Louie Zamperini was born in California in 1917 to parents who had moved from Verona, Italy. Louie was a very difficult child.  He had a terrible temper, and he did not have a firm sense of what was right and what was wrong. He stole things from people in the neighborhood. And he was incredibly stubborn. But one day, this stubbornness would transform into the virtue of perseverance.

 

Louie’s early years were pretty rocky, but then, in high school, Louie found a way to channel his irrepressible energy. He joined the track team. He discovered he was very successful when he focused his whole will into training hard.

 

At the age of 19, he qualified for the National Olympic Team. In the 1936 Olympics, he came in 8^th place, in a field of much more experienced and older professional athletes.

 

When World War II started, Louie joined the Air Force and became a bombardier in the Pacific on a B-24 bomber.

 

He was on a rescue mission, flying with his ten crewmates over the sea to find two pilots, who had been shot down by the enemy. On this mission, their plane crashed into the Pacific.

 

For 47 days, Louie and his fellow survivor, Phil were adrift. They survived on rainwater, and somehow, they managed to catch fish. They had to fight off sharks. A Japanese plane shot through their life raft with machine guns. Amazingly, bullets struck all around the two of them, but missed them. And somehow, Louie and his friend patched up the raft before it filled with water.

 

But then, the real trial began. When the men reached the Marshall Islands, they were captured by the Japanese. There’s an expression: “out of the frying pan, into the fire” and that’s about right. They had just survived one incredible ordeal, only to begin another. They were shipped away to a prison camp in Japan. Here they suffered incredible violence from the guards. But Louie showed unbelievable perseverance.

 

Once, the chief guard, a very bad man named Watanabe, made Louie hold a heavy beam of wood up high over his head. Louie was sick and exhausted. But Watanabe told Louie that if he dropped the beam on his head he would be killed. Louie didn’t give up. Incredibly, he held the beam up for thirty-seven minutes! He later said, “I don’t know what was going on inside of me.” Finally, his guards grew exasperated with waiting and pushed the beam away, knocking him down, but he survived.

 

In 1945, when America and its allies won World War II, Louie and the other prisoners were rescued, and came back to America.

 

Louie had one more lesson to learn. The war had tested him, and proved his perseverance. But life was not immediately better for Louie after the war. He got married, but his wife realized he was still haunted by his memories of being a prisoner.  He lacked direction and purpose. She knew he was consumed by feelings of hatred for his former captors, especially Watanabe.

 

One day, she convinced him to go to hear a famous evangelist who was preaching about the forgiveness that Jesus gives all of us. Reluctantly, Louie went. Then he went again, and then again, to hear this man talk about how all of us have been forgiven. At last, Louie decided to commit his life to following Jesus. That very night, and for the rest of his life, he had no more nightmares about the war, and was finally able to put away the feelings of hatred he had.

 

I hope you were inspired by this story of Louie Zamperini, a man who did great things simply because he persevered. Think this month, how can I persevere? Ask yourself, what things can I achieve if I stick to it and work hard?