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POW Perseverance Amid forty seven days at sea, and several weeks as a prisoner of war Louis Zamperini demonstrated great perseverance in enduring till the end. Born on January 26 1917 (Wikipedia) a boy named Louis Zamperini spent his early years in Torrance California. With a brother, two sisters and parents who love him Louis lived in a caring home. Although having loving parents during his grade school years Louis often got in to trouble such as thievery, encounters with police and running away from home. In the mist of one of his many troubles Louis came to his scenes and cleaned up his life, encouraged by his brother Pete he took up the sport of running, he eventually became an Olympic runner and ran in Berlin in front of Hitler in 1936. Shortly after this Louis was drafted and became a bomb tech and gunner on a B-24 bomber plane. With several training missions in the air and unreliable planes such as B-24s, accidents were a common this among flying pilots and plane crews. One day on a training flight Zamperini`s plane when down in the middle of the ocean which lead to forty seven days floating on a raft at sea and being held as a POW by the Japanese. Amidst water torture and POW life Louis’s perseverance stood unmovable. Born in 1917 Louis Zamperini lived in Olean New York for two years, after this the Zamperinis moved to Torrance California where Louis spent his life until drafted by the US Army Air Corps in 1941 (Wikipedia). As a child Louis was mischievous and a disobedient kid who wanted attention and did whatever to get it. With stealing and shoplifting a commonality with him, Louis of had his parents and neighbors mad and disappointed. At almost wits’ end for Louis’s parents Louis became aware of his short comings and shaped his life for the better. With his brother Pete always being the one people liked, Louis had a great remodel. Encouraged by Pete to joint his schools track teams Louis discovered his ability for speed. With a time for the mile around four minutes and 8 seconds Louis became an Olympic runner who ran before Hitler in 1936. With fame and glory to show for his perseverance in running Louis became a hero in his home town of Torrance. Drafted by the US Air Corps in 1941 Louis was trained and moved to Oahu close to where the Japanese had previously bombed Pearl Harbor. With several weeks of anticipated combat by pilots, crew men and Louis Oahu became a lounge for many and an impatient wait for others. With Several accidents occurring on unreliable planes search and
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rescue missions happened often. On a mission to find lost pilots floating in the ocean Louis’s plane went down in the middle of the ocean due to engine failler. When Louis’s plane struck the water Louis was and forced to the bottom of the plane entangled in wires and cables, he realized that his hands and feet were tangled to the point of no return with the plane sinking fast and oxygen escaping Louis lost consciousness. Although sinking in a plane and tangled in wires when Louis regained consciousness he was miraculously free from any entanglements and quickly made his way to the surface of the water (Hillenbrand 120). Upon surfacing he saw the faces of two other crew men, Phil and Mac. Quickly all three men made for the planes life raft that was rapidly floating away. Realizing that the raft was poorly equipped with only a few candy bars, two jugs of water and some other unhelpful things, within a few hours the men came to an understanding the they would probably be in the water for a while until someone found them, but no one did, the men survived on rain water, small fish they eat raw and a few birds, until forty seven days latter drifting deep in to Japanese territory the men were captured by Japanese after being spotted floating close be a Japanese ship. Haggard and thin to the bone, only Louis and Phil were taken captive Mac having died some days earlier, while on the
