OK, so you think you've had it rough? Louie Zamperini, now age 94, has had an amzing life.
- He ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics on the same team as Jesse Owens and was brought to Hitler's booth after his race to be congratulated on his amazing run by Der Furher himself.
- When war broke out he served as a bombadier on the B-24 "flying coffin".
- He was lost at sea while he and his crew were on a search and recue operation looking for another bomber crew. 35 days into their 46 day, 2,000 mile drift through the ocean (follwed by sharks the entire time) they spotted a plane and signaled it. It was a Japanese bomber which made five passes at him and the two men who survived with him. He jumped in the water where the bullets were not lethal after a few feet penetration and was attached by two sharks. He punched the sharks on the snout and fended them off all five times.
- When they came within sight of land, a typhoon hit. They survived only to be captured by the Japanese two days later.
That's when things start getting bad. Really bad. He survived the war and, well, you'll have to read the book. I'll just say that in the end, forgiveness won out. It'sa beautiful story.
I heard him interviewed on KFI a couple weeks ago. 94, strong, healthy, and optimistic. Truly amazing.
The book is authored by the lady who wrote "Seabuiscut." It's an excellent read. I highly recommend it. You can order it here.
