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Poon Lim
During World War II, Lim was second steward on a British merchant ship that took off from Cape Town in South Africa. When the slow-moving boat was torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat some 700 miles east of the Amazon, Poon jumped ship before the boat sunk. For the next 133 days, Poon survived on an 8-foot by 8-foot life raft. In that time, Poon found ways to catch sharks using leftover hemp rope and nails from his life raft. He was eventually successful, drinking a shark's blood for hydration and eating its fins for sustenance. Poon was almost rescued once by Navy patrol planes, but a storm hit right as they were going to get him to safety. Finally, a group of Brazilian fisherman rescued Poon and got him back to land. His ordeal remains the longest ever involving a human lost at sea on a life raft.
RULE No24
Always have a bottle of scotch, bourbon, vodka, gin and mixes on hand.
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Birger Stromsheim
December 12 2012 at 11:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySomeone needs to get there story right, SOE was part of the British war effort. The US equivalent was known as the OSS.
You only have part of the story about Buck Compton. When he left his plane over Normandy on D Day, the prop blast broke the strap on his helmet and his leg bag, both of which disappeared into the early morning darkness with 99% of his gear. When he touched down, he said he was ready to fight the Huns with 2 grenades and a trench knife! It wasn't until hours later that he got a Thompson from an injured officer and took it into battle, unbeknownst to him that it had a broken firing pin which he promptly discovered at the Battle of Brecourt Manor in a German trench.
May 21 2012 at 9:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhen asked his greatest achievement in life, he answered "my family". He also was the type of man who could see the best in people and bring it out of them without even trying. He was my friend and a mentor and I miss him tremendously.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr died of a heart attack on July 12th and was buried on July 14th, which was also the 26th Anniversary of his younger brother Quentin's death, killed during WW1. TR Jr was buried at Normandy and Quentin's body was exhumed from his original grave site and interred next to his older brother.
May 21 2012 at 2:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyReally should have included Hunter S Thompson in this list!
May 07 2012 at 8:17 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply