-
Period: to
US involvement in World War II
-
Louie joins the Army Air Corps
Louie initially joins, but drops out because he gets air sickness and doesn't like it.
He rejoins after the attack on Pearl Harbor because his contract said he could be re-drafted whenever any time. The beginning of Louie's war years is defined by this event where he tries to escape the air corps, but is forced to return to what he hated. This foreshadows the types of events Louie will face during the war. -
Louie graduates from training
Louie graduates from his air corps training in school. Before he leaves, he takes one last picture with his family.
Once Louie arrives at the air base in Ephrata, WA, he meets Phil. The graduation from training marks Louie's transition into the Air Force, and the picture with his family symbolizes the last time his family will see him before the war ends. This foreshadows the eventual "death" of Louie that is announced later on in his future. -
Louie, Phil, and Super-Man crew go to war
The crew of the Super-Man bomber prepares to go to war and is stationed in Kahuku, Hawaii. The name "Super-Man" provides irony to Louie's story in that this bomber isn't so super when it meets its demise later on. When the crew prepares for war, we are shown more foreshadowing for the difficulties Louie will face as a bombardier. -
Super-Man sent on a mission to bomb Wake Atoll
The crew successfully bombs Wake Atoll, but was unaware of the presense of 98 US POWs on the islands. The bombing turns out to be more damaging to the US than Louie expected, and this miscommunication with the crew of the Super-Man that there were POWs on the island provides insight into the military in WWII. We see that initially the commanders were more concerned with defeating the Japanese than with defending and saving the POWs. This idea dissolves when the crew is sent on a rescue mission. -
Mission to Nauru
Super-Man is sent to bomb Nauru, and encounters 9 Japanese Zeros after the bombing. The left wing is damaged and the bomber receives 594 bullet holes but survives. The crew must crash land since the brakes were damaged; everyone survives, but the plane cannot fly again. We see the difficulty that the crew faces during the missions and the danger they will encounter throughout the story, but this event foreshadows Louie's life: he will be severely damaged, live, but never be the same again. -
Green Hornet crashes
While on a rescue mission in their new plane, Green Hornet, Louie and his crew experience engine malfunctions and the plane crashes in the middle of the Pacific. The only survivers are Louie, Phil, and Mac. This event demonstrates the little concern the millitary has for lives since the crew was given a faulty plane. We see Louie's struggle to push through even with death knocking at his front door constantly. Death comes closer and closer to Louie throughout the book from now on. -
Period: to
Louie, Phil, and Mac lost at sea
They drift at sea for 46 days. Mac eats all the emergency chocolate, they are surrounded by sharks, two planes fly by (one is a Japanese fighter that shoots at them, the other is a US plane that passes by), they survive a storm (Louie prays to God saying he'll dedicate his life to Him if they survive), Mac dies, and two albatrosses land on the raft and get used as bait for fishing. This is an extremely difficult time physically and mentally for Louie, it's his roughest waters yet. -
Period: to
Drifting at sea insight
This period at sea tests Louie and pushes him to his limits. He encounters extremely dangerous experiences and overcomes them all. The albatross that lands on the raft provides an allusion to the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and makes Louie worried that more bad will happen if he kills it (he does, and worse things occurr). He also prays to God during the storm to save him, and he overcomes these challenges and survives. We really begin to see the book's title come into play now. -
Louie and Phil are taken as POWs
The raft comes across an "island" which turns out to be a Japanese ship. The Japanese take Louie and Phil as POWs and they are taken to a POW camp at Wotje in the Marshall Isalnds. Louie's next big journey has begun. The "island" they saw serves as a false hope, and foreshadows even more danger to come. -
Louie is transferred to Kwajelein
After a few days at the first camp, Louie is transferred to his next POW camp. The series of camp transferrings has begun, and Louie will begin to move from camp to camp more. The camp shifting serves as a symbol for Louie's inability to cope as a POW. His physical position is constantly moved from camp to camp as is his mental standpoint on his life: he can't successfully comprehend what has happened and his thoughts are constantly interrupted with pain and misfortune. -
Louie and Phil are transferred to camp in Yokohama
Again Louie and Phil are shifted around like objects. They have been almost completely dehumanized from the torture, labor, and treatment they received. Louie still struggles to cope with POW life and is again reaching his breaking point; however, he still stays strong and remains unbroken. This part of his life emphasizes Louie's inner strength and his will to hold on: following his brothers advice. -
Louie is transferrd to camp in Omori
After almost a month in Yokohama, Louie is again transferred to a different camp. Here, Louie encounters the Bird, the POW camp leader who will haunt Louie for much of his life during and after the war. Meeting the Bird is a landmark event in Louie's life, because it serves as Louie's ultimate test: he must struggle to put up with the Bird as a POW, but also after the war ends as the Bird haunts his dreams. Omori again provides insight into Louie's mind as he still struggles to cope, -
Louie is declared "dead"
After being missing for so long, the US decides to declare Louie as dead, but his family still holds on to a hope that he somehow managed to survive (which he did). Louie still remains a POW in Omori, but this "death" provides an insight into how the rest of America tries to handle the war. We see that the US has given up on Louie, but his family hasn't which reveals the inner the outcome of the story through foreshadowing: Louie is thought dead but lives. -
Louie tapes a radio broadcast announcing that he's still alive
Up until the broadcast, everyone in the US believed Louie was dead. This recording corrects the previous one which announced his death, and we begin to see the falling action of the story, where Louie sruvives as a POW, survives the war, and gets reunited with his family later on. However, the war is not over yet. -
Louie is transferred to camp in Naoetsu
When Louie thought things were getting manageable and the Bird was gone, he is proven wrong and is transferred to an even worse camp where he meets the Bird again! At Naoetsu, Louie is violently abused by the Bird, tears his ankle and knee working, gets blamed for stealing and receives a punch in the face from each POW (220), and he is forced to hold a 6ft wooden beam above his head (he holds it for 37 min but still gets beat by the Bird). -
Naoetsu Insight
Louie is again pushed to his limit and forced to re-learn how to cope with being a POW. Although this is the worst camp yet this is where his journey as a POW ends and he gets rescued from here later on. Seeing the Bird again foreshadows how Louie will be revisisted by the Bird in his nightmares after the war, and his torture and abuse also foreshadow how he will abuse his body through drinking after the war. Despite everything, Louie still manages to stay unbroken. -
Louie gets beriberi and all the Japanese leave Naoetsu
Louie gets sick with beriberi, putting him at an all time low. However, his hope rises when all of the Japanese men at the camp (including the Bird) leave mysteriously. The men all bathe in a river and see a plane fly by. The US plane drops rations, clothing, and other essentials for the POWs. Louie's hope greatly increases and his struggle as a POW comes to an end. The irony in the situation is that although WWII is almost over, Louie's internal battle with the Bird has just begun. -
Japan formally surrenders WWII
A few days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan formally surrenders, thus ending WWII. Now this chapter of Louie's life comes to a close, only to start the next chapter which begins with his journey home. More irony is seen in that the end of the World War is the beginning of an even more dangerous war inside of Louie. -
Train takes POWs home
Finally a train comes to bring all the POWs home from Naoetsu. Louie gets to go home and see his family... and the Bird in his nightmare. After 2 and a half years as a POW, Louie has attained PTSD and constantly has thoughts of the camps and of the Bird. He begins drinking to "solve" his problems, and the irony of ending one war but beginning another has officially begun.
