jungle. >> while you are running they are still shooting? >> they had identified people they wanted to kill. >> it is almost impossible to fathom, even now, more than 900 americans dead in the jungle at jonestown. >> you are telling me this man says drink this poison and they drink it? that's right. >> we take you inside the mission that observed the dangerous truth. >> the only video camera there to capture it all belonged to nbc news. >> he said i can never put this camera down. >> rare pictures and powerful details. >> my whole shirt was dripping with red blood. >> all of a sudden i was hit. >> a riveting look at the story that still haunts the whole world. whole world. and welcome to "dateline." jim jones led nearly 1,000 americans hello and jim jones led nearly 1000 americans to a remote area in south america, promising a religious paradise. what followed was more like hell on earth. the horror almost too horrible to believe. you are about to hear from some eyewitnesses who lived to tell the tale. >> it is a moment frozen in time. a group of jungle -- journalists post on an airstrip in south america. one day later three of these men and the u.s. congressman they were traveling with would be murdered by members of an american colts. a few miles away hundreds of members of that code would also perish in a mass suicide and murder. >> the governor of guyuna said today ... >> this is the story behind the story as it was recorded and reported by the journalists of nbc news. >> two nbc newsmen were shot to death. o death. 's >> our story begins in san francisco in the mid-70s where a charismatic preacher named jim jones was making hour name for himself. >> he considered himself a socialist. >> he was perceived as an activist preacher. somebody who practiced what he preached. somebody who brought in for people and helped poor people. >> jones migrated to california to the midwest in the 60s reaching a gospel of racial harmony and community living. his people's temple ran elderly homes, offered drug counseling and that the poor. politicians courted him. the reverend jim jones was also controversial. he claimed to be christ reincarnated. a socialist god who could heal the sick, make the blind see, and the lame walk again. >> jones had established a reputation as a faith healer. someone who could remove cancers from people's bodies. it did bring people through the door. >> while researching a story about jones he says he met with former followers who told him hair-raising stories about jones that differed from the public image. stories of disciplinary beatings and public humiliations. >> on one occasion it was described he had a woman in the inner circle disrobe in front of everybody so that they could make fun of her body. basically do away with your ego. identify with the group alone. >> jones had to have known if reporters were closing in trouble was not far behind. in the summer of '77, short before press jim jones left town. he resurfaced thousands of miles away at a jungle compound the temple had established in guyuna . why guyuna of all places? >> for one reason guyuna is an english-speaking country. it is small enough and poor enough that the temple's financial resources would buy a welcome. >> over the next few months jones brought over 1000 of his followers. in promotional films jones betrayed his jonestown settlement as and tropical paradise. and the new settlers urged family and friends to join them there. >> it will be nice when you can come down and share our complete freedom here. >> the guyuna move abruptly divided many families. followers gave up property and paychecks to the temple. according to former members jones demanded those moving to jonestown surrender their passports. families brought their concerns to a bay area congressman. >> complaints from constituents prompted him to form a fact- finding mission to find out rather or not the people living in jonestown, including the children, were free to leave or not. >> and he went down to see what was really true? >> exactly. i essentially invited myself along. >> it was shortly before the 1978 elections that infancy news -- nbc news assigned a crew to accompany dan to guyuna. >> they were all experienced. they have covered wars. >> with little time to prepare he interviewed temple supporters, critics, and high profile defectors. >> you have to understand my ignorance is so great i am doing research at the same time we are doing the taping. there just wasn't enough time to do the homework. >> you will never meet up with another man like jim jones. i'm telling you the truth. >> with grim foreshadowing she told harris jones sometimes ordered his followers in guyuna to drink from a vat that supposedly contained poison. >> everyone stood in a line. they went up to drink this red, you know, it tasted like -- was that drink that little children drink? >> kool-aid? >> kool-aid without sugar. it had a horrible taste initially. he said it will take 45 minutes. he assigned several people to faith or to pretend they were dead. >> how many people were there? >> between 1100 and 1200 people. >> you are telling me this man took 1100 people and gather them together? >> he does every day. >> he said drink this poison? >> yeah. >> and they drink it? >> that's right. >> just before leaving for guyuna the cameraman called his wife and said this about his latest assignment. the mac -- >> he said these people are very strange, but if half of what they are saying is true this is a terrible story. this is incredible. >> coming up, the first look inside jonestown. >> when we met him the first day there he struck me as just evil personified. >> i am thinking it's true, everything we feared is true. and less itch with dupixent. the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your child's eczema specialist about dupixent. 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[♪♪] fast relief of allergies with nasal congestion, so you can breathe better. claritin plus decongestant. live claritin clear®. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. what is cirkul? cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul is your frosted treat with a sweet kick of confidence. cirkul is the effortless energy that gets you in the zone. cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul.com. josh mankiewicz: when nbc's news crew packed for the trip to guyana in november 1978, this is what they carried-- >> when the nbc news crew pack for the trip to guyuna in november 1978 this is what they carried, 70 pounds of camera gear. at the time that was state-of- the-art. boxes filled with videotapes. the sound tech did most of the heavy lifting. >> i have to carry the tape deck. it weighs about 35 pounds. there is no remote control. it's just a video feed. >> so you have to be connected to the cameraman at all times. >> a journalists would enter, half of them from nbc news. bob brown had worked for all three networks covering riots, shootouts and war. brown's wife, connie. >> nick said to him how could you go into a war zone without a gun? bob said first off, i figure if it's that bad there will be guns lying around. if i don't have a on i can assure you i'm going to get the picture of the s.o.b. who suits me. >> the m-16s are old and battered, but they say they have enough ammunition. >> he always says is going to be okay. i will be fine. if shirley oliver -- shirley oliver heard a lot of that during her 20 year marriage. >> i try not to worry that much. they called him mr. lucky because he always came back. >> leading the team was the veteran built producer. >> he was a big strong man. he wore a t-shirt that said god ride fall -- rides a harley. we bonded right away. right awa . >> he said it looks like i am going to south america. i'm going to do an assignment there. i said are you serious? we were both so excited. >> it took 26 hours for the ryan entourage to travel from san francisco to georgetown guyana. once there jim jones refused to let them visit his compound. >> i still hope we can work out something. >> for 3 days they waited while the congressman negotiated with temple lawyers. >> what are you doing down here? >> essentially to try to see my relatives. i have a mother, three sisters and a brother. i haven't seen my sisters and brothers in about four years now. >> 28-year-old jackie speier was congressman ryan's legislative aide. she helped arrange the trip and knew enough to be afraid. >> i was concerned about making the trip. >> temple defectors had told her jonestown was a virtual prison camp. a place where members were brainwashed, armed and willing to kill for jim jones. >> i was in the process of purchasing my first home in arlington, virginia. i literally made my contract contingent on surviving the trip. almost like i had a premonition about it. >> it was friday november 17, 1978 when jim jones finally agreed to see the ryan group. after landing in a small village a few miles from georgetown the group was taken the rest of the way in the back of a temple dump truck. it was after dark by the time the reporters finally arrived. too dark to see anything except what jim jones wanted them to see. >> we see people lined up in a big pavilion welcoming us to come in. they started with the music and thinking, like a welcoming party. >> at that point is kind of what you thought, everyone is happy. >> you can see the videotape. the people were happy. >> they had some very good musicians out there who did some really good music. >> washington post reporter charles krause. >> i also noticed there were people who were like comatose. they were clapping, but without any kind -- nothing related to the music. >> a pretty clear sign that everything maybe is and as it seems? >> that's right. >> when we met him the first day there in jonestown he struck me as just evil personified. we were almost sure that he was on drugs. at one point he asks his wife to give me a pill. she was overheard saying no pills. the mac in the spirit of the moment congressman ryan took to the stage and complemented his host. the mac from the few conversations that i have had with some of the folks here this evening whatever the comments are there are people here who believe this is the best thing that's ever happened in their whole life.[ cheers and applause ]>> and everybody cheers. this issue get is everything is fine? >> it was almost to the point where it may view a little uncomfortable. >> it was during the ruckus applause that someone passed a note to the nbc correspondent. the note read simply: please help us get out of jonestown. >> don brings this note over to us and says you might want to see this. leah ryan looks at it and hands it to me. i am thinking it's true. everything we feared is true. >> jeff humphrey was 17 when his father went to guyuna. he believes he knows exactly how his father responded to that note. >> this is my dad's nbc notebook. it says jonestown on the front of it. he was trying to write this note to someone without anybody else knowing about it. >> that secret plea for help is just the beginning. tensions reach and breaking point as don harris confronts jim jones and the fragile order of jonestown starts to unravel. coming up ... >> word started to get out that people were leaving. >> division in the compound. danger was just ahead. >> suddenly the knife was around my neck. >> when dateline continues. dat josh mankiewicz: after the show was over that first night, jones insisted the reporters return to port kaituma, where he'd arranged for them after the show was over that first night, jones insisted the reporters returned were he arranged for them to sleep at a local bar. there would be little rest while the nbc crew had a nightcap at the bar the print reporters were approached by a local constable who wanted to talk about jonestown. >> he said that on multiple occasions there were people who were evacuated from jonestown after receiving injuries. he felt that some of them have been beaten. he described a pit, a deep hole in the ground that people could not climb out of. you will be placed in it for punishment. >> the next morning harris showed them the note he had gotten the night before. >> he rolled down his combat. in there with a white tablet note about that big that said: please help us get out of jonestown. >> by the time the newsmen pass through the gates later that morning they were no longer a collection of rivals. they were a team. >> i think i said let's each of us stand out and each reporter get as much stuff as you can get and then we will get together again and share in all. everybody said absolutely. >> temple monitors shadowed there every step, making it impossible to speak privately. >> are you happy here? >> yes. i am very happy here. >> you know your father and your brother are convinced that you are not? >> i don't know what else i could do. if her brother anthony wasn't so sure. >> it is hard for me to know what to think. for me to be satisfied i would have to see it somewhere else. it's been we are just a news team. we don't care one way or the other. are you happy here? >> i should say i am. >> her son was skeptical. >> are you satisfied they are not under duress? >> they can talk with me right now, sure. >> back at the main pavilion other residents were stepping up to tell jackie speier that they wanted out of georgetown. >> what is your wish today? >> to go back home. >> word started to get out that people were leaving. then more people wanted to leave. >> congressman ryan said he was willing to take in a one who wanted to leave. although jim jones pleaded with the defectors to stay, their minds were made up. running short on time harris and the nbc crew set up to tape their interview with jim jones. >> last night someone passed me this note. >> he's the one that i'm talking about. >> doesn't it concerned you this man for whatever reason. two people play games. they live. what can i do about lies. i just beg you, please, leave us. >> then all of the sudden the skies turned dark and dumped this torrential rain. it was almost like some sort of evil omen. >> a sign from above. >> it struck everyone that way. >> when the line -- rain went up people were divided. >> don't you touch my kids! >> as congressman ryan stayed behind to take care of last- minute logistics a dump truck loaded with reporters and defectors pulled away for the trip to the airstrip. >> a shot went up. you could hear this what are they doing? >> leo ryan came out of the pavilion heading toward us. his shirt was all bloody. >> the congressman have been attacked by a temple member who held a knife to ryan's throat. the congressman was unharmed, but in the struggle over the knife his attacker was cut. ryan was clearly shaken as he climbed into the truck for the trip to the airstrip. >> we get ready but the plane is in there yet. the press people decide to have a press conference with the congressman. >> suddenly the knife was around my neck. i was in danger. >> after his interview don harris seemed to sense trouble coming. watch his eyes. >> don harris pushed against me and said there must be trouble. you guys get ready. >> in this video we see what don harris saw. three men who harris knew to be close to jim jones suddenly approach as if looking for someone. after conferring briefly the man waved away bystanders and walked toward a red tractor that had just pulled up. >> don harris knew something was going on? >> yes. don harris knew something was going on. >> coming up, gunshots at the airstrip. if they were shooting point- blank. >> my whole shirt was dripping with red blood.'s payment i was playing dead. all of a sudden i was hit. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues. and can you have more carbs? 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i am jessica layton. dozens of students protesting the war in gaza walks out of the university of chicago's commencement saturday. the protest coming several days after the school healthy diplomas of four seniors. in idaho chad daybell was sentenced to the death penalty on saturday. the sentence coming two days after jurors found him guilty of murder. now back to dateline. o datelin . after congressman leo ryan promised welcome back ed tto datelin i am craig melvin. georgetown was in chaos after congressman leo ryan promised to help anyone who wanted to leave he was attacked by a true believer. shaken but unharmed ryan and his team led to a small airstrip where they hoped to escape. the worst was yet to come. to c. witnessed more than a dozen defections and an assassination attempt on a us congressman. i think i may have put on the tape >> the reporters had their story. in less than 24 hours they had interviewed jim jones, witness more than a dozen defections and an assassination attempt on a u.s. congressman. as nbc cameraman bob brown rolled tape two planes were being prepared for takeoff. suddenly, gunshots. only this snippet of that moment remains. >> we dived on the ground, both of us. we were connected to each other. we met with that cable. if we were like marriage, cannot be separated. >> i thought ryan running under the plane. i followed suit. i hid behind one of the wheels. if i had never heard a gun shop before in my life. >> bob brown was shooting at the truck and he got shot in the leg. he said ouch. i said don't get up. he did and that is why he drew attention. they blew his head off, the next shot. >> bob brown was dead. true to his word brown had got a shot of the band who had killed him. a few feet away steve song was still tethered to brown's camera. >> they hit my shoulder. i was carrying a heavy case. that's what saved me. >> the big leather strap? >> that saved my life. >> when you get hit with a rifle bullet it knocked me on my butt. >> neither stay down for long. both sprinted for cover. >> i am still hearing shots. >> my whole shirt was dripping with red blood. >> on the airstrip the killing continued. >> i was playing dead. all of a sudden i was hit. i thought this is it. i am dying. >> nearby congressman ryan was down, severely wounded. if they were shooting point- blank at us. if that is when you are hit? >> that is when the congressman was killed. >> i was told ryan was shot dozens of times. if i was told he was shot 45 times. they had identified people they wanted to kill. >> congressman lee brown, dad. nearby don harris also murder. across the airstrip a gunman who pretended to be a defector opened fire. his gun jammed, the other passengers disarmed him. the attack had lasted only a couple of minutes and then silence. the reporters who have made it into the jungle slowly crept back toward the airstrip. >> there was bob, with his big white hat and his god rides a harley white t-shirt. he was kneeling down for one person to the next. >> i worked my way out of the plane. greg robinson was near the gangway. he was dead. congressman ryan, he was dead. bob brown was a short distance away and he was dead. don harris was nearby too. near the gangway patricia parkes who was one of the defectors died. 25 dead. 10 wounded. shortly after the shooting stopped the pilots left in the only plane that could still fly, leaving the wounded to fend for themselves. >> i should've died on that airstrip, but it was not part of the plan. the whole right side of my leg was blown up except for the femoral artery. had it been severed i would've died in 90 seconds. >> you had to be wondering whether you were going to bleed to death? >> i think it was tim. he used a t-shirt to tie a tourniquet to stop the blood. he helped to save me. if bob glick came a number of times during the night and brought me guyanese rum to take. >> the closest thing to medicine they had? >> right. i was forever grateful to him for doing that. >> while the rest of the survivors waited for help some of the jonestown defectors darkly speculated about what might be happening in jonestown at that very moment. >> someone was saying and i remember this, they are killing them. they are killing all the babies. >> coming up, om eunice reports trickle out of the compound. it's be met when you ran were people already dying? if yes. >> and the journey back to jonestown. the world was about to learn the unimaginable truth. >> it was something out of a or movie. or movie. i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? 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this is in the middle of a jungle where there are mostly americans around you. >> in georgetown the next morning flake recounted the slaughter of the night before. >> there were many shot. every time somebody would fall down wounded they would walk over and shoot them in the head with a shotgun. >> asked bob flake boarded his flight home the story that had left him so shaken exploded in a new unthinkable horror. according to temple members who escaped from jonestown overnight jim jones had ordered his followers to swallow a fruit flavored drink lace with cyanide. >> remember, days earlier in san francisco a defector had described something that now sounded like a rehearsal. >> you are telling me this man said drink this poison and they drink it? >> that's right. >> anyone who resisted was forced. >> there was a little girl named julie reynolds that was being forced. she was about 13, i guess. the woman who supervised her and one of the nurses were forcing her to take it. she kept spitting it out. they were forcing her to take it. >> friend francis knew that he has to get to jonestown. >> nobody would fly me to georgetown. then i found the airplane with the bullet holes in it. i negotiated a price of $10,000 with the pilot to fly me out. part of the fee was to the ground staff of the airport that nobody else should fly out after us. >> so you are protecting your exclusive? >> $8000 for a pilot and $2000 to close the airport for any others. works for me. >> once he landed he says he and his crew hitched hour ride on an american army helicopter. it's be met when we started rotating the army helicopter over georgetown we could see this massive quilt. we had no idea what we were looking at. as the helicopter made another pass and we got closer the stench came up into the plane. we realized what we were looking at were hundreds of bodies down below. >> lying on top of one another? if it was something out of a horror movie. we couldn't tell if they were men, women or children until we got on the phone -- ground. >> this is the way fred francis reported that story. >> when the poison were -- was being passed out men were acting as guards. if anyone tried to leave these were used. >> i remember walking through jonestown and being stunned. being emotionally blasted. puma it stays with you? >> the kids. adults are going to do what they want. they took 304 kids and killed them. it's amazing. >> coming up, one more unbelievable discovery. the madness of it all captured on tape. >> they will torture some of our children. >> it still comes up. you just can't push it down. u . (♪♪) (♪♪) try dietary supplements from voltaren, for healthy joints. if you have wet amd, you never want to lose sight of the things you love. some things should stand the test of time. long lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision and can help you go up to 4 months between treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness, or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eyla hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen. there's an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most common side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury, and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today, for the potential for fewer injections. ask your retina specialist about eylea hd welcome back. cult leader jim jones ordered nearly 1,000 followers to kill themselves and their children with cyanide. those who refused were threatened by crossbow. >> welcome back. cult leader jim jones ordered nearly 1000 followers to kill themselves and their children with cyanide. those who refused were threatened my crossbow. but how did he persuade so many to willingly embrace death? you are about to hear in his own words his chilling final commands. here is the conclusion of jonestown, an american tragedy. >> it was a gruesome crime scene. hundreds of bodies stacked three or four deep in places. the mac the government of guyana told the united states it wants the victims returned to the united states for burial. >> it will take weeks to recover all of those bodies and ship them home. in the end 909 bodies were found. investigators determined jim jones and his nurse died of gunshot wounds, likely self- inflicted. all the rest it seems either drank the poison or had it injected. former nbc correspondent fred francis. >> some of those who escaped talked about how the people were with a ring around the pavilion. how it took some of them many minutes to die. >> and in the five data from the airstrip ambush and 4 dead from the other location the total death tally was 918. it was while combing the compound for clues that investigators made another discovery. jim jones had actually recorded jonestown spinal death scene. >> i have tried my best to give you a good life. >> recorded shortly after the murder of congressman ryan and 4 others in the airstrip jones tells his followers suicide is their only option now. >> the congressman is dead. please get off the medication. >> according to jones the guyanese army was soon be arriving to destroy their paradise. >> don't be afraid to die. they will torture our people. we cannot have this.'s >> according to eyewitnesses the children were the first to die. to die. can still be heard pleading for obedience, rationalizing madness. just before the tape ran out jones can still be heard pleading for obedience, rationalizing madness. rationalizing madness. among mother, brother, and 3 sisters. today this mass grave in oakland is the final resting spot for more than 400 of jonestown's dead. for the survivors jonestown became a life defining event. after nearly dying on that airstrip jackie speier followed in congressman leo ryan's footsteps. if he was a great mentor. i learned a great deal from him. now i am serving in his seat. it is bittersweet obviously. >> spear served 15 years in congress before retiring in 2023. the reporters who survive the airstrip ambush all wrote books about it. after jonestown bob flake left nbc news. he died in 2015. steve song became a video editor and occasionally worked on stories for dateline. steve has retired now. fred francis went on to have many big assignments in his 40 year career. he says jonestown is the one story he just cannot shake. >> this one always seems to poke at me, the enormity of it all. the insanity of it. that smell, even though i cannot resurrect it, it is with me all the time. it was so powerful. >> the dead remain ageless in the minds of those left behind. >> bob has now been debt longer than he was alive, but he sure packed a lot into 36 years. >> photographer greg robinson who took many of the iconic pictures was only 27 when murdered. >> later it still comes up and you can't push it down. it is so bizarre. >>'s sister still struggles with his loss and the thoughts of what might have been. >> we both have plans of living our lives together. all of those dreams just shattered. >> among the most prized, this letter from one of the airstrip survivors. >> he wrote this letter to my mom. even at the very end, my dad, he took the time to help me as i lay crouched behind the wheel of the airplane. don told me don't move, just be still and pretend you are dead. i cannot understand why i am alive. am alive. he said i cannot understand why i am alive in such a fine man like your husband is not. >> it has been more than four decades, but like much of what happened at jonestown, it is a question with no answer. that is all for this edition of dateline. i am craig melvin. thank you for watching. thank you for watching. ] shane moore: [shouts] >> i am craig melvin and this is dateline. a recording of a

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