Louis Zamperini was always a troublesome kid. From beating other kids up to stealing items from neighbors, there was always something he was doing wrong. And because of that, he was put into sports where he discovered running and hated it, but loved the attention. Pete became his trainer until Louis went pro. Eventually, Louis lived and breathed running. He even made it to the 1936 Olympics. After the Olympics,Louis joined the Army Air Corps in 1941, which is ironic because as a boy he wanted nothing to do with flying.He was a bombardier and flew many missions. However, on one such mission, the bomber he flew in was shot down. Him and two others were stranded in the middle of the ocean for 47 days, in this time one man died. They were surrounded by sharks and lived on raw fish and occasionally bird. …show more content…
But after being transported to Kwajalein, the Japanese became harsh. They sent Louis and Phil to different POW camps. Louis was dehumanized anywhere he went, but the Bird payed him special attention. He inflicted merciless beatings, psychological torture, and hard labor until the end of WWII. After the war ended, Louis was hospitalized several times before returning home, and even then his mind was not at rest. Louis married Cynthia Applewhite, but their marriage was not always a happy one. Louis could not land a solid job. Instead he smoked and drank to forget about the Bird. Rage and hatred consumed him, and he became abusive to Cynthia and their baby girl. This became to much for Cynthia, so she was going to file for divorce, but changed her mind after hearing Billy Graham preach. Louis, after much pestering, went to hear him as well, but it took many times before he turned his life over to Jesus. Later Louis created the nonprofit Victory Boys Camp for troubled boys. He took them fishing, swimming, horseback riding, camping, and in the winter,