Louis Zamperini and his crew mate survived a plane crash in the ocean on a raft for 47 days, the longest anyone survived at sea. They survived by drinking rainwater, catching fish and birds that landed on their raft. After they survived the boat ride they washed ashore in Japanese territory. Louis had to survive a POW camp and a prison guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe nicknamed "the Bird". The Bird would single out Louis for cruel treatment, the only way he could survive was to not have his spirit broken and he survived the POW camp for two years. Louis was released after the war. His biggest obstacle he faced and not prepared for was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He overcame this obstacle by having faith, forgiveness and hope. He forgot that he made a deal with God on the lifeboat, and he believed that God helped him. The same day while he was sleeping he did not have one nightmare. After he had faith he realized he needed forgiveness. So he went to Japan even though he vowed to never return. He forgave his former prison guards in jail who were facing war crimes. The Bird was never persecuted and denied Louis's request. Louis decided to write to Mutsuhiro Watanabe a letter of how his cruel treatment affected him and offering forgiveness. Louis wrote, "Love replaced the hate I had for you". That through it all he had hope he said. That with hope you can achieve a lot, according to Psychology Today. He learned that he had to overcome his (PTSD) before he overcomes his experiences in war and he did conquer his greatest obstacle his own mortality.

“I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's a healing, actually, it's a real healing...forgiveness.”

― Louis Zamperini

“I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.”

― Louis Zamperini

“One moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory.”

― Louis Zamperini