuse a landmine, and it went exactly according to plan. But on the way back, Lance Corporal David Hall detonated a second bomb. And the next day, O'Hara tried to give meaning to Hall's death. So just understand, we're doing the right things. We're doing good work. We're making a difference here. You know, we're here fighting for the people of Afghanistan. We're here ultimately fighting for our country.

Should we have been in Afghanistan? I don't know. Maybe the answer is yes. Maybe it's no. And so when I run into people who say, tell me about Afghanistan, what were our goals there? Should we have been there? I think I'm in the same boat where I would say, you know, to be honest with you, I don't

know. After two tours and a lot of questions, O'Hara's been recruited into General Electric's program for returning vets. He's a project manager for GE Oil and Gas, and sometimes he thinks about running for office. I had done what I wanted to do in the Marine Corps. I could say I deployed twice in the defense of my nation, so that was something I was proud of. There's certainly a part of you that says, I'm glad that that's over with. Goodbye to all that. Yeah. Goodbye to Afghanistan. I won't be seeing you again.

Those images are burning your head, man. They never go away. They never go away. Afghanistan did not leave golf companies Devin Jones. Like many others, Jones brought the war home. I mean, it was rough. I didn't do anything during the day. I moved at night. That was it.

The anxiety of post-traumatic stress left him isolated and jobless. You're getting closer and closer to being on the streets. You're getting eviction notices. You're getting those and you're just like, man, this is bad. Did you lose the apartment? Yeah, I ended up losing it. Where'd you go? For a little while, I stayed in my storage unit. You were living in a storage unit? Yeah, yeah. Stay in the storage unit. Why aren't you reaching out for help? I felt like a complete idiot, like a complete failure. I went from being a very proud combat veteran that just to another, you know, percentage of the homeless vets. It's so much easier to give up. You go from having a job, a stable job, having everyone that cares about you around you 24-7,

to being alone, broke, eating saltine crackers, living in a storage unit. Who wouldn't want to die? But what torments Jones is that he isn't alone. There is the persistent presence of his friend, Dennis Burrow. After Burrow was killed by a landmine, Golf Company put his name on a combat outpost so he wouldn't be forgotten. But it turns out that isn't the problem. The dead are immortal in the mind. Were you there when Burrow died? Yes.

Yes, I was. What happened? I'm not sure if I really want to go into detail on that too much. You know, I'm not... I don't want to be the person that the family hears that from if they don't already know you know it's not easy to think about that day

because um that was a pretty rough day sorry I'm sorry that it's it's so hard to remember that. It's alright. You're still looking out for Burrow. Yeah. You never stop looking out for your team. Your team's everything. I've had nightmares where I've just been sitting there

just staring at them. Did you sometimes think you'd like to trade places? Every day. Every single day. How do I deserve to be here? It's been a long time, bud. Miss you, dude. Nothing else to really say.

Just look after us. Look after, you know, everybody else, man. That's all I'm thinking about you, bud. The men do look after one another. Phone calls at 3 a.m. to be reminded that what got them through combat will get them through whatever they're fighting now. There is a bond that only a vet can know that does not loosen with time. Where do you think these Marines will be five years from now?

What I really hope is, you know, five years from now, they're still coming together to see each other, to talk to each other. And they're talking about their kids and the things that are going on in their lives so that they've been able to put that experience in perspective and use it as a foundation. Because I said that these kids are our next greatest generation, but not necessarily because of what they did on the battlefield. It's going to be because of what they did when they got home. There are very few things that you can be certain of in life. But you can always be sure the sun will rise each morning. You can bet your bottom dollar that you'll always need air to breathe and water to drink. And, of course, you can rest assured that with Public Mobile's 5G subscription phone plans,

you'll pay the same thing every month. With all of the mysteries that life has to offer, a few certainties can really go a long way. Subscribe today for the peace of mind you've been searching for. Public Mobile. Different is calling. You've got unlimited access to music, but time? Now that's limited. The PC Insider's World's Elite MasterCard gets you unlimited PC Optima points, free grocery delivery, and time back for what matters. Save time and earn $1,100 in average value each year.

The PC Insider's World's Elite MasterCard. The card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit PCFinancial.ca for details. Value is for illustrative purposes only. More than 400,000 Americans died fighting the Second World War. Adding to the heartache of that staggering loss, nearly one in five of those killed was declared missing in action. To this day, the families of some 73,000 unaccounted for servicemen have lived with

the mystery of how they died and have been deprived of the comfort that comes from a burial. At the end of the war, the technology didn't exist to find and identify many of the missing, but today it does. As Anderson Cooper reported in November, this is the remarkable story of a group of volunteers who spend their own time and money quietly searching for these long-lost servicemen, remarkable because of what they've discovered in recent years. They're doing it, they say, for the fallen, and focus on Palau, a Pacific island nation that saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war 70 years ago, a place that some pilots called a forgotten corner of hell.

Fly today over Plough's 586 small islands and miles of barrier reefs, and you'll see no sign of the carnage that once occurred here. But beneath the jungle canopy, you can still find the rusted ruins of Japanese anti-aircraft guns guns and in the clear blue water, a graveyard of planes and the men who flew them. As the Second World War raged in the Pacific, the islands of Palau were teeming with Japanese soldiers and under attack by American planes. The skies overhead were filled with Hellcats, Corsairs, Avengers, and B-24 Liberators. On September 1, 1944, this B-24, number 453, and its crew took off on a bombing mission.

The Liberator is hit. 453, like the B-24 in this newsreel, was shot out of the sky and disappeared into the sea. It was one of more than 200 American planes lost over Palau during the war. Our Pacific Island warfare is not cheap. This was a tough place. This was no pushover. There was as much anti-aircraft fire available in this part of the Pacific as anything that was over Tokyo. Today, Dr. Pat Sclon leads a group of volunteers that look for the wreckage of American warplanes

and the missing airmen who flew them, including 453 and its crew of 11. They call themselves the Bent Prop Project. Many have military backgrounds. With permission from the Plough and government, they come every year paying their own expenses to search in the sea and on land. I think that's what took my breath away when I saw that star and bar. When Scannon's team finds

the remains of Americans, they inform the U.S. military, whose job it is to recover and identify the missing airmen. It all started when Scannon was vacationing in Palau 20 years ago and came across the wing of a B-24 with its propeller sticking out of the water at low tide. The bent prop gave the group its name. Did it surprise you that it was still there? Oh, absolutely. That moment you saw that, what did you think?

I think somebody died there. The wing and engine of the B-24 Scannon found in 1993 are still here, the propeller undisturbed in a few feet of water. Scannon says he hasn't been the same since he first found it. It was one of those special moments in life where from one step to the next, I knew I had to know what went on. It just was wrong to me that this wing is sitting here and nobody knows anything about it. Finding the answers rarely comes easily or quickly.

Scannon's team spent 10 years looking for 453, acting on hunches and old battlefield reports. But it wasn't until 2004 and a tip from a local fisherman that they finally found the wreckage. That's the tail section of the plane. It was about a mile away from where they'd been searching all those years. A mile away underwater is, you might as well be on the moon. We spent years doing grid searches in the area that we thought it was. Just methodically, square by square underwater. Square by square underwater.

Because we knew it had to be here. You know, B-24 is a big thing. And at least on the map, these waters don't look that big. So how hard could it be? At least that's what we thought. Well, it turns out it's hard. We went to 453 to dive

with Pat Scannon and his team. The site is now protected by the Plough and government. When you first enter the water, it's only a few seconds before you see the first signs of the plane. The plane impacted, and as it hit the water, that's why it's now laying in sections. At first, you might mistake it for coral. In fact, coral has been growing over it. And over here, you can see the propeller.

At the end of the game, it's not about finding aluminum. It's not about finding wreck sites. It's about finding the MIAs who are no longer MIAs. The remains of eight crew members were found at this site and later recovered and identified by the U.S. military. One of the men was Jimmy Doyle, a 25-year-old Texan who was 453's nose gunner. You can still see the turret where he was sitting when the plane crashed and where his remains were found.

That diver pausing in the spot is Jimmy Doyle's grandson, Casey Doyle, an active-duty Marine who now volunteers with the Bent Prop Project. Just to know where the last few moments of his life were is a very special time to see that down there. And there's probably still physically a little bit of him and the rest of the crew still down there, so it's an incredibly powerful and special place for me. Until Bent Prop found the wreckage, Jimmy Doyle's family didn't talk much about him.

Some family members actually believed he survived the war and started a new life. What did people say about your grandfather? There's a whole generation of people in my family that just did not speak of this because of the unknown. You can tell a family that their loved one is missing or that their loved ones were captured and were POWs. But I swear to goodness, I have talked to families who really believe that Grandpa somehow made it out, was saved by the natives and had amnesia, and was living on an island being taken care of by native girls.

Families really believe that? I've heard it. Why would people think that? I think it comes with the hope that someone missing may show up. Jimmy Doyle finally returned home with seven of his crew members in 2010, 65 years after their plane was shot out of the sky. A memorial was held in Arlington National Cemetery where some of the men were buried. Pat Scannon was invited to attend.

What was that like to be at Arlington? I felt that my job on that plane was done, and I actually stepped back and watched the ceremony from a ways off, and it was extremely emotional. You're emotional just thinking about it? Yeah. I think about it a lot, actually. What's the emotion for you? Happiness, that they know what's what happened. But not everyone from 453 has come home. Just after the plane was hit, three crew members parachuted out, including 22-year-old Art Schumacher. All three were quickly captured

by the Japanese and, according to witnesses, taken to a camp in the jungle and executed. The bent prop team is still looking for their remains, but searching on land is no easier than in the ocean. Pat Scanlon has tried to pinpoint the location of the graves by traveling to Japan to interview former Japanese soldiers stationed in Palau, and he's tracked down Palauans who say they saw the men just before they were captured. You saw the parachutes? Yeah. Do you remember how many? What I saw late in the day, three, I think. One Palauan drew a map in the dirt showing where he believed the prisoners were executed.

Using that information, the Bent Prop team has identified two spots in the jungle where they think as many as a dozen Americans were killed. We were with them when they started digging. The red sticks are where buried pieces of metal were detected, probably fragments of munitions, but perhaps a prisoner's button or zipper. The chance of finding Art Schumacher and the others on the first dig may be small, but Schumacher's niece Jo Jo, has flown here from Washington. What would it mean to find your uncle?

Oh, gosh, we could bring him home. We could bring him home to family. We can do a proper burial. We can honor them. And they gave their lives for their country. Scanlon's team has found debris from at least 30 American planes over the past 20 years. In addition to the eight airmen recovered from 453, Bent Prop's other discoveries could lead to the return of 19 more MIAs from Palau.

But many planes crashed in far less accessible parts of the ocean and dense jungle, and their crews never found. Do you know how many Americans are still missing here? We think it's somewhere between 70, 80 American airmen crashed in this area. The real question is how many crashed inside the barrier reef. Inside the barrier reef means we can possibly find them. Why? Because outside? It's 2,000 feet deep. In 2005, Scanlon's team found this wing of a TBM Avenger in the jungle.

They believe the rest of the plane is in the water nearby, and they've been searching for it the past nine years. But we've never been able to find the feast lodge, and so somewhere out here there's a feast lodge possibly with two MIAs on it. To find the Avenger, Bent Prop has now been joined by a team from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Delaware. They bring high technology to the hunt. This research torpedo, called Remus, can scan large areas of ocean with sonar.

Eric Turill leads the effort. We ran the Remus a few hours off of the mangroves here, found a couple of targets, dropped down, get some visuals on the targets. If there is a place it ought to be, it's right here. Terrell leads the way with a handheld sonar device and is the first to come across debris, including part of the plane's tail. When the sonar shows signs of something ahead, he turns around to get Pat Scanlon. He comes swimming up to me, grabs my hand, and practically yanks my arm off. And so I figured he probably knows something.

And this gray Hulk becomes an airplane, and there's a big propeller right there. You get misty. I got misty underwater. You know, I said, you know, maybe this isn't such a good thing to do underwater, you know. But, you know, I couldn't help it. It was very emotional. And when you put your finger on the plane, it's real. And that's what we did. You touch it?

I touch it. Why? I don't know. You know, science is about facts. I mean, my eyes saw it. So the fact was it was there, but touching it, you know, just gave it a sense of finality. We all knew what this was and what it meant.

There are Americans down there? There are Americans down there. The families don't even know yet. And it's not that I'm wanting to keep a secret, but we also, until the remains are properly identified, we don't want to hold off false hope. To get proper identification, Bent Prop notifies the U.S. military of the discovery. But the actual recovery and identification of remains by the military can take years. This plane was shot down over this area the 4th of May 1945.

Every time Bent Prop finds wreckage of a plane with missing airmen, they hold a small ceremony. They videotape it so that one day the families of the MIAs will know the respect shown to them by Scanlon and his team, who've spent their own time and money to find them. Over the Avenger crash site this year, Bent Prop unfurls an American and a plowing flag and speak of the men who were lost. They say their names, their ages, what they've learned of their lives. And at the end of every ceremony, Pat Scanlon recites a poem written during World War I. It's called For the Fallen. Would you read it to me? Sure, I will read it to you. I can't read it without standing up. Can I stand up? Of course. So, they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

I'm Scott Pelley. Thanks for joining us. 60 Minutes will be back next week.