On May 19, 1942, a German U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey 50 miles off New Orleans. The ship had her sights set on the freighter Heredia. Aboard were 59 people; most were merchant seamen, but there were also a handful of civilians. Fast asleep in their berth, the Downs family had no notice that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, all four members of the family were separated from each other. More than half the crew and passengers aboard the Heredia perished, but incredibly, after 15 hours in the ocean — facing sharks, hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration — all members of the Downs family survived and were reunited.