I have also heard that the US Navy used his experience to rewrite the survival manuals on how to survive at sea. I'm with him, I hope nobody has to break THAT record.
@@loditx7706 He probably offered more lessons from a psychological side than a pragmatic one even - sourcing food via fishing, collecting rainwater, even the condensation bit, are all fairly straightforward and obvious, any survival expert or probably even common mariner could see that, at least in a theoretical manner. But how to stay sane and motivated to keep going, that's a deeper challenge.
im always impressed when someone not only survives like this, but then goes on to live another 50-60 years after. heck i dont expect to live that long, and im not starving to death on a raft.
What’s interesting about brief periods of starvation or near starvation is that most people that recover from that state and are able to become healthy end up living significantly longer than average. Not sure if it’s more of a mental or physical change that causes that, but it seems to have a significant impact on their lifespan, on average.
@@richardhall1667 may explain my hardiness, due to a combination of low income and being a dumb 8 year old, I'd end up not eating for a few days in a row occasionally
@@richardhall1667 research suggests that it has to do with resetting a biological clock at the cellular level. For me it is about quality not quantity though and I do love to eat.
I was on the USCGC Iris (WLB-395) out of Astoria Oregon back in the 70's and I have to say it was one of the best times of my life. When your ship is located at the mouth of the Colombia River in an area fondly called the "Grave yard of the Pacific" lots of time is spent doing drills that pertained to surviving that particular piece of ocean. We had "Gumby" suits and practiced how to use them in Lake Union Seattle. Everything and daily life was all about being ready..... and we were.
@@randmayfield5695 Life changing experience for sure. After I left the Polar Star I was at S&R Station Port Huron and just missed a spot in the MLB school at Cape D. Peace. Semper Paratus!
@@tadroid3858 Did you do the north or south or both trips on the Polar Star? Ice breaker duty was a sought duty because of the opportunities for travel. My CG experience was a rare one. My first duty out of basic training was three weeks in Hawaii on Sand Island then a LORAN monitor station in Thailand for a year, then school in Petaluma, then the buoy tender Iris, then the LORAN station Gesashi in Japan for nine months, then 3 months TAD on the island of Iwo Jima, then my last year was spent on a SAR station in Grand Isle Louisiana. I didn't want to get out but I wanted a girlfriend and to get a college education. Being in the guard we were either underway or out in the boonies so I was never anywhere that was stable over time. Thailand was absolutely amazing in every way. On the Iris we did four week fisheries patrols with the Soviet hake fleet and traveled up and down the west coast doing training and working navigation aids. We spent six weeks in dry dock in Seattle after we bottomed out going though the Colombia River bar at night with seas breaking jetty to jetty. Cracked a bunch of welds and were leaking fuel oil. It was like being in the boy scouts with one adventure after another. Thanks for the comment.
@@lonnywilcox445 I remember them being called that. They were the vests that had the back of the head pad. Supposedly those could cause snapped necks when jumping from a high deck when abandoning ship.
Sometimes I feel most of you already are insane. Maybe a similar experience would improve your ability to recognize higher consciousness? While I don’t wish such a life changing experience on most people, I can’t help wondering if it might help. What do you think?
This is not a mystical learning moment. This was a man’s life. This is not room for growth. This is about survival, and nothing else. It’s absolutely horrible to think that other people should have to go through this.
@@MissMarinaCapri you delusional person. "Sometimes I feel most of YOU are already insane". State why "us". State why it's all "us" instead of maybe it's YOU...? Have YOU ever had a similar experience Marina? Life or death? Excruciating waiting for months alone, knowing the odds are hard against you? Ever been in a sinking ship, torpedoed? Etc etc...? Ever served your country instead of serving coffee? I doubt you have half a clue about what you are having an opinion on. Maybe it's time that, instead of saying "your" every time, think about self reflection. Enlightenment comes from NOT KNOWING. But I doubt you understand
I read the book 'Sole Survivor' many years ago. Lim said that he was thankful for the chores he set up for himself, scrubbing the deck and airing out his clothes and collecting water. He mentioned spending a lot of time reminiscing about his home and childhood memories. He had a pet chicken that he thought about constantly. I remember he obsessed over gathering water and fishing and his lack of a pillow and his painful physical condition. I don't remember him worrying about going insane. Hilariously, the first thing he asked for after being rescued was tobacco. He had many feverish nightmares where I though there was tobacco somewhere on the raft.
It's called the merchant marine there is no s on the end. They are refered to as merchant mariners, I spent 2 and a half years as a merchant mariner before i did a hitch in the Navy in the eighties. I planned on going back after the Navy but life has a funny way of redirecting a person in a different direction than planned.
With you Ralph, my father & 2 uncle's were both in the Merchant Marine sailed from the U.K. all from Grimsby on the east coast where Grandfather was a fisherman on trawlers.
@@hunterroberts9951 And of course Hunter you are perfectly correct👍I always refered to it as the Merchant Marine & even did so in my reply to Ralph, not even thinking about it😅
In the book "Adrift: Seventy-six days Lost at Sea" by Steven Callahan, he went through a similar experience when his sailboat was stove in by a whale off the Canary Islands during his solo to cross the Atlantic. One part of his saga that I always found very amusing and fascinating was when he finally after going through hell in his tiny life raft saw land and instead of being overjoyed he became fearful because the beach area he was drifting into was covered with heavy surf. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to survive the landing. Then miraculously a small panga fishing boat saw his raft and pulled up next to him. They told him that they had spent considerable fuel at a high cost to get to these special fishing grounds so they asked him if it was alright if they fished for awhile with the promise they would come back to get him after they finished. Steven explains how a euphoric state had come over him and he smiled and replied: "Sure, why not." That just fascinates me.
Read this book as a kid and thought often about it crossing the pacific myself...once had a group of pilot whales literally swim above my head in a blow when a wave quartered above the cockpit...felt like the odds were a bit smaller then from being killed by a whale from above:)
Why didn't they just take him onboard, let him rest while they fished, and then all go back together? Why let him stay out there and take a chance on him drifting somewhere they couldn't find him, or into the dangerous surf?
@@mariebelladonna437 There's an answer to your question. Steven had been in that small raft for weeks and he was covered in mahi mahi rotting slime and blood he looked and smelled so bad that the fishermen couldn't stand the way he smelled.
@@randmayfield5695 Ah. I guess that makes a lot of sense, lol. Just very glad for Steven that they did indeed come back, and were able to find him again, and properly rescue him. I never knew this story. Thanks so much for answering.😊
Fascinating. I'm reminded of a man from church years a ago. His name was Eugene Eliezar. I recall that he was an Indonesian. With others in a lifeboat, he survived a U-boat sinking and drifted ashore in Africa (after not nearly 133 days). I also recall the Pacific ordeal of Eddie Rickebacker and few other guys. (I think there's a THG epsiode on this.) Being adrift at sea is an adventure I do not wish to have. Such courage!
I remember reading Lim's story on Reader's Digest when I was a child. It was such an exciting tale that I kept coming back and reading it over and over again.
Having thought, read & absorbed stories about survival ever since I attended USAF Flight Nurse school I am of the belief the main thing is what is inside us - the mental game. Of course, water & food are mandatory but in the long run, you have got to be one, a survivor. Kudos for this incredible story. What a man!!
A strong spirit can motivate a person to achieve what others believe impossible. 133 days on a life raft, staying sane. What a remarkable human being. *tips hat*
He was lucky he had his own raft all to himself. Those built in supplies lasted a lot longer than they would if there were two rafts and thirty men clinging to them. When the _Compass Rose_ sank in _The Cruel Sea_ they started off with a few rubber rafts and a lot of men in the water clinging to them. They organized relays where they'd let people get out of the water (this was in the North Atlantic ...) for a while but as time went by there were fewer and fewer men. Finally, they didn't have to share the boat with men in the water because there were no men in the water who were still alive. When the sun came up the next morning another escort came looking for them and pulled those that were left aboard. One of the more moving incidents in the Novel (based on the Authors real experiences in WWII) came when they saw a life boat coming towards them under sail. The Life boats were good boats. They had a mast you could raise, a sail and a tiller. The Life Boat was headed right for the convoy and happened to be heading right down a lane between the ships. They were over joyed that these men had survived. Then ... they got closer. The man sitting at the tiller was a skeleton as were those huddled under blankets in the boat. They didn't stop and the Life Boat went on it's way, under sail, tiller in the skeletal hands of it's helmsman. .
Coast of my dear Brazil! You are getting close! My grandad gone fight in Italy in WW2 and the story of Brazilians expeditionary force is never told. Very few was really soldiers or even military, but government promised "benefits" to volunteers - that never came. My grandad used to tell stories and everyone took that as joke, a weird lie, someone else's stories, etc. But it was everything very consistent with he being there. After his passing, in 1984, my dad had some boxes, photos, and other itens from him and a friend of the family that had passed years before, a french man called Pierre, and was very dear to my grandad and my family - it was a strong and significant friendship. Pierre came "because of the war" and we never knew much more. I still have Pierre's books. Grandad lived many years and died in the house besides ours, that my dad arranged to him and my grandma, bcuz they were very poor and as soon my dad could, he bought them a good place to live. Many years later I found many itens related with the Brazilian expeditionary force (FEB) and written stories about it, in very old piece of papers, but no names, no documents, no medals, but old bullets casings, keychains, and some other minor itens. My grandad had a interesting story of life and he actually had 2 different names - slightly different - with different year of birth dates. He was born in the early 1900, in a small rural area in Brazil, inside a monastery and was baptized before be registered and, later, registered with a different last name and as new born. One of those names was the most common name in Brazil at the time "José Maria da Silva". I checked the data about FEB, just like my cousin, journalist, and there is hundreds of "José Maria da Silva" there, with similar birthday and lost info about origins or state or town or anything else. Gone to the FEB museum - witch was very close of where my grandad always lived - and an old Feb volunteer, a very nice fellow with medals and trauma and all, told me he met many ppl with this name and they totally lost contact with most of the expeditionary - they didn't even had a complete information about the KIA or MIA personal. But my old man used to tell stories like "we were not used to American food in cans and at the first try, me and all my fellows had to spend a week in the camp toilet - that was no food! Was a purgation!"... Another was about "breaking the shoulder" shooting American rifles" bcuz in Brazil we only knew the "yellow chin" rifle - a Winchester like rifle with bronze parts and Brazilians refer to it as "papo amarelo" - a kind of caiman alligator we have in Brazil that have a "yellow chin". These stories - and many more - are consistent with stories told by that fellows in the FEB museum. So... There's more stories that deserves to be remembered!!! Hugs!!
One of my neighbors growing up was also a merchant man half Polynesian and half Irish and had three ships sink under him one or two by torpedo and one by Kamikaze a very short slender man but never had to wait that long for rescue. He mainly sailed American flagged vessels but not exclusively. The merchant marines suffered some of the highest casualty rates during WWII.
A great tale, and well told, but I had to slow your commentary to 0.75 speed to make sense of it. Please slow down. These episodes are too good to be rushed😊
I have been in a couple situations and discovered that there is an inner voice that coaches us. A person will find that an object has their attention, say a particular stone or stick. That object is offering itself for our use and it is up to us to discover how it can be useful. Paying attention to our attention.
Fortunately for Poon Lim he had a pretty good start for his epic survival test. All of the food and water, plus other survival gear, all put him in good stead for at least some survival time, but honors to him, as he utilized them, and then did many other things that saved his life. For example the canopy that sheltered him, and caught water for him was his own idea, and it certainly was a big factor in his survival. Great kudos, and all praise to Poon Lim, for he actually saved himself. Doctor George Whitehead
This is the real history not so much the history I was meant to be taught in the sixties and seventies history classes in school. Half of which was either fictional or most likely falsehoods. He was an incredibly innovative and unbelievably tough man. Excellent episode, thank you. 👍
I remember in school we read a story about 3 airmen in a raft. I think they only survived about 34 days? Was still a harrowing tale as I can recall. That story was a large part of the reason why I clicked on this video. I thought to myself, I like raft stories.
For the most part this is an interesting tidbit not really important to the "overall story" of history. But what I really like about The History Guy's videos is that, while they focus on some sort of interesting tidbit, they go into the broader backstory and historical context that is more important overall but maybe not so well known. Such as in this video the importance of, and danger faced by, the Merchant Marine fleet in WWII, as well as the British Empire and Chinese sailors involved in it. Most emphasis and awareness is on military history, the roles of combatants, navy ships, and so on, the story of civilian ships less discussed.
The last time I heard this story was during the Christmas holidays in 1974,when some of the older relatives were talking about those years. I think that their stories are what got me to appreciate the lessons that history can offer.
For someone with no survival training, he showed what can be accomplished if a person doesn't panic, and lives one day at a time. I wonder if he got back pay for those 133 days. After all, he protected and brought to shore all that was left of his employer's ship.
I had to watch/listen to this twice. The part where the U-Boat crew takes merchant survivors aboard to interrogate them only to return them to their fate at sea is especially heinous. Poon Lim is a man and story I hope to remember when encountering situations of despair. I can think of few, myself included, who could endure such a hopeless circumstance and invent the resourcefulness required to acvomplish such a feat... and not only survive, but thrive in his years of aftermath.
David. Especially henious are the stories of survivors like that being machine gunned into the water by Uboat crews. My father was a British merchantman, 4+ years of convoy duty. One of his ships was sunk in the Mediterranean. They were taken aboard the Uboat, his captain was kept, and the rest of them returned to the lifeboat. When the U-boat crew prepared to gun them, the Uboat captain stopped them. The story is, my dad yelled at him and asked him his name. I was named after that man. Such is the reality of war.
When I hear these types of amazing survival stories I always think of the probable larger numbers of people who stayed alive for similar lengths of time, but still perished without being found and their stories are unknown.
Only's clicked the link because I have minor dyslexia and thought it read "Poon's Limit: A WWII Survivale Story", and I am but a humble Sailor. Stayed and subscribed because it is nuanced nautical history, and I am but a humble Sailor.
Awesome story. On a related note, I would like to see THG do a piece on the WWII Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda. Edit: I have also noticed that THG has yet to cover the Tom Dooley case. That's right in THG's wheelhouse.
US Merchant Mariners sustained more battle injuries per capita than did the members of any of the *traditional* uniformed services. My dad was an AB (able-bodied seaman) and served during the war exclusively aboard high-octane aviation fuel to Murmansk from somewhere in the Tri-State (PA, DE, NJ) where most refineries were located.
You should do a segment on the voyage of the Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. I read the book when I was about 9 years old. I was so inspired by the story. I built model of the raft from sticks and a piece of old bed sheet for a sale...
Him having grown up on a small island and the resourcefulness of the people and resources they had at that time and age surly gave him the skills that saved his life. In this throw away world now many would not have those skills to survive. RIP Mr Lim
Everybody always talks about the big stories a big battles thank you for taking the time and energy to look into the the other stories that happened during that time of courage and perseverance
Another great survival story was U533 part of the Monsun Wolfpack , sank in the gulf of Oman by an RAF Blenheim bomber on the 16th Oct. 1943 that flew out of RAF Sharjah, only one man survived , ‘Matrosengefreiter’ Gunther Schmidt, he had escaped from the sub from a great depth (allegedly 60m) without an escape set, no life vest, and no means of support, he swam and trod water for 28hours solid, before he was picked up by HMIS Hiravati, not quite the 133 days Poon Lim’s record, but to survive a sinking sub, then swim and tred water for that period in waters that are notoriously high in sharks, I find it incredible, for his efforts, he was kept at his majesty’s pleasure as a POW for the remainder of the war, I’m sure a better fate than had befell his shipmates.
Thank you for posting this. I had read a book about this years ago, but couldn't remember by whom, so I'm happy to be reacquainted with this amazing story of survival
Golly man... people's limitations are immeasurable in some instances, going beyond what any of us would think to survive ourselves. Like last night, I watched a video about the pilot who got sucked out from the window of his commercial airliner.....and he lived!!!!! It's an incredible story all together. It goes to show how extremely hard it is to measure the limits of what the human body can sometimes endure.
We were read this in school in 1985, I remember being pretty taken by the story. I didn't know he was still alive at the time. Amazing story, Poon Lim sure had a strong will. Thanks for the reminder.
Early in my career as a Merchant Marine Deck Officer I had the privilege of working with a number of WW2 seaman whose ships had been lost. One AB on my watch had been sunk and much later picked up by a neutral vessel was Inturned in Spain. The government had paid his mother his life insurance and later tried unsuccessfully to recover it. Closer to home my grandfather and uncle survived the loss of the “Esso Boston “ sunk by U-130.
Thank you History Guy. You are a bright spot in this sometimes bored and lonely truck driver’s life. I get a chance to learn and remember while I tick the miles and time away. Again, thanks.
I first read about this story when I was merely 9 year-old, nearly 40 years ago! And I could only half believe this story. I always thought it was a novel “based on true story” only. Thank God for bringing this video to my attention! Thank YOU!
Upon learning the story of Poon Lim, the skipper of the boat that saved him immediately offered the hand of his daughter in marriage. Poon Lim declined the offer
What a cracking informative & heart wrenching story. This is the first time I've heard of Poo Lim, what a hell of a man. About the British Government & the then War Department not paying men like him a fair & equal wage, I am sadly not surprised. It's only a few years ago that they started paying the thoroughly devoted & amazing warriors unequaled in jungle fighting from Napal, the Gurkhas, the pay equal to their counterparts the British soldiers. The Department of Defence as it is now known, have a mindset about the armed forces, I can tell you from personal experience. It's "mind over matter. We don't mind YOU don't matter". This believe me is perfectly true of the DoD.
@@vcv6560 , rule 3, be ready to collect rain over the widest surface area possible. I presume he caught it in the canopy and had a low spot with a hole to funnel it down into a container.
@@vcv6560 it is not called the open sea for nothing. The sea is basically a desert of water that you can't drink. We are not aquatic creatures so the sea is a hostile environment for us to survive on.
Can you do a video on Billy Waugh? Another TH-camr by the name of Preston Stewart made a thoughtful community post to honor his passing and the short list of details describes the life of an American that definitely deserves to be remembered. He began his military career in Korea and continued into the 2000's when he landed in Afghanistan after 9/11 to make preparations for what would become the _Global War On Terror._
I have also heard that the US Navy used his experience to rewrite the survival manuals on how to survive at sea. I'm with him, I hope nobody has to break THAT record.
There's nothing quite like practical experience as a teacher.
In USAF SERE they taught us about this.
I would imagine he changed views not so much on how to survive but that it is possible for someone to survive for so long.
@@quillmaurer6563 while singing! Remarkable strength! 💪
@@loditx7706 He probably offered more lessons from a psychological side than a pragmatic one even - sourcing food via fishing, collecting rainwater, even the condensation bit, are all fairly straightforward and obvious, any survival expert or probably even common mariner could see that, at least in a theoretical manner. But how to stay sane and motivated to keep going, that's a deeper challenge.
The “Good Morning” statement pretty much says all you need to know about this man.
Yes it does👍 How very British, total understatement😅😅
I would bet he meant it.
Excellent, Poon Lim was a G
Taking apart that life vest to catch rain was genius.
Thirst will either kill you or turn you into a genius.
im always impressed when someone not only survives like this, but then goes on to live another 50-60 years after. heck i dont expect to live that long, and im not starving to death on a raft.
Starving has a way of resetting our biological clocks. I'm surprised he didn't live longer. The free radicals we consume ultimately do kill us.
What’s interesting about brief periods of starvation or near starvation is that most people that recover from that state and are able to become healthy end up living significantly longer than average. Not sure if it’s more of a mental or physical change that causes that, but it seems to have a significant impact on their lifespan, on average.
@@richardhall1667 may explain my hardiness, due to a combination of low income and being a dumb 8 year old, I'd end up not eating for a few days in a row occasionally
@@richardhall1667 research suggests that it has to do with resetting a biological clock at the cellular level. For me it is about quality not quantity though and I do love to eat.
@@richardhall1667 He died at 72 years old.
When I feel overwhelmed or helpless I’m going to think of this guy! Total Legend!
When I was on the USCG Polar Star in 1984, they still called the life jackets "kapoks". Awesome story. Thanks, as always!
I was on the USCGC Iris (WLB-395) out of Astoria Oregon back in the 70's and I have to say it was one of the best times of my life. When your ship is located at the mouth of the Colombia River in an area fondly called the "Grave yard of the Pacific" lots of time is spent doing drills that pertained to surviving that particular piece of ocean. We had "Gumby" suits and practiced how to use them in Lake Union Seattle. Everything and daily life was all about being ready..... and we were.
@@randmayfield5695 Life changing experience for sure. After I left the Polar Star I was at S&R Station Port Huron and just missed a spot in the MLB school at Cape D. Peace.
Semper Paratus!
@@tadroid3858 Did you do the north or south or both trips on the Polar Star? Ice breaker duty was a sought duty because of the opportunities for travel. My CG experience was a rare one. My first duty out of basic training was three weeks in Hawaii on Sand Island then a LORAN monitor station in Thailand for a year, then school in Petaluma, then the buoy tender Iris, then the LORAN station Gesashi in Japan for nine months, then 3 months TAD on the island of Iwo Jima, then my last year was spent on a SAR station in Grand Isle Louisiana. I didn't want to get out but I wanted a girlfriend and to get a college education. Being in the guard we were either underway or out in the boonies so I was never anywhere that was stable over time. Thailand was absolutely amazing in every way. On the Iris we did four week fisheries patrols with the Soviet hake fleet and traveled up and down the west coast doing training and working navigation aids. We spent six weeks in dry dock in Seattle after we bottomed out going though the Colombia River bar at night with seas breaking jetty to jetty. Cracked a bunch of welds and were leaking fuel oil. It was like being in the boy scouts with one adventure after another.
Thanks for the comment.
Or Mae West's.
@@lonnywilcox445 I remember them being called that. They were the vests that had the back of the head pad. Supposedly those could cause snapped necks when jumping from a high deck when abandoning ship.
Anyone who sailed under the red ensign during WWII were true heroes and their history definitely needs to be remembered.
MacGyver could have learned a thing or two or three from this guy. His mental toughness for such a young guy was incredible
Pretty resourceful man. I imagine the loneliness and boredom would drive most of us insane.
The mental strength... people don't understand what it takes...
Sometimes I feel most of you already are insane. Maybe a similar experience would improve your ability to recognize higher consciousness? While I don’t wish such a life changing experience on most people, I can’t help wondering if it might help. What do you think?
This is not a mystical learning moment. This was a man’s life. This is not room for growth. This is about survival, and nothing else. It’s absolutely horrible to think that other people should have to go through this.
@@MissMarinaCapri you delusional person. "Sometimes I feel most of YOU are already insane". State why "us". State why it's all "us" instead of maybe it's YOU...?
Have YOU ever had a similar experience Marina? Life or death? Excruciating waiting for months alone, knowing the odds are hard against you? Ever been in a sinking ship, torpedoed? Etc etc...? Ever served your country instead of serving coffee? I doubt you have half a clue about what you are having an opinion on.
Maybe it's time that, instead of saying "your" every time, think about self reflection. Enlightenment comes from NOT KNOWING.
But I doubt you understand
I read the book 'Sole Survivor' many years ago. Lim said that he was thankful for the chores he set up for himself, scrubbing the deck and airing out his clothes and collecting water. He mentioned spending a lot of time reminiscing about his home and childhood memories. He had a pet chicken that he thought about constantly. I remember he obsessed over gathering water and fishing and his lack of a pillow and his painful physical condition. I don't remember him worrying about going insane.
Hilariously, the first thing he asked for after being rescued was tobacco. He had many feverish nightmares where I though there was tobacco somewhere on the raft.
This is the kind of story I love to hear. Absolute legend. May his name live forever and may his record never be broken.
My Dad served in the Merchant Marines during WW2. He told me little about it, but what he Did tell me
was quite disturbing.
It's called the merchant marine there is no s on the end. They are refered to as merchant mariners, I spent 2 and a half years as a merchant mariner before i did a hitch in the Navy in the eighties. I planned on going back after the Navy but life has a funny way of redirecting a person in a different direction than planned.
@@hunterroberts9951 Life does that, and thank you for the tip.
With you Ralph, my father & 2 uncle's were both in the Merchant Marine sailed from the U.K. all from Grimsby on the east coast where Grandfather was a fisherman on trawlers.
@@hunterroberts9951 And of course Hunter you are perfectly correct👍I always refered to it as the Merchant Marine & even did so in my reply to Ralph, not even thinking about it😅
The Merchant Marine service in the first year of WWII was a death sentence. Kudos to your father.
In the book "Adrift: Seventy-six days Lost at Sea" by Steven Callahan, he went through a similar experience when his sailboat was stove in by a whale off the Canary Islands during his solo to cross the Atlantic. One part of his saga that I always found very amusing and fascinating was when he finally after going through hell in his tiny life raft saw land and instead of being overjoyed he became fearful because the beach area he was drifting into was covered with heavy surf. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to survive the landing. Then miraculously a small panga fishing boat saw his raft and pulled up next to him. They told him that they had spent considerable fuel at a high cost to get to these special fishing grounds so they asked him if it was alright if they fished for awhile with the promise they would come back to get him after they finished. Steven explains how a euphoric state had come over him and he smiled and replied: "Sure, why not." That just fascinates me.
Read this book as a kid and thought often about it crossing the pacific myself...once had a group of pilot whales literally swim above my head in a blow when a wave quartered above the cockpit...felt like the odds were a bit smaller then from being killed by a whale from above:)
Why didn't they just take him onboard, let him rest while they fished, and then all go back together? Why let him stay out there and take a chance on him drifting somewhere they couldn't find him, or into the dangerous surf?
@@mariebelladonna437 There's an answer to your question. Steven had been in that small raft for weeks and he was covered in mahi mahi rotting slime and blood he looked and smelled so bad that the fishermen couldn't stand the way he smelled.
@@randmayfield5695 Ah. I guess that makes a lot of sense, lol. Just very glad for Steven that they did indeed come back, and were able to find him again, and properly rescue him. I never knew this story. Thanks so much for answering.😊
Fascinating. I'm reminded of a man from church years a ago. His name was Eugene Eliezar. I recall that he was an Indonesian. With others in a lifeboat, he survived a U-boat sinking and drifted ashore in Africa (after not nearly 133 days). I also recall the Pacific ordeal of Eddie Rickebacker and few other guys. (I think there's a THG epsiode on this.) Being adrift at sea is an adventure I do not wish to have. Such courage!
Here's THG's link to the episode you refer to.... th-cam.com/video/UwavMbo6Tew/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TheHistoryGuy%3AHistoryDeservestoBeRemembered
@@martinjcamp THANKS!
Hail and well met, fellow students! Greetings from Connecticut!
Thank you, I've learned something new.
@@jaredmehrlich6683 The thanks belongs to Lance Geiger, The History Guy! I’m just a fellow student!
I remember reading Lim's story on Reader's Digest when I was a child. It was such an exciting tale that I kept coming back and reading it over and over again.
I remember that issue! It was gripping!
Having thought, read & absorbed stories about survival ever since I attended USAF Flight Nurse school I am of the belief the main thing is what is inside us - the mental game. Of course, water & food are mandatory but in the long run, you have got to be one, a survivor. Kudos for this incredible story. What a man!!
A strong spirit can motivate a person to achieve what others believe impossible. 133 days on a life raft, staying sane. What a remarkable human being. *tips hat*
He was lucky he had his own raft all to himself. Those built in supplies lasted a lot longer than they would if there were two rafts and thirty men clinging to them.
When the _Compass Rose_ sank in _The Cruel Sea_ they started off with a few rubber rafts and a lot of men in the water clinging to them. They organized relays where they'd let people get out of the water (this was in the North Atlantic ...) for a while but as time went by there were fewer and fewer men. Finally, they didn't have to share the boat with men in the water because there were no men in the water who were still alive. When the sun came up the next morning another escort came looking for them and pulled those that were left aboard.
One of the more moving incidents in the Novel (based on the Authors real experiences in WWII) came when they saw a life boat coming towards them under sail.
The Life boats were good boats. They had a mast you could raise, a sail and a tiller.
The Life Boat was headed right for the convoy and happened to be heading right down a lane between the ships. They were over joyed that these men had survived. Then ... they got closer.
The man sitting at the tiller was a skeleton as were those huddled under blankets in the boat.
They didn't stop and the Life Boat went on it's way, under sail, tiller in the skeletal hands of it's helmsman.
.
Coast of my dear Brazil! You are getting close! My grandad gone fight in Italy in WW2 and the story of Brazilians expeditionary force is never told. Very few was really soldiers or even military, but government promised "benefits" to volunteers - that never came. My grandad used to tell stories and everyone took that as joke, a weird lie, someone else's stories, etc. But it was everything very consistent with he being there. After his passing, in 1984, my dad had some boxes, photos, and other itens from him and a friend of the family that had passed years before, a french man called Pierre, and was very dear to my grandad and my family - it was a strong and significant friendship. Pierre came "because of the war" and we never knew much more. I still have Pierre's books. Grandad lived many years and died in the house besides ours, that my dad arranged to him and my grandma, bcuz they were very poor and as soon my dad could, he bought them a good place to live. Many years later I found many itens related with the Brazilian expeditionary force (FEB) and written stories about it, in very old piece of papers, but no names, no documents, no medals, but old bullets casings, keychains, and some other minor itens. My grandad had a interesting story of life and he actually had 2 different names - slightly different - with different year of birth dates. He was born in the early 1900, in a small rural area in Brazil, inside a monastery and was baptized before be registered and, later, registered with a different last name and as new born. One of those names was the most common name in Brazil at the time "José Maria da Silva". I checked the data about FEB, just like my cousin, journalist, and there is hundreds of "José Maria da Silva" there, with similar birthday and lost info about origins or state or town or anything else. Gone to the FEB museum - witch was very close of where my grandad always lived - and an old Feb volunteer, a very nice fellow with medals and trauma and all, told me he met many ppl with this name and they totally lost contact with most of the expeditionary - they didn't even had a complete information about the KIA or MIA personal. But my old man used to tell stories like "we were not used to American food in cans and at the first try, me and all my fellows had to spend a week in the camp toilet - that was no food! Was a purgation!"... Another was about "breaking the shoulder" shooting American rifles" bcuz in Brazil we only knew the "yellow chin" rifle - a Winchester like rifle with bronze parts and Brazilians refer to it as "papo amarelo" - a kind of caiman alligator we have in Brazil that have a "yellow chin". These stories - and many more - are consistent with stories told by that fellows in the FEB museum. So... There's more stories that deserves to be remembered!!! Hugs!!
Thank you for telling the story of your grandfather. Now it will not be forgotten!
As Cobras Fumantes!
Gracias.
One of my neighbors growing up was also a merchant man half Polynesian and half Irish and had three ships sink under him one or two by torpedo and one by Kamikaze a very short slender man but never had to wait that long for rescue. He mainly sailed American flagged vessels but not exclusively. The merchant marines suffered some of the highest casualty rates during WWII.
A great tale, and well told, but I had to slow your commentary to 0.75 speed to make sense of it. Please slow down. These episodes are too good to be rushed😊
@@peterport646 I agree.
I love your "deserves to be remembered" line.. it'll never get old.
I can think of easier ways to binge on sushi. But this man's resolve and resourcefulness are beyond reproach.
I am a very resourceful guy, but I'm not too sure I could have survived half the amount of time he did or even past a quarter of the time.
i love you man thank you and your son for all your work. your one of my heros
This man possessed an incredibly strong will to live. Amazing. I think I would’ve gone insane long before 4.5 months had passed.
I suspect Poon Lim and Eddie Rickenbacker would have gotten along famously.
and Louis Zampernilli
I've always loved this story. What an ordeal, and what a true survivor!
Strong will to survive. Very impressive.
You know, anyone can be a historian, but you are one of those few people who are just natural story tellers.
I knew of this man when I was in junior high school in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his daughter as a class mate.
Thank you. I'm teaching a survival class tomorrow, and will definitely tell them this story, and if time allows, may show this to the class.
I have been in a couple situations and discovered that there is an inner voice that coaches us.
A person will find that an object has their attention, say a particular stone or stick. That object is offering itself for our use and it is up to us to discover how it can be useful.
Paying attention to our attention.
WOW! Wow, that's just amazing...AND he was all "Good morning!" when someone rescued him? That man was as tough as nails, he was!
Fortunately for Poon Lim he had a pretty good start for his epic survival test. All of the food and water, plus other survival gear, all put him in good stead for at least some survival time, but honors to him, as he utilized them, and then did many other things that saved his life. For example the canopy that sheltered him, and caught water for him was his own idea, and it certainly was a big factor in his survival. Great kudos, and all praise to Poon Lim, for he actually saved himself. Doctor George Whitehead
This is the real history not so much the history I was meant to be taught in the sixties and seventies history classes in school. Half of which was either fictional or most likely falsehoods. He was an incredibly innovative and unbelievably tough man. Excellent episode, thank you. 👍
I remember in school we read a story about 3 airmen in a raft. I think they only survived about 34 days? Was still a harrowing tale as I can recall. That story was a large part of the reason why I clicked on this video. I thought to myself, I like raft stories.
For the most part this is an interesting tidbit not really important to the "overall story" of history. But what I really like about The History Guy's videos is that, while they focus on some sort of interesting tidbit, they go into the broader backstory and historical context that is more important overall but maybe not so well known. Such as in this video the importance of, and danger faced by, the Merchant Marine fleet in WWII, as well as the British Empire and Chinese sailors involved in it. Most emphasis and awareness is on military history, the roles of combatants, navy ships, and so on, the story of civilian ships less discussed.
@@quillmaurer6563 That’s very true , good point 👌
The last time I heard this story was during the Christmas holidays in 1974,when some of the older relatives were talking about those years. I think that their stories are what got me to appreciate the lessons that history can offer.
For someone with no survival training, he showed what can be accomplished if a person doesn't panic, and lives one day at a time. I wonder if he got back pay for those 133 days. After all, he protected and brought to shore all that was left of his employer's ship.
Sacrificed his lifejacket to make shade. Lived. And caught rain water. Genius.
DOUG out
I had to watch/listen to this twice. The part where the U-Boat crew takes merchant survivors aboard to interrogate them only to return them to their fate at sea is especially heinous.
Poon Lim is a man and story I hope to remember when encountering situations of despair. I can think of few, myself included, who could endure such a hopeless circumstance and invent the resourcefulness required to acvomplish such a feat... and not only survive, but thrive in his years of aftermath.
To be fair, there was very little accommodation to fit additional people on a U-boat.
David. Especially henious are the stories of survivors like that being machine gunned into the water by Uboat crews.
My father was a British merchantman, 4+ years of convoy duty. One of his ships was sunk in the Mediterranean. They were taken aboard the Uboat, his captain was kept, and the rest of them returned to the lifeboat. When the U-boat crew prepared to gun them, the Uboat captain stopped them.
The story is, my dad yelled at him and asked him his name. I was named after that man. Such is the reality of war.
@@WALTERBROADDUS “to be fair”? Absolutely nothing in war is fair. It is not the nature of the beast.
@@bmon4095 be that as it may, we do have rules and regulations concerning War.
@@bmon4095 actually what is far more heinous, is Crews being machine-gunned by American submarines.
Excellent story of perserverance.
When I hear these types of amazing survival stories I always think of the probable larger numbers of people who stayed alive for similar lengths of time, but still perished without being found and their stories are unknown.
Only's clicked the link because I have minor dyslexia and thought it read "Poon's Limit: A WWII Survivale Story", and I am but a humble Sailor. Stayed and subscribed because it is nuanced nautical history, and I am but a humble Sailor.
Awesome story. On a related note, I would like to see THG do a piece on the WWII Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda.
Edit: I have also noticed that THG has yet to cover the Tom Dooley case. That's right in THG's wheelhouse.
That's was one heck of a man! These are some of the stories that should be taught in schools.
US Merchant Mariners sustained more battle injuries per capita than did the members of any of the *traditional* uniformed services.
My dad was an AB (able-bodied seaman) and served during the war exclusively aboard high-octane aviation fuel to Murmansk from somewhere in the Tri-State (PA, DE, NJ) where most refineries were located.
You should do a segment on the voyage of the Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl.
I read the book when I was about 9 years old. I was so inspired by the story. I built model of the raft from sticks and a piece of old bed sheet for a sale...
I read Kon-Tiki when a young teen and couldn’t put the book down even so I didn’t like reading anything longer than a Reader Digest article.
Actually the record is now 438 days by Salvador Alverenga who came to shore in February 2014. The book is called 438 days and well worth a read.
ok i,m being a pedant but he was in a boat not a liferaft ,but still a remarkable feat of endurance
ok i,m being a pedant but he was in a boat not a liferaft ,stil a remarkable feat of endurance
Wow! This man was intelligent, highly resourceful and had an indomitable will to live, hats off to him.
Him having grown up on a small island and the resourcefulness of the people and resources they had at that time and age surly gave him the skills that saved his life. In this throw away world now many would not have those skills to survive. RIP Mr Lim
As the Sailor, I find this story of survival remarkable and a pure perseverance
An excellent story about a man’s determination to survive. Wonderfully presented!
Everybody always talks about the big stories a big battles thank you for taking the time and energy to look into the the other stories that happened during that time of courage and perseverance
everybody?
Another great survival story was U533 part of the Monsun Wolfpack , sank in the gulf of Oman by an RAF Blenheim bomber on the 16th Oct. 1943 that flew out of RAF Sharjah, only one man survived , ‘Matrosengefreiter’ Gunther Schmidt, he had escaped from the sub from a great depth (allegedly 60m) without an escape set, no life vest, and no means of support, he swam and trod water for 28hours solid, before he was picked up by HMIS Hiravati, not quite the 133 days Poon Lim’s record, but to survive a sinking sub, then swim and tred water for that period in waters that are notoriously high in sharks, I find it incredible, for his efforts, he was kept at his majesty’s pleasure as a POW for the remainder of the war, I’m sure a better fate than had befell his shipmates.
What an amazing tale of survival. Such mental as well as physical toughness awe me.
Amazing that I hadn’t ever heard of this story. Thank and your son for doing these important pieces of history. Take care from Alaska
Thank you for posting this. I had read a book about this years ago, but couldn't remember by whom, so I'm happy to be reacquainted with this amazing story of survival
Sole Survivor: A Story of Record Endurance at Sea by
Ruthanne Lum McCunn?
Edit: nevermind 😂 he mentioned it @4:19
Logistics has always been the unsung hero that made military campaigns possible. Without logistics there would likely have been no wars.
Golly man... people's limitations are immeasurable in some instances, going beyond what any of us would think to survive ourselves. Like last night, I watched a video about the pilot who got sucked out from the window of his commercial airliner.....and he lived!!!!! It's an incredible story all together. It goes to show how extremely hard it is to measure the limits of what the human body can sometimes endure.
Yes, Pilot Timothy Lancaster. That was BA flight 5390 in 1990. Quite a harrowing story,
We were read this in school in 1985, I remember being pretty taken by the story. I didn't know he was still alive at the time. Amazing story, Poon Lim sure had a strong will. Thanks for the reminder.
I read about this story as a child. What an amazing story.
With indelible spirits like his on this earth, it makes one proud to be counted among them.
Being human is a thrill.
That is a hoot. "Good Morning" like it's nothing. The worst part is the idea you would float alone forever until death. Infinity.
Alone on an empty sea day and night for months , how did he not go insane? Most people couldn't last 72 hours.
His story was covered by National Geographic Magazine. I remember reading his story all those years ago.
I always found these extreme stories of survival great reads growing up. Still do!
Thank you for telling this story. I love listening to you.
Never cease to amaze me with the stories that you come up with. Another smash hit history guy!!
Early in my career as a Merchant Marine Deck Officer I had the privilege of working with a number of WW2 seaman whose ships had been lost. One AB on my watch had been sunk and much later picked up by a neutral vessel was Inturned in Spain. The government had paid his mother his life insurance and later tried unsuccessfully to recover it. Closer to home my grandfather and uncle survived the loss of the “Esso Boston “ sunk by U-130.
What a man! Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Uplifting end to my evening. Thank you
Thank you History Guy. You are a bright spot in this sometimes bored and lonely truck driver’s life. I get a chance to learn and remember while I tick the miles and time away. Again, thanks.
Truth, always stranger than fiction
I first read about this story when I was merely 9 year-old, nearly 40 years ago! And I could only half believe this story. I always thought it was a novel “based on true story” only. Thank God for bringing this video to my attention! Thank YOU!
A fantastic story, beautifully told. Thank you.
Upon learning the story of Poon Lim, the skipper of the boat that saved him immediately offered the hand of his daughter in marriage.
Poon Lim declined the offer
One tragedy in a lifetime is more than enough . . .
They could have named their kid poon tang.
Thank You for sharing.
Your stories are stellar, but this is a real good one!!
An amazing story! Thank you HG!
What a cracking informative & heart wrenching story. This is the first time I've heard of Poo Lim, what a hell of a man. About the British Government & the then War Department not paying men like him a fair & equal wage, I am sadly not surprised. It's only a few years ago that they started paying the thoroughly devoted & amazing warriors unequaled in jungle fighting from Napal, the Gurkhas, the pay equal to their counterparts the British soldiers. The Department of Defence as it is now known, have a mindset about the armed forces, I can tell you from personal experience. It's "mind over matter. We don't mind YOU don't matter". This believe me is perfectly true of the DoD.
Lance that was an amazing story of human spirit well told !
As usual, thank you history guy. I love the learning here.❤
Always great history on this channel and they all deserve to be remembered.
The sacrifices of merchant seaman are typically forgotten and little rewarded. Little fanfare. No parades. No veterans benefits.
What great story; once again another excellent episode from THG😁😎
-Breaks record for longest survival at sea
-Couldn't swim
So apparently learning to swim was a scam all along
Clearly rule one of open sea survival is stay in the raft.
@@1pcfred rule 2, build a canopy. That covering was almost as important and learning to fish. The exposure alone would have finished him otherwise.
@@vcv6560 , rule 3, be ready to collect rain over the widest surface area possible. I presume he caught it in the canopy and had a low spot with a hole to funnel it down into a container.
@@vcv6560 it is not called the open sea for nothing. The sea is basically a desert of water that you can't drink. We are not aquatic creatures so the sea is a hostile environment for us to survive on.
Excellent story of survival. Great job History Guy.
What a story of human persistence. Thank you, THG
Thank you History Guy. You are always a welcome sight on my screen. ✌️😁
I appreciate you, thank you for making content.
So much to learn from this man.
My favorite of THG videos are biographical. It's interesting to learn from others and sometimes they just make for a great story! Thank you, THG!
One of your best, HG.
I’m speechless. All I can say is: what an amazing story and accomplishment!
Can you do a video on Billy Waugh? Another TH-camr by the name of Preston Stewart made a thoughtful community post to honor his passing and the short list of details describes the life of an American that definitely deserves to be remembered. He began his military career in Korea and continued into the 2000's when he landed in Afghanistan after 9/11 to make preparations for what would become the _Global War On Terror._
You never dissapoint HG, always on point.
Oh man that’s amazing.
"Essentials of Sea Survival" by Golden & Tipton is the best sea survival book I've seen. Mentions this and others.
Thank you for this wonderful piece of history that should never be forgotten
Thank you, amazing story!
Thank you for this story of indomitable courage!
You did a wonderful job presenting his story. Thanks for the adventure.
What a great story to share, I am so inspired by him!