On the ground. It was unbelievable. Cooper Marcus Luttrel was on the ground, part of a fourman seal team that was heavily outmanned and outgunned against a dangerous militia aligned with the taliban. You know, they say every man has his breaking point. I never thought id find mine. The only way you break a navy seabzzs you have to kill us. But i broke right there. I quit right there. Cooper hes also the sole survivor, the only one alive to tell the story of the bravery shown by his seal Team Brothers on that day. Im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl im morley safer. Im bob simon. Im anderson cooper. Im scott pelley. Those stories tonight on 60 minutes. I wanna spread a little love this year i wanna spread a little love and cheer [ male announcer ] this december, remember you can unwrap craftsmanship, inspiring capability, and some of the best offers of the year on our most versatile luxury utility vehicles at the lexus december to remember sales event. This is the pursuit of perfection. 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Youll see younger looking skin in just one week. One week . Thats just my speed. Rapid wrinkle repair. And for dark spots rapid tone repair. From neutrogena®. Simon the last time we did a story on Nelson Mandela, we described him as the most admired human being alive. We cant say that anymore today. The great man died on thursday. He was 95 years old. The most remarkable thing about mandela was not just that he liberated a nation from racial oppression, but that he forgave the men who stole his life from him, who kept him in jail for 27 years. Thats why he is viewed by so many as nothing less than a saint, a view which he always found dreadfully embarrassing. We thought it would be appropriate today to glance at the life, not of mandela the man of history thats pretty well known but at nelson, the human being father, husband, cellmate, friend. For the last few years, hed hardly ever been seen in public. He left home only for very special occasions, like a visit to the school of his great granddaughter zenani. Nelson mandela and where do you come from . Um, i come from london. Mandela from london . Oh have you met with the queen there . Um, no, not yet. Simon thats the mandela who spent 27 years without seeing a single child. Its the mandela revealed in a book published in 2010, conversations with myself, a collection of his letters, prison diaries, scribblings. It was compiled with his permission by verne harris, chief archivist at the mandela foundation. Verne harris he said, i dont want you to ask me, is this too personal . Is this too potentially embarrassing . simon he wants to see the mandela, as they say, warts and all . Harris he said, you dont have to protect me. Simon mandela kept records of everything, in desk calendars, memo pads, every scrap of paper he could lay his hands on. Hmm that writing is incredible, its tiny the most revealing are two notebooks with drafts of letters he wrote from robben island, the Apartheid Regimes alcatraz, where he was serving a life sentence for sabotage. This is the only footage we have of mandela, the prisoner. He was allowed to send and receive one letter every six months. And the letters reveal that his passion for his wife winnie never waned. What a masterpiece, he wrote after she sent him a picture of herself. The picture has aroused all the tender feelings in me and softened the grimness that is all around. It has sharpened my longing for you and our sweet and peaceful home. Winnie mandela amandla simon winnie had become mandelas voice on the outside, and the Apartheid Regime came down on her with a vengeance. She was repeatedly thrown into jail and tortured. The struggle was now not only devastating their lives; their two young daughters had been effectively abandoned. Mandela was incredibly blunt about what awaited them. My darlings, he wrote, once again, our beloved mommy has been arrested, and now she and daddy are away in jail. You may live like orphans, without your own home and parents. You will get no birthday or christmas parties, no presents or new dresses, no shoes or toys. What does it feel like reading it today . Zindzi mandela it takes me back to very difficult times. And, again, its. Its still not easy to talk about those times. Simon mandelas youngest daughter zindzi was a toddler when he was taken away. She didnt see him again until she was 15 and traveled to visit him on the island. They were separated by a glass partition; guards listened to every word. Zindzi mandela he was so protective and so charming, and he tried to make me imagine sitting at home on his lap in front of the fireplace and him reading me a story. Simon did you cry . Zindzi mandela yes, i did. Simon did he cry . Zindzi mandela no, he didnt. Ive very rarely seen my father, like, even close to tears. Simon but mandela wrote with tears of what he went through when his mother died, and when his eldest son thembi was killed in a car crash. The news was broken to me at 2 30 p. M. , he wrote. Suddenly, my heart had seemed to stop beating, and the warm blood that had freely flowed in my veins for the last 51 years froze into ice. Mandela asked for permission to leave the island and attend their funerals. The authorities said no. Mac maharaj, a fellow prisoner, says mandela didnt even wince. Mac maharaj he had to hold his emotions tightly to himself. He could not divulge to the authorities and let them feel that this was a weakness in his armor. Simon reveal nothing that was mandelas strategy and organize the prisoners into a government in waiting. He never doubted that the racist regime would be overthrown, so even back then, he started preparing. First move learn the language of the oppressor, afrikaans. The language of the enemy . Maharaj the language of the enemy, and i was totally opposed to it. And he said to me, mac, do you agree that we are now in a protracted war . I said, yes. He says, youve got to understand the general on the other side. I said, yes. He says, to understand him, youve got to know his language. Simon the book contains defiant letters mandela wrote to the authorities, reminding them that, as political prisoners, they had rights and should be treated with dignity. In response, he got a visit from a general who was intent on putting mandela in his place. Maharaj and he says to mandela, mandela . You better remember you are a prisoner. And in a very polite way, he says to him, general, you and i may be generals on the opposite side of this war. At some point, even if it is to accept the surrender from the other, well have to meet. And how we treat each other now will determine how we interact at that moment. Simon the regime was then forced to change its strategy. It tried to undermine mandela in the most insidious way. He was moved to a private house in a prison on the mainland, equipped with a chef and a swimming pool. Officials came to see him, brought along a case of wine and tempted him to sell out. Harris this was the key moment, for me, in Nelson Mandelas life. This was when he was most at risk, because he starts negotiating from prison on his own. Hes incredibly vulnerable. Simon what could have happened to him . Harris he could have been played into making concessions. He could have been played into compromising himself in ways that would have been irredeemable. And he didnt make one mistake. Simon so when he walked out of prison, he knew, the world knew, that he was walking to the presidency, taking over the country that had been run by white racists for more than 40 years. How do you explain that incredible confidence . Harris you know, i think, from very early on, he had a very strong sense of destiny. Simon but the country was on the brink of a civil war. He ruled with the exact same strategy he had employed as a prisoner. Dont go for revenge; go for reconciliation. cheers and applause he showed up at the finals of rugbys world cup. This was the white sport in south africa, and here was a black president wearing the team jersey, waving the team cap. Spectators, the team were stunned. And Nelson Mandela is cheering along with the whole of the stadium. Simon mandela had won again. He brought afrikaners into his government, including Zelda La Grange. This is zelda back then. Zelda was a typist in the president ial Office Building when mandela took over. One day, she literally bumped into him in a corridor. Zelda la grange and he stopped me and he started speaking in afrikaans with me. Simon in afrikaans . La grange thats right. And i didnt understand a word he was saying because i was so shocked. There was a feeling of guilt immediately over. Overtaking my emotions, that i felt responsible for taking away so many years of his life. Simon you broke down . La grange yes, yes, i started crying. Simon mandela hired zelda, brought her into his office. Mandela Zelda La Grange . Simon he wanted his old oppressors to know theyd be okay in the new south africa. Zelda la grange had a role to play. So it was a political decision, you think. La grange yes, definitely. There was some political thinking behind it for sure, some strategy, absolutely. Simon it wasnt long before zelda became his most trusted assistant. For the last 19 years, every pop star, politician, president , or pope who wanted to see the great man knew enough to cozy up to Zelda La Grange. We asked her about their relationship when we interviewed her back in 2010. And you became his granddaughter, didnt you . La grange no, i mean, i love him like my, you know, my own family. Simon love is the word . La grange definitely adore, love, admire. Simon it wasnt just zelda. Mandela was winning the love and admiration of, well, just about everyone. But he couldnt hold on to the woman he had adored for 40 years, his wife winnie. They were divorced in 1996. And his daughter zindzi . Whenever he had to choose, your father chose the struggle over his family. Did that make you angry . Zindzi mandela oh, yes, it did. Of course, it did. I would get hurt. I would get angry, especially when i was younger. I mean, i grew up wanting my father to come back home, wanting to be an ordinary family. I dont know what that was like to have a father, you know, to tuck me in at night. Simon on his 80th birthday, mandela married graca machel, and finally found happiness. They had a lot in common. She had also been a political activist, a freedom fighter. When we interviewed graca in 2010, we asked her what her husband was like before he got ill. Does he ever get angry . Graca machel very. Oh, dont want to be next to him when he is angry. Simon and its not just anger. Graca, who called her husband madiba, says he was stubborn, too trusting, and excessively loyal to people who did not deserve it. Machel i am one of those who says he is not a saint. Madiba is a normal human being. Simon a normal human being. Machel absolutely normal. Simon excuse me. He spent 27 years in jail. And when he got out, he forgave the people who put him in jail and who stole his life from him. This is not normal. Machel let me try to explain. Madiba understood the importance of suppressing his own feelings against those who had jailed him. So, even when he would be angry, even when he would be very hurt, but he will always try to put up a face which they wouldnt read through it. Simon he kept wearing that stone face for the rest of his life, even when his eldest son died of aids in 2005; and five years later, when his favorite greatgranddaughter zenani, who you saw at the beginning of this story, was killed in a car crash. This happened on the eve of the world cup in south africa in 2010 and mandela had been expected to attend. No one knew if he would make it, he was so sad, so frail. But then, there he was, once again. For the last time, Nelson Mandela lit up the world with his smile. Glor good evening. American airline and u. S. Air officially mastering mecklenburg tomorrow before the market opens. Protesters topple a statue of lenin in kiev today and congress has until friday to extend benefits for the longterm unemprod. Im jeff glor, cbs news. Will twas the bazillionth winter for the johnsons tv. And fed up dad said time for a new one if you ask me. But which one to buy . There were so many choices. Enter the blue shirts, with their calm expert voices. With low price guarantee there was money to spare. So mom bought a camera, right then and there. Nothing will ever replace good literature. Vo get great gifts like the canon eos rebel sl1. At your ultimate holiday showroom. Best buy. 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A chopper with 16 other special Operations Forces that had rushed to help luttrell and his team was shot out of the sky. Everyone on board was killed. At the time, in june 2005, it was the largest loss of life in one day for Naval Special warfare since world war ii. A former commander of Marcus Luttrells, retired vice admiral joe maguire, told us no seal will ever forget that terrible day. Was that the toughest day for you as a special forces commander . Joe maguire yes. You know, most people of my generation, they ask the question, you know, do you remember when kennedy was shot . Well, i remember that as well, but a much more moving day for me and one thats more defining is the 28th of june, 2005, when that helicopter was shot down and three of my men were killed on the ground. Cooper 19 men lost their lives. Vice admiral joe maguire was head of seal training at the time. Maguire you would have to go back to world war ii to have had one day where we experienced that many casualties at one time. Cooper maguire says the entire Seal Community was devastated. Its a community Marcus Luttrell and his twin brother decided they wanted to be part of when they were still teenagers. Marcus luttrell he had it in his head that he was. This is what we were going to do. He was like, its going to be great, man. We get to jump out of airplanes, we can shoot guns and blow stuff up. We get to scuba dive. And theres an 80 chance were going to die. And i was like, well, sign me up, man. laughs cooper Marcus Luttrell became a seal at the age of 25, and says receiving the special warfare insignia was the proudest accomplishment of his life. Do you remember when you got the trident put on your chest . Luttrell absolutely. February 2, 2001. Cooper you remember the date. Luttrell like it was my birthday. Cooper out of 86 people who started out in his seal training class, only 20 graduated. Its that sort of rigorous training that vice admiral maguire says prepares seals for the kind of firefight Marcus Luttrell found himself facing in the mountains of northeastern afghanistan. Maguire these are just, you know, unremarkable men who do absolutely remarkable things. Theyre warriors. Its a warrior class. Its a warrior spirit. And they are extremely talented individuals, and, you know, theres this story thats come to light because marcus survived, and marcus feels like he survived in order to tell the story. Cooper on june 28, 2005, petty officer Marcus Luttrell, a sniper and team medic, wasnt sure he was going to survive. He was badly wounded and didnt know anyone was trying to rescue him. Luttrell my back was broke, i had a frag laying everywhere. I just crawled into this rock embankment, started taking dirt and putting it in all my wounds so i wouldnt bleed to death. Cooper so, you had no. No medical gear . Luttrell uhuh. Cooper did you have a map . Luttrell it was all gone. Cooper did you have a compass . Luttrell gone. Cooper did you have. Luttrell i didnt even have pants on. Cooper you had no pants . Luttrell no, that was completely ripped off me. Cooper luttrell had been fighting for hours. His three seal brothers were all dead or near death. Petty officer danny dietz from littleton, colorado, had been in charge of communications. Matt axelson axe, for short was from cupertino, california. Like luttrell, he was a petty officer and a sniper. Lieutenant mike murphy was the team leader. They were part of a Larger Mission called operation red wings. Their job was to locate this man, whom the four seals had only seen in grainy photographs. He was an elusive militia leader aligned with the taliban named ahmad shah. Who was ahmad shah . Luttrell he had a group that he ran called the mountain tigers. He was creating all kinds of havoc out there in that particular region that he was in, killing marines, army i mean, you name it. Cooper luttrell was based at Bagram Air Base outside kabul