American track and field athlete Louis Zamperini participated in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Although he did not win the final race, he gained the favor of Hitler, who invited him to his box. Zamperini was expected to participate in the next Olympic Games, but the outbreak of World War II forced him to join the military. His plane crashed over the Pacific Ocean, and he and two fellow soldiers spent 47 days adrift on a raft before being captured by the Japanese.