back as mark strassman will report in our sunday morning cover story. >> reporter: the american highway, a place of adventure, a place to chase our dreams. >> i think there's something programmed into our dna that we're driven to roam. i think more than any other people on the planet. >> reporter: but anyone who has gotten behind the wheel lately knows the reality no longer lives up to the legend. with billions in repairs needed just to keep us up and running it's clear we've been driving on borrowed time. the road ahead where there is no free, in freeway. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: if it's fast company you're looking for today, forget about our crowded highways and look to our nation's speedways instead. that's where you'll find the popular competitor our lee cowan has been talking to. >> nascar's jimmie johnson will be spending this memorial day weekend at almost 200 miles an hour. does it feel like you're going 200 mirror is it all relative because everybody around you is doing the same thing? >> it's relative until something goes wrong. >> but his life off the track has a speed all its own. why jimmie johnson's life isn't all in the fast lane later on sunday morning. >> osgood: philip seymour hoffman is a versatile actor who routinely takes on the most challenging roles and makes them his own. this morning mo rocca tracks him down for some questions and answers. >> reporter: his portrayal of author truman capote won him an oscar. how would he have dealt with the internet where people write all sorts of stuff about you? >> i think he probably would have gone for it. >> reporter: ahead on sunday morning, a conversation with actor philip seymour hoffman. >> osgood: a hero's welcome is what every returning warrior deserves. that is what a remarkable number of fallen warriors receive thanks to the selfless volunteer our steve hartman has found. >> reporter: when he returned from afghanistan this month on those slow, steady steps, he was mourned deeply. not only by his family and friends... >> grab some flags and get going. >> reporter: ... but also by one total stranger. >> all they know is that i'm coming to try and help them pay respect to one of their own. >> reporter: how was he received? >> that's somebody who has a heart right there. >> reporter: with flying colors. what he did and why later on sunday morning. >> osgood: chip reid has the tale of a world war ii hero, louis zamperini. anthony mason shows us some classic images from rock photographer bob grewin. dave edelstein tells us about a new movie based on the tale of snow white. chip reid has the tale of a world war ii hero. anthony mason shows us. david edelstein tells us about a new movie based on the tale of snow white and more. first here are the headlines to this sunday morning the 27th of may, 2012. afghan officials are charging that a nato air strike in a province in eastern afghanistan has killed eight family members including six children. nato says it's investigating. the white house is reacting angrily to the deaths of more than 90 civilians in syria. some 30 children were among the victims. the u.s. described it as an act of unspeakable brutality. the syrian government denies any involvement in the massacres. a spokesman saying it's the victim of a tsunami of lies. the usual mix of heat and storms could make for a particularly memorable memorial day weekend. the sub tropical storm beryl now about 175 miles off the georgia coast is expected to make land fall sometime tonight. out west, a wild fire continues to burn out of control. flames now cover more than 100,000 acres in the national forest. threats of violence have forced lady gaga to cancel a planned conference in indonesia. militants causing her a message of the devil threatened to wreak havoc at her show in jakarta. doc watson is is in critical condition at a hospital in winston salem north carolina. the 89-year-old guitarist has received the national medal of arts. now for today's forecast. look for thunderstorms over the plains, heat across the south, and some snow in the northern rockies which means memorial day will be a washout for some of us. roadwork ahead. and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: "to hit the road" has long been a rite of the american summer. how did that open highway we dreamed of all winter get so clogged and riddle with potholes? our cover story is reportedded now by mark strassman. >> reporter: although we sing praises to purple mountain majesties, to spacious skies, and amber waves of grain, the truth is when we drive across america the beautiful for the most part, this is the view we see. ♪ >> reporter: the fact is roads defined our landscape even before the first drop of concrete was poured. >> from the very beginning there were game trails, buffalo and elk created the original highways we travel. the indians took those as hunting trails. the first settlers movedded in and usedded those for their wagons. those became plank roads and turnpikes. it's an evolution that began before man was even a big factor on the continent. >> reporter: earl swift has chronicled that evolution, reminding us that griping about our roads is nothing new. >> i mean we complain about congestion now but it's kids' stuff compared to the mid '30s. the big boom in car sales in the '20s and '30s we had a situation where we were driving roads pilt for wagons. washington to richmond would be a two-day trip. new york to philadelphia would have been a two-day trip. >> reporter: that's when it became clear that we needed to build something for the auto age, the big roads, the interstate highway system. >> you wanted to find a moment of conception, go back to february of 1938 when fdr calls his roads chief into the white house and the president laid out a map of the 48 states on his desk. he drew six lines, three going north south and three east west. research this to see if we can make it way for itself. >> reporter: keep that in mind, the notion that roads should pay for themselves. it's something we'll return to. but back in the '0s and '40, the depression and second world war put fdr's grand designs on hold. it wasn't until the pross effort of the 1950s that general turned president dwight eisenhower finally gave the green light. what deserves more credit: fdr or ike? >> this will provoke some debate but i'd vote for fdr myself. >> reporter: because. because fdr got the ball rolling. it was his oversight that saw the system actually approved by congress. >> reporter: by the time eisenhower took office plans for the interstates were all but a done deal. in 1956 construction began on a network 47,000 miles long and still growing. there's a popular misconception that the system mainly had a military purpose, to move troops and civilians in the event of nuclear war. not so. but the design does have an unusual origin. our interstates are modeled on the autobahns of adolph hitler's germany. still, the highways promised a future that had little to do with the dark days of war, and everything to do with the bright tomorrow of the space age. ♪ tomorrow ♪ our dreams will come true >> reporter: but when you look in the rear-view mirror today, the picture isn't quite so pretty. our reliance on automobiles has created sprawl, pollution and a dependence on oil. even more pressing, it's become clearer that our freeways are anything but free. remember fdr's idea that the interstate should pay for itself? well, that never quite came to pass. we pay to build and maintain our highways mostly through the federal gas tax, currently 18.4 cents a gallon. that tax rate has stayed the same since 1993. last year, about 32 billion dollars in revenue came in. $37 billion in expenses went out. you can guess who made up the balance. every single tax payer, regardless of how much or how little they drive. >> we've been driving on borrowed time, and it's running out. the clock has stopped. >> reporter: catherine ross is a professor at georgia tech who advises governments on transportation planning. she notes that the highways are the life blood of the economy. moving an estimated $13 trillion in goods each year. how urgent is this highway funding crisis? >> the urgency is, oh, 20 years ago. i'm saying that with tongue in cheek. but it's beyond urgent. i think it's tied to our continued pre-eminence in the world, and it certainly is tied to our national economic success. >> reporter: unfortunately, that's coming at a time when the department of transportation says it needs $100 billion a year for the next 20 years to get the current system into tiptop shape. to say nothing of expanding it. >> when you look into the future and you begin to look at what our investments mean when we're competing with china, india, emerging powers, economic powers like brazil, we better have our infrastructure ready to go to be able to compete on a global basis. >> reporter: victor men degrees runs the federal highway administration. he has overseen more than $26 billion in spending on bridges and roads as part of president obama's stimulus effort. >> when you look at what that investment means, i know the president gets it. he understands the importance of investing in infrastructure because otherwise we can fall back behind the eight ball. >> reporter: besides fixing and building roads, the government also wants to get drivers out of their cars and on to the buses, trains, or even bikes. that's a tall order. the census bureau reports that 86% of workers commute by car. and the vast majority of us drive alone. >> the typical freeway in most parts of the country were designed for about 180,000 cars. in houston our freeways are running about 360,000, 320,000 cars every day. >> reporter: twice what they were built for. >> exactly. reporter: in news honest, the oil boom is keeping the economy moving, and the highway jam packed. but jack whaley is fighting back with a program called trans-star. here in this mass-inspired mission control center, they monitor cell phone signals from cars to track their progress. or lack of it. >> we know what the speed dial, we know where most people are con jesting the roads. the individual is anonymous. >> reporter: trans-star costs about $26 million a year to operate. but officials claim it saves close to $300 million a year in fuel and time by rerouting drivers around congestion. >> south bound. reporter: houston is trying one other solution, something that is being considered in other parts of the country. new toll roads where, for a price, drivers can buy access to the less crowded car pool lanes, even if they're driving alone. >> we have those that just hate congestion. it's worth it to them to pay 50 cents or 60 cents central. it's a choice. >> reporter: that choice is a direct challenge to the long-held belief that the highways represent democracy. that we're all in this together, even if we're all stuck in traffic. but as the roads keep filling up, we may no longer be able to afford that sentiment. >> when you ask that, if it costs more, you should pay more. it's democracy for all but under constrained conditions it cost more because it costs you the better ability to travel. >> reporter: she says we've relied on the legacy of roosevelt and eisenhower for about as long as we possibly can. whether it's in tolls, taxes or crumbling roads, pretty soon we'll all have to pay the price. >> to those who say, "i've already paid for this," my answer is sometimes you have to pay to keep what you have. it started off in good repair. it was brand new. that is no longer the case. ♪ started rolling down ♪ that long highway >> osgood: crossing that bridge, next. what makes hershey's s'mores special? pure chocolate goodness that brings people together. hershey's makes it a s'more... you make it special. pure hershey's. pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with the home depot certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that keep our budgets firmly rooted... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get memorial day savings with 4 bags of earthgro mulch for just 10 dollars. >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac, may 27, 1937, 75 years ago today. the day a highway was completed through the pacific coast fog. for that was the day the golden gate bridge was open to the public. pedestrians only, the first day; motor vehicles the next. san franciscans had dreamed for years of bridging the turbulent water way between ocean and bay. but it wasn't until january of 1933 that construction actually began. >> there had never been a bridge like the golden gate bridge, and there had never been a job like the job of building it. >> osgood: back in 1983, charles krawlt talkd to some of the workers who had risked their lives at those dizzying heights. like iron worker alfred zampa. >> it was a thrill. i loved getting... you have to when you work on them bridges. >> osgood: he died 12 years ago at the age of 95. but the bridge on which he and his coworkers labord still stands tall as ever. 746 feet to the top of the towers. roughly a mile and two-thirds from shore to shore. the entire edifice painted in a unique color known as international orange. a pleasing alternative to the navy's original proposal of black and yellow stripes that would stand out to ship captains in the fog. the golden gate bridge's distinctive appearance has earned it a role in countless movies including the 1957 alfred hitchcock thriller vertigo where it served as a back drop for jimmy stewart's rescue of kim novak. a full schedule of 75th anniversary celebrations is planned for the day. we're told it will go on regardless of the weather. in other words, rain or shine. >> osgood: ahead... that's a very productive session. >> yeah, it was a good day. osgood: a blast from the past. and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? ask your doctor if spiriva can help. >> osgood: thanks to one pioneering and very resourceful photographer, the golden age of rock music can be seen as well as heard. anthony mason looks through a very special rock album. >> reporter: the history of rock'n'roll couldn't be dock eumghted without bob bruin's photographs. how many bands have you shot? >> thousands. i don't count them. >> reporter: in his archives in new york's greenwich village, you'll find shots of almost every major rock act. like led zeppelin. >> it was kind of a snapshot. it's turned out to be one of the most iconic pictures that really sums up the excess of the '70s. you know, the plane is so big it doesn't even fit in the picture. >> reporter: the who's drummer. this is my first rolling stone cover. just a simple moment at carnegie hall. >> reporter: and tina turner. this is one picture that shows what tina does in one second. >> reporter: for the 66-year-old bruin, it all started in a way with this picture of bob dylan at the newport folk festival in 1965. that's when the young photographer got his first press pass. how did that feel to have a pass for the first time? >> really good. i had to talk my way into it. my mom told me that no is not an answer to accept but the beginning of an interesting conversation. >> reporter: his parents were both long island lawyers, but photography was his mother's hobby. your mom gave you your first camera. >> when i was eight she gave me a brownie hawkeye. >> reporter: she taught him how to develop film and print pictures. immediately, he was hooked. his early jobs were for small music magazines, usually working free lance for as little as $5. but he had a knack for making his subjects comfortable. >> i've been with a lot of photographers where you just want to run out of the room. you just don't want to be in front of their camera. with bob, it's just, you know, oh, bob's here. >> reporter: debbie harry of blondey met bob in the early '70s. >> bob may not have been the biggest well known photographer in, you know, the whole world. but in our world he was, you know, he was very important. >> reporter: where is this from? this is in kansas city. this is kind of early on, '76. >> this picture really, i don't know, broke the world open for me. >> hi, how are you doing? thanks for coming down. >> reporter: his work, now collected in his book, rock scene, includes perhaps his most famous session with john lennon. where were these shot? >> john had an apartment on east 52nd street. he was still separated from yoko at the time in '74. >> reporter: gruen became lien non's personal photographer after the former beatle moved to morning. >> i used to wear a new york city t-shirt like this all the time. i had given john a shirt a year earlier. we were up on the roof with the skyline behind us. i said do you still have that shirt i gave you last year? we had no idea at the time it was going to become such a well known picture. >> reporter: this image is in just about every shop in new york city. >> it gets around. reporter: the shot is usually reproducedded without gruen's permission. we found it at a souvenir standby the ferry to the statue of liberty. how do you feel when you see this? >> well, i wish i was getting a percentage of the sales but i feel complimented actually because these people can steal anything from anybody. they haven't paid for any of these pictures so i kind of take it as a compliment because they like my picture so much that they continue to steal it over and over again. >> reporter: then we headed over to the site of another of gruen's memorable shots of lennon whose idea was it to come out to the statue of liberty. >> my idea. that's one of the reasons i'm really proud of that picture. i thought that up because the government was trying to throw john lennon out of the country. i thought being at the statue of liberty would be a symbol of welcome to america, that we should be welcoming people like john lennon. >> reporter: how long were you at it that day. >> about an hour-and-a-half at the most. >> reporter: that day in 1974 lining lennon up with the statue proved to be a tricky shot. >> how do you get somebody right here who is this size. >> reporter: how did you do that? >> i don't know. magic. >> reporter: is that one of your favorite pictures? >> it is one of my favorite pictures because it has meaning. it is about peace and freedom. those are the most important things we can talk about. >> reporter: tourists often imitate gruen's picture. >> people putting the peace sign up. >> reporter: and the photographer himself now gets recognized. >> hi, bob. my name is... i just took that picture. >> a lot of people do that. i appreciate that. >> reporter: bob gruen, who has become friends with many of his subjects, said he never really saw taking pictures as a job. >> i wasn't there on assignment. i was there because i wantedded to be there. >> reporter: as he says in his book, it's not just the collection of my work. it's also a family album of my life. >> osgood: coming up, tales of hoffman. >> i've decided on a title for my book. in cold blood. >> osgood: actor philip seymour hoffman. and... >> hair as black as night. osgood: snow white gets a,,,,,,, >> there are those of you in church today who know exactly the crisis of faith i describe, and i want to say to you doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. >> osgood: philip seymour hoffman won great notice for his role in the 2008 film doubt. now he's winning rave reviews on broadway in arthur miller's death of a salesman and here he is on sunday morning with our mo rocca for some questions and answers. >> i did everything i could. okay. i think about acting, whenever you start to think you're good at it, something happens and you're like, oh, god. i was really bad. you know what i mean? acting is not something that you get good at and stay good at. >> reporter: this from a guy considered one of the best actors working today. >> you are due for for a talk. you have to stop this campaign against me. >> i'm saying you can't start paying it first. >> well, i am starting the first. >> i need you for a second. my loyalty for 24 years people have been trying to kill me. people who know how. now do you think that's because my dad was a greek soda pop maker or do you think that's because of an american spy. >> reporter: in over 40 screen roles, philip seymour hoffman hasn't just played against type, he apparently has no type. >> tell him, you know,... when we can arrange an interview. >> reporter: in 2005 the husky voiced hoffman transformed himself into the author truman capote and won an oscar. >> i spent hours talking to the killers. i spent more researching this work has changed my life. >> reporter: is it true that you had to accept the role of truman capote kicking and screaming? >> it took me a while because like, probably everyone else, like why would i be the guy to play that part, you know? very far away from him in so many ways. >> reporter: yet you're like nine inches taller than he was. >> i'm like 5'10 "and i weigh like 230. i'm a big guy. that was the least of it. it was really was i going to be able to understand him and pull it off? i was just concerned about that. eventually i go, let's just do it. then you kind of realize that your gut leads the way and trust that. >> reporter: his gut has led him to broadway where the 44-year-old hoffman is nominated for a tony as willy loman. the "down his luck" traveling salesman struggling to find meaning in his life in arthur miller's tragedy death of a salesman. hoffman won't allow himself to be filmed on stage. do you like willy loman? >> yeah. i do. i'm playing somebody, you have to find a way to get inside them and defend them. a lot of empathy for him. many people make wrong decisions or look at life in a way that brings them down, you know. it's a very human thing that he goes through and who he is. >> reporter: hoffman has been acting since high school in fairport new york just outside rochester where he played willy loman. >> his first on-screen gig was as the defendant in... some actors look like hollywood stars no matter whom they play. not hoffman. >> i just try to look the way that the part is supposed to look. you know what i mean? i think most people don't look put together. they just don't in normal life. for most people their hair is a little uncomfortable unless they are people who have jobs in front of the camera, most people are kind of walking around looking like people. >> we've been frantically trying to reach you, dude. >> reporter: some of his characters may look non-december crypt. but in hoffman's hands they're never ordinary. his character in boogie nights was a breakout. >> what the hell is the matter with you? why did you do that, scotty? >> you look at me sometime i want to know if you like me. >> reporter: i was watching you as scotty in boogie nights. you're just tormentd. you're a mess. >> scotty? yeah, scotty's got some issues. (laughing ). tormented as that guy is, i had the best time in the world in that movie. we had a great time. that was a great, great job. >> reporter: two years later he was the entitled preppy freddy miles opposite matt come onin the talented mr. riply. >> then we take north carolina. reporter: since then he's been matchd with formidable costars. watching him volley with meryl streep in doubt as the priest accused of molesting a child is is like watching a great wimbledon final. >> because you have... you're insane. you have it in your head that i corrupted this child after giving him wine. nothing i say will change that. >> i really wish you hadn't brought that down. >> reporter: you know who is terrific is l laura linney. in the savages he and laura were siblings who were taking care of a father who hadn't taken slr good care of hem. >> what if you were in a coma, would you want a breathing machine. >> it seemed impossible to believe you weren't related. >> there's something about us that was like siblings, an immediate trust, a quirkiness and a similar sense of humor. it was as if we had experienced similar things growing up that formed us. >> are you having a heart attack. >> no, i'm not having a heart attack. >> it's not funny. (laughing ). >> reporter: hoffman has three children with his partner mimi o'donnell and says he'd like to be working less. whatever he does next, it won't be a retread. do you think you'll ever do amuseical? >> it's funny. i've grown to really love musicals. that fear i have around singing so extreme that it would have to be... it would be like, you know, choosing to play capote a little bit. it would be a tough one. you know what i mean. >> reporter: you're not interested in a big dumb comic book franchise thing. >> who isn't interested in that? trust me. i'm, you know, i've been thinking about, you know, i'm open for anything. i think a lot of my career shows that, you know. i've done a lot of different kinds of movies and plays. i just want to be working with people that i think are striving to do something really well. it doesn't really matter. >> osgood: next, just the ticket. >> who is is the fairest of them all? with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. >> osgood: mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest critic of them all? is it david edelstein? >> a friend recently showd her daughter the wonderful mock fairy tale the princess bride from 1987. >> i don't think they exist. reporter: and the little girl was horrified when the hero and heroine were attacked by a giant rat. it's not that it's violent. it's that the princess didn't pick up a sword. "what's the matter with her? does she expect to be, like, rescued?" fairy tale princesses have come a long way, baby. it's no more where more obvious than in snow white and the huntsman. like every story heroine these days, she fights. take the heroin of the other recent snow white picture, mirror, mirror, who fights duels with the prince and tells him she's tired of stories in which damsels take their distress lying down. that's what snow white did in the 1937 disney movie, which was largely faithful to the 1812 brothers grimm tale. ♪ i'm reaching >> reporter: the heroine is very young and very passive. she matures from child to woman by, what else, cooking and cleaning for little people. she is saved by the love of a prince. our new heroine is is not your uncle walt. the movie itself is brutal. nightmarish, set against barren landscapes and medieval battlements. it's practically a horror picture. it's also influenced by a lot of modern thinking about why snow white has such staying power. >> she is the one. mirror, mirror, on the wall... >> reporter: the queen proclaims that in a world where men subjugate women beauty is power. everything depends on her looks. the ultimate judgment ironically coming from a mirror with a male voice. >> you are the fairest. but there is another that going to surpass you. >> reporter: she suffers, this queen, to stay online, she must suck young girl's essences. she wants to eat snow white's heart. the mother-daughter sexual rivalry at the story's core has never been so clear. >> come and avenge your father. he is too weak to raise his sword. >> reporter: the film is overlong and the action choppy but after so many camped-up fairy tales, chris ten stewart is is perfectly awkward as a snow white with no regard for her looks, who pities the queen, her enslavement to superficial beauty. even while leading an army to destroy her. of course, this snow white won't please everyone. you can almost hear her future mother-in-law. she doesn't cook. she doesn't clean. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. >> osgood: on this memorial day weekend we're honoring a world war ii veteran who is still very much with us, a veteran remarkable for what he endured and remarkable as well for the forgiveness he extends towards his former tormenters. chip reid has his story. >> the house is full of antiques, including me. >> reporter: what else do you have here? >> this is a japannese copy of the samurai sword that they decapitate you with. >> reporter: 95-year-old louis zamperini's home is too little to hold memories of a life so large. there are the trophies, honoring his athletic accomplishments. >> well, these are the five torches i carried. >> reporter: these five torches you carried in five different olympic ceremonies. >> right. eporter: then there are the souvenirs from the prison camps where he spent two years of his life. >> this is the fork i usedded at the bamboo fork. >> reporter: an old belt buckle he still wears. >> i'm surprised the japannese didn't take it away from me because they were short of brass. >> reporter: but louis zamperini's story was pretty much ancient history. an elderly man waving in a parade. until a best-selling book reminded the world of his harrowing tale. his first fame game when he was just a teenager. in 1936, he made the u.s. olympic team. at 19, he was the youngest qualifier in the 5,000 meters. he didn't win, but louis zamperini became a household name, a sports hero. a few years later, the nation was at war. zamperini was a bombardier in the army air corpse. on this very day 69 years ago his b-24 crashed into the pacific. >> our number one engine, the rpms dropped. this plane was barely flying with four motors. with two going it dropped like a rock. we hit the motor nose down. i felt like someone hit me on the forehead with a sledge hammer. the plane was completely blown apart. >> reporter: what happened next was documented in this 1998 story from correspondent bob simon. >> zamperini spotted a life raft floated rapidly away from the burning waters. he swam to it. >> reporter: 47 days in an inflatable raft. >> i never prayed before. on a raft you pray like a fox hole. >> reporter: he fought off sharks. >> this shark was so big that he could have taken one bite and he could have bitten that raft in two. >> reporter: and battledded the sea. >> a violent storm. i never seen anything like it. >> reporter: things went from bad to worse. zamperini was near death when he was captured by the japannese and taken to a place known as execution island. where every known prisoner had been put to death. >> they took great joy in telling us we were going to be executed. they would always go through the motion. >> reporter: it got even worse. his fame back home led to hours of torture and beatings at the hands of a sadistic guard nicknamed the bird. >> i couldn't bear to look in his eyes. i just couldn't do it. to me they were that sadistic. >> reporter: when he wasn't being beaten he was starved. like most of the americans held by the japannese. but somehow he survived. louis zamperini returned home a hero. >> this is your life. reporter: there were tv appearances. his life appeared to return to normal. but the war years, while gone, were anything but forgotten. haunted by nightmares, he turned to alcohol. then in a last-ditch effort to save his marriage and perhaps his life, zamperini joined his wife cynthia at a prayer service led by a young billy graham. graham's sermon touched on the power of forgiveness. >> it was the first night in two years-and-a-half that i didn't have a nightmare and i haven't had one since. forgiveness was a complete healing factor in my life. >> reporter: which is why zamperini decided to commit himself to a lifetime of forgiveness. and that meant he had to go back to japan. to see the prison guards who tried so hard to destroy him. >> the most important thing in my christian life was to know that i not only forgave them verbally but to see them face to face and tell them that i forgave them. >> reporter: that was 61 years ago. and our story would end there, were it not for the book "unbroken." >> this is the english version. here is louis. reporter: he's become a celebrity all over again. readers clamor to see him. >> i said no way. reporter: to hear him. ( applause ) to applaud his life. when you finished reading that book, what did you think? >> it put me back in prison. i had to stop look and look out the window to make sure i wasn't back in prison >> reporter: did you ever imagine it would be a best seller? >> no. reporter: the author is laura hillenbrand. her last book was the best seller sea biscuit. unbroken took her seven years to research and write. but in all that time, you may be surprised to learn that the author and the subject of her story never met. not even once. >> that's real sad. we talked bad and forth every week. the research, i mean, details. and even when i would tell her something, she would double check on it. >> reporter: hillenbrand never met him because she has chronic fatigue syndrome and finds it difficult to leave her home here in this neighborhood of washington d.c., so as zamperini did, we spoke with her by telephone. >> patients often go into times where they are literally unable to get out of bed for weeks or months or years. it was something that helped me identify with louis. his story is largely a about suffering >> reporter: hillenbrand says she thinks not not meeting zamperini actually made her book better. >> because when he was telling me his stories, i wasn't looking at a 90-year-old man. i was thinking about a 17-year-old runner or a 26-year-old guy out on a life raft. and i was able to visualize it i think a lot better because i wasn't in the room with him. i think it enabled me to tell the story more fully that way. >> reporter: but while hillenbrand came to know nearly everything about zamperini, he knew almost nothing about her. >> well, the paper printed her story, i couldn't believe it. the only thing i could do -- and i felt was proper -- i september her one of my purple hearts. i said you deserve this more than i do >> reporter: why did you feel she deserved it more than you do? >> she had been suffering for 30 years. i suffered for a couple years. i'd rather suffer intently for a couple years than to have a long, drawn-out siege like she's going through >> reporter: turns out the 45-year-old infirm author and the aging but vital veteran share much more than the past. >> laura has said when times get really tough for her, she calls you >> we talk to each other on phone. people say, oh, yeah, louis is my inspiration. well, i might say she's my inspiration. >> reporter: when hillenbrand first sent zamperini a copy of her book, she sent along this letter. >> i have before me an example of someone who has overcome hardships and emerges a life filled with joy has been deeply inspiring to me at a time when i needed it most. i can't wait for you to read my book. i think you'll love it. >> reporter: when we talked with zamperini, he said he hoped one day to meet hillenbrand, that he had a message. >> i don't think we'll tell each other very much except i love you >> reporter: not long ago, that hope became a reality. while in washington, he paid a visit to her home. >> he told me as we were hugging each other and saying good-bye, he said that the book was the creche end owe of his life. he believed he's lived this long so he could see it written and read. that was the loveliest thing he's ever said to me >> reporter: as for louis zamperini, he has something to share with all his new found admirers. you forgave your japannese enemies, do you think americans forgive enough? >> no, i think that's the hardest thing in life is to forgive. hate is self-destructive. if you hate somebody you're not hurting the person you hate. you're hurting yourself. that's a healing. actually it's a real healing, forgiveness. >> osgood: coming up, case closed. ,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: new yorkers this weekend left flowers and candles outside the building where six-year-old is said to have been killed 33 years ago this paths friday. the man who has confessed to that crime now stands accused of second degree murder. but as john miller reports, whether his arrest solves the mystery to has dominated so many memorial day weekends over these years remains to be seen >> we have a memorial day weekend sort of program for you this morning >> reporter: it was 1985 and charles krult would introduce a sunday morning story that had first aired in 1980, a mystery that remained without an answer >> six years ago when a little boy named aton pates disappeared from a street in new york city, his father said he was shocked to discover that there seemed to be better ways of finding stolen cars than of finding stolen children. >> this evening the new york city police department is announcing the arrest of pedro hernandez, age 51, of new jersey. for the murder of etan >> reporter: it took nearly 33 years ago to the day but on thursday new york police commissioner ray kelly revealed pedro hernandez had confessed. he said he strangled the boy in 1979. hernandez allegedly told police that when he was an 18-year-old stock clerk at this grocery, he lured young etan here to the basement with the promise of a soda before school. and then he strangled him and put his small body in a bag with the trash. hernandez said he killed etan on the very morning the little boy last waved good-bye to his parents. >> our six-year-old boy is a loving, trusting child. and the adult world represents a formidable force to him. when an assault says something it has all the weight of law >> reporter: nine months after his disappearance, his father stan now 70 was just 38 and his mother julie was 37. still hoping for the best, they spoke about their son on sunday morning. >> we're dealing with a little child. an obedient child. an adult could have convinced him, we think an adult could have convinced him to come with him. >> we want him to continue sharing his life with us, the person that he is. we miss him very much. >> reporter: as the decades passed, the case turned cold. little etan, still with all his baby teeth, smiled out from missing posters that remained for years. >> we're not talking about just some abstract child. he's our child. he's a super kid. really terrific. he's about as nice as a little boy could be >> as a person could be he's my ball player. very perceptive and sensitive and caring about other people. incredibly so. >> reporter: his parents grew older in front of the camera, but etan never did. and here in the same apartment on prince street, his parents stayed day after day, decade after decade, putting up with the unwanted phone calls, unwanted notoriety brings. just in case their little boy was able to call or come home to prince street. they've declined all requests for interviews, but their words back then seemed to say it all. >> he's a delightful boy. anybody would want him. that's the probability. he's beautiful. he's also as beautiful as a little boy could get >> he was always the center of the happy times >> reporter: as the patz family suffered from not knowing, pedro hernandez's family was burdened with a dark secret. commissioner ray kelly >> he spoke to one family member and others during the last 33 years about the fact that he had, quote, done something bad and killed a child. >> reporter: it was hoe alopez, the suspect's brother-in-law would called police with a tip >> he did the right thing. to confess and get this thing over with. for the people out there. >> reporter: the strongest evidence police have against pedro hernandez is his own words. detectives will have to search for clues to verify his confession, which means that for stan and julie patz, the uncertainty that's been a part of their lives for 33 years goes on at least a little longer. still almost from the start, it seemed clear that they were prepared for a long, trying, painful journey. >> we still have hope. we're going to carry on. we're not quitting. so if it takes seven years, it will have to take seven years. >> we'll wait as long as we have to and we'll keep looking >> and then we'll wait longer. we have to. osgood: next, jimmie johnson, driven. >> grab some flags and get going osgood: and later showing the flag. thought of: not have fidelity. now you don't have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank. like no-fee atms -- all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now, depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. and hot! but we'll be pushing it to the extreme. so we use new coppertone sport pro series with duraflex. it's the best coppertone sport ever. it's light so your skin can breathe. but it stays on strong in extreme sweat conditions. it's all about taking it to the next level. that's why we stepped up to pro series. and it gives us broad spectrum uva/uvb protection. that sun won't quit. and neither will we. thanks to new 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american, calling it red neck is actually a compliment. it remains the nation's number one spectator sport. for five of the last six years, it's been dominated by number 48 >> 48 is long gone. reporter: jimmie johnson. jimmie johnson has won the daytona 500. >> i love being in traffic. i love watching a driver and understanding where they're weak. and trying to find a way by him >> reporter: he got out front last weekend and stayed there. >> jimmie johnson in the lowe's chevrolet are going to victory lane and a million bucks >> reporter: earning a pretty hefty paycheck and a shower of confetti and champagne >> i like to keep the champagne bottles from victory. i don't like champagne >> reporter: you don't like champagne >> well, cheap champagne reporter: he's the only driver in the 64-year history of nascar to win five straight championships. not even greats like richard petty or dale earnhardt have done that. making the 36-year-old one of nascar's most bankable stars. >> as long as he's been winning, jimmie johnson has been racing chevies. with a few exceptions. >> i've never wanted to be a celebrity. i wanted to be a racer. you know, my deal is racing cars. that's what makes me happy, what i am passionate about, and where my pride comes from >> reporter: there's a lot to be proud of. so much he had to rent a warehouse near his home in charlotte north carolina shuft to store it all. the best man cave ever. >> turned out well. reporter: and everything in here has a story. >> the color that's here, i was a young kid on the deal so this was the puppy chow dog food coloring >> reporter: that was long before he hit it big. now he's even got his own video game one that he designed which i thought gave him an unfair advantage. have you ever played a game before? jimmie johnson from california wins at indianapolis and the caution is is out. >> as much as he jokes about his success, it's serious stuff. forbes magazine just dubbed him the country's most influential athlete for the second year in a row. not bad for a middle class kid from southern california whose parents were also drivers. dad drove a truck. his mom a school bus. born in 1975 outside san diego as long as he can remember, racing was on his mind. >> my parents tell me i was relentless. i want to race. i want a motorcycle. >> reporter: it seems like anything with a motor, you were attracted to from a kid >> totally. i mean our house wasn't all that nice but we had cool toys. >> reporter: his first cool toy was a dirt bike. this very one, in fact. >> i remember being a little small for the bike at the time. >> reporter: this? i mean i was four. barely riding a bicycle. here i am on a motorcycle. >> reporter: he started racing at only five. his parents made him do chores around the house to pay for his entry fee. for the next 20 years from dirt bikes to off road trucks to the asphalt, johnson found something to race. did it come naturally to you, racing? i mean, did you just have a knack for it? >> i wanted it. i wanted to be good at it. but i wasn't the guy setting the world on fire >> reporter: he moved east to nascar country, charlotte north carolina before he even had a car to drive and started hanging out where the crews ate lunch >> find a seat. meet guys, talk to guys, toss out business cards. try to go to shops and meet management. agents. team owners. you you name it sthrt just trying to sell yourself >> it wasn't that i was sitting at home with a big dream of being a racer. i was out there trying to be a racer >> reporter: in fact it wasn't until 2000, his first year in nascar, that fans took notice. that wasn't for a win. it was for a wreck. he was coming off turn one at watkins glen in new york at 160 miles an hour when he was lost his brakes >> as i came across the racetrack and i was airborne off the wall that i could see was white. i assumed it was concrete. and the angle and the speed that i had at the wall, i knew then and there that i wasn't going to survive it. >> reporter: but the white wall wasn't concrete. it was styrofoam and cushioned the below. to this day the mangled hood of that car hangs on on the wall in his shop >> the guys were nice enough to give it to me >> reporter: he can laugh about it now. it all seems a long way from this. the team he drives for now is like the new york yankees of nascar. its gleaming state-of-the-art garage is the envy of other teams. jimmy has nearly 100 engineers and mechanics behind him keeping his cars in shape. so how many cars do you end up building every season? >> it depends on how much i crash or we crash. but on average, you go through 12, 15 vehicles. >> reporter: his celebrity on the track comes with responsibilities off. his jimmie johnson foundation helps share his good fortune giving millions to kids this need with a focus on better education. >> hey, buddy, how are you? reporter: he works with a number of charities including the make a wish foundation. all eight-year-old michael martin wishedded for was to meet and take a ride with his hero. >> all right. let's do this. >> reporter: in a sport that has its roots in boot leggers outrunning the law, jimmie johnson seems like one of the good buys. >> a great city. i really enjoy it. >> reporter: do you like it? yeah reporter: johnson and his wife live a long way from the noise and grime of the pits in a quiet tree-lined neighborhood in charlotte. where they're raising their young daughter, genevieve. suddenly the guy who was all about speed and sponsors has a different race to run. >> you know, racing has been the focal point of my entire life. it's kind of defined me. i'm more concerned about my daughter looking up to me down the road and saying, you were a great dad than i am concerned about what takes place on the track. >> reporter: their kisses before their races these days are different. there's more on jimmy's mind than the finish line. >> i remember vividly the image of dale sr. kissing teresa earn hard and then climbing in the car and unfortunately he was killed that day. so sometimes my mind flashes to that. it's like, no, no, don't think about it. you know what i mean? you're like, okay, i just kissed my wife and my daughter. you climb in the car and go to work. i think that being aware of those emotions and wrecking nicing them helps me make better decisions >> announcer: here we go for a million dollars >> reporter: it's a razor-thin line. one he's raced on all his life. >> the day i'm flinching, the day i'm worried about my job, the day i'm thinking about, oh, i don't want to make this move because i'm going to get hur, that's when i need to be aware of things and step down. >> reporter: but for now jimmie johnson has plenty of laps to go. >> osgood: coming up, what is it about vacations? 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[ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. before you start planning that summer vacation, you may want to consider some words of caution from josh landis and mitch butler of the fast draw. >> if you're happy about an upcoming vacation this summer, enjoy the feeling while it lasts because research shows that happiness may not come during the vacation or even after it but before. it turns out it's the anticipation that gives you joy. a dutch study shows that people about to take a vacation were happier than people without a trip coming up. after the vacation there's generally no difference in happiness levels between vacationers and non-vacationers. on the subject of anticipation, consider this. when offered an imaginary kiss from a celebrity, most people preferred that that kiss be three days in the future. if they got the kiss right now they'd lose out on a chance to look forward to it. if you think your vacation this summer is going to make you a happy camper, remember that anticipating that camping trip is where you'll find the real joy. but there's no need to be unhappy about it. this vacation is over, just, you know, start planning the next one. down here, folks >> osgood: next, lest we forget. dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. ♪ abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces. so it stays on in conditions like pool water... wind... sweat, even 100-degree heat. for uva/uvb protection in seven conditions, banana boat. we've got you covered. an intense burning sensation fi woke up with this horribleen rash on my right side.boat. like somebody had set it on fire. and the doctor said, cindie, you have shingles. he said, you had chickenpox when you were a little girl... i said, yes, i did. i don't think anybody ever thinks they're going to get shingles. but it happened to me. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com every american soldier killed in war is a fallen hero and deserves both the nation's thanks and a hero's welcome. that's what larry eckardt believes and wait until you see what he does about it. our steve hartman met him in mount sterling kentucky. >> reporter: if you only knew private first class dustin gross. or his family or even if you just grew up in the same small kentucky town, you'd probably be here too. but what if you didn't know dustin at all? what if all you knew about it was that he as an army killed in afghanistan this month by a roadside bomb, how far out of your way would you go to honor his loss? >> 602 miles reporter: this man drove 11 hours >> all they know is that i'm coming to try and help them pay respects to one of their own. just grab some flags and get going >> reporter: larry eckardt is a property manager who lives by two mottos: nothing is more important than honoring a fallen soldier and no such thing as too many flags. that's why for the last six years he's been going to every funeral he can. he typically arrives the night before. recruits local volunteers and then rain or shine, lines the processional route with stars and stripes >> so what do you think reporter: in this case eight miles worth. 2200 flags. >> that's somebody who has a heart right there. >> a real good thing that's a heart reporter: these are dustin's parents. >> i don't think we can thank him enough. i really don't >> reporter: it really is an incredible gift. paid for through donations and a lot of his own money. larry has gone into debt doing this. partly because of the spectacular sight it creates but even more because of the stage it sets. >> it kind of gives a rallying point, you might say. this gives the town a way of coming out and saying thanks >> reporter: turns out when you line a country road like a hero's coming, he gets treated like one. people drop whatever they're doing. flags beget flags. and for eight miles, one family's loss is shouldered by an entire community. this was larry's 86th funeral. although he hopes more than anything that it's his last, you can bet that if and when the time comes, he will be there to honor that soldier he never met for that sacrifice he can't ignore. >> osgood: a story from steve hartman. now to bob scheiffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. the morning, bob >> schieffer: good morning, charles. we'll have robert gibbs from the obama campaign. we'll have ed gillespie from the romney campaign and a discussion of that new biography of walter cronkite. >> schieffer: thank you, bob scheiffer. we will be watching. next week here on sunday morning... >> do you like it up here? what's not to like. i love looking down on los angeles. >> reporter: lee cowan pays a visit to actress jane fonda. my dentist said that the acid in fruit or fruit juice softens the enamel so it can potentially erode. once that enamel is gone, it's gone. my dentist recommended pronamel. pronamel protects your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. this sunday morning moment of nature is sponsored by... >> osgood: we leave you this sunday before memorial day among the eaglets of the montezuma national wildlife refuge in upstate new york. >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. we hope you enjoy this holiday weekend and you'll join us again next sunday morning. until then, i'll see you on the radio. , my first thoughts were about my wife, and my family. i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa, there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,, agents, be on the lookout for aliens. one small black cocoa creme iced coffee. uh-oh! let me out of here! try dunkin's new black cocoa creme iced coffee and call star-star-d-d for a text to capture your alien today.