It is the story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic track athlete who, at the time, was just one second off the world record in the mile in 1936 (4:08 was his time, I believe). He was training for the 1940 Olympics when WWII began and he insisted in the Air Force as a bombardier (not a pilot, but the guy who actually drops bombs).
He was stationed in the south pacific when his crew was sent out on a mission to find a missing plane in the ocean. A LOT of planes never came back and this was common practice to fly out low over the water with nothing but binoculars searching for life rafts. Unfortunately, it was common for the search party to come up missing as well. This is exactly what happened to Louie and his crew. By no fault of their own, they had an equipment malfunction, which caused them to go down and crash on the water. There were only three men who survived the crash, and they were forced to float on two rafts, each the size of a bathtub. Immediately, sharks were circling beneath.
On the rafts there were all sorts of survival gear supposed to be packed like food, water, knife, etc. Unbelievably, their rafts lacked nearly all of this gear, save a chocolate bar and a little water. Even more unbelievable, one of the guys ate all of the chocolate on the first night in a panic.
After a few days, they had no food and no water and no sign of rescue. They would trap rainwater to get by, and killed a bird who landed on the raft for food. Fortunately, the sharks were patient.
After 37 days, the guy who ate all the chocolate died, because he lost his will to live. By this time, the sharks were getting rowdy and starting to attack the rafts. They actually hauled two five foot sharks into the raft and killed them by stabbing them in the eye with a screwdriver and ate their livers (the only edible part of a shark).
Did I mention in the first week a US search plane flew overhead and didn't see them? Later a Japanese fighter flew overhead and fired on them each and every one of its 7 passes overhead. Remarkably, he never hit them or their raft.
As they floated over 2,000 miles, Louie, a man who never was close to God, looked up to the Heavens and said something to the effect of, "Lord, if you save me, I will serve you forever."
On the 41st day, they finally reached land. It was an island controlled by the Japanese during the war. The Japanese who found them were pleasant, providing food, water, and medical treatment. The two men were scared shitless of being POWs of Japan because of the rumors they had heard. More to come on that...
After their recovery, they were transferred to a POW camp after POW camp and eventually were split up. Louie ended up an Japan mainland and that's where this story gets really Effed up. The conditions were ruthless. The POW's were forced to do hard labor and were physically and emotionally abused. Some guards were nicer than others, but one in particular was a standout, who they called "the Bird."
Louie found himself missing the raft.
Since Louis was an olympic athlete, the Bird paid particular close attention to him, giving him severe beatings daily for years. And when I say sever beatings, I mean kicking his ass every day with punches, kicks, and belt whippings to the face. The POWs were not allowed to protect themselves from the blows or it would result in other POWs getting beaten severely as well. No fighting back, no covering your face, just taking punch after kick after whip. On once occasion, a the Bird ordered a POW to take two punches in the face from over 100 other POWs. That is over 200 blows to the face, which caused the POW to pass out. As I was reading, I found myself wanting to kill the Bird.
In addition to the beatings, the men were severely malnourished. They had limited water and a small diet of seaweed. There was food delivered from the Red Cross, but the guards made sure it never reached the POWs. The hunger and dehydration caused thousands to perish.
One day, when Louie was doing hard labor, he fell into a ditch four feet deep and shredded his ankle and knee. This would mean the end of his olympic dreams.
The POWs were not allowed to write letters or receive mail, so the US military and their families had no idea if they were alive. Louie was actually pronounced dead after missing for 13 mos.
In addition to all of the above, the men were aware of a "kill-all" order, which meant if Japan lost the war then every POW was to be terminated in mass. So while they all wanted to see Japan fall, they worried that would be the end for them, as well. Amazingly, when Japan fell after the atomic bombs dropped, they were spared. There is no explanation for this.
When they were saved, Louie returned home to LA. On his first day home, his post traumatic stress disorder stepped in quickly. He turned to alcohol to numb the pain and became an alcoholic. He began training again, running the mile in under 4:15 but re-injured his ankle and could not compete anymore. He married and had a baby, but she could not handle his behavior. Every night the Bird would haunt his dreams. One night, he was awoken finding himself straddling his wife in bed choking her. In his dream, he was choking the bird. She left him.
A while later, she returned to LA to finalize the divorce. She was invited to go listen to a Christian speaker from Minn one night, and forced Louie to attend the next day. He initially refused, but she convinced him to go. He was completely turned off and was walking out, when he had a flashback in the rain of the raft, when he said he if he was saved he will serve Him forever.
This was a life-changing moment. Louis immediately went home and poured all the alcohol bottles down the sink and was a Saved man.
