Unbroken: The Story of Louis Zamperini
| published November 8, 2014 |

By Earl Perkins
Thursday Review features editor

Born to Italian immigrants in New York, Louis "Louie" Zamperini would go on to pack more life into his stay on Earth than almost anyone ever. An inspiration to millions, he overcame almost insurmountable odds throughout his life, according to columnist Cal Thomas.

Louie and his parents spoke no English when they moved to Torrance, California, making him the target of numerous bullies as a youngster. Zamperini's father taught him to box for self-defense in high school. Soon, he was "beating the tar out of every one of them; but [he] was so good at it that [he] started relishing the idea of getting even," Louie's father said, according to the USC News. "[He] was sort of addicted to it."

He moved on to juvenile delinquency, quickly running awry of local law enforcement. However, after noticing Louie's likeable and mischievous nature, a police officer encouraged him to use his fleetness of foot for sport. Running for Torrance High School, Louie set the national high school record in the mile at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1934. His time of 4 minutes 21.2 seconds would stand for 20 years, along with earning him a track scholarship to the University of Southern California.

Two years later he finished in a dead heat with world-record holder Don Lash in the 5,000-meter run, qualifying him to represent the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin--Hitler's Olympics. The teenager would be America's top finisher in the event, covering the final lap in 56 seconds.

Zamperini returned home a hero and joined the USC track and field team, where he competed on numerous record-breaking teams. He almost certainly would have broken the four-minute mile, but instead joined the U.S. Army Air Corps soon after this nation entered World War II in 1941.

Still in his early 20's, Louie would become a bombardier on a B-24 in the Pacific Theatre. On a mission to find a downed aircraft on May 27, 1943, engine problems on their plane--The Green Hornet--caused his entire crew to ditch in the open ocean, according to Ira Berkow of the New York Times.

Lt. Zamperini and the co-pilot, Second Lt. Russell Phillips, along with tail gunner Sgt. Francis McNamara, lived on rainwater and the few fish they caught. Louie was 5-foot-9 and 125 pounds at the time, but his weight eventually dropped to 75 pounds as they drifted 2,000 miles across shark-infested waters for 47 days. When they weren't being strafed by Japanese aircraft, they were fighting off hunger, thirst, heat, storms and sharks.

In June 1943, Anthony and Louise Zamperini, at home in Torrance, received the following telegram regarding their son:

“In grateful memory of First Lieutenant Louis S. Zamperini, A.S. No. 0-663341, who died in the service of his country in the Central Pacific Area.” The message continued: “He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live, and grow, and increase its blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, he lives — in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men.” It was signed, “Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States.”

Unbeknownst to the military, Zamperini and the others were adrift at sea, although Sgt. McNamara died after 33 days. Zamperini and Phillips were 'rescued' by a Japanese destroyer, but that's when the story turns truly horrible. Louie and Phillips were moved from one prison camp to another, with their worst treatment coming from Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a brutal camp sergeant who was later classified a war criminal but somehow evaded prosecution.

“I could take the beatings and the physical punishment,” Louie said, “but it was the attempt to destroy your dignity, to make you a nonentity that was the hardest thing to bear.” He said his athletic training helped him withstand the torment.

“For one thing, you have to learn self-discipline if you are going to succeed as an athlete,” he said. “For another thing, you have to have confidence in yourself and believe that no matter what you’re faced with, you can deal with it—that you just can’t give up. And then there’s the aspect of staying in shape. And humor helped a lot, even in the gravest times."

The story of Louie's survival and inspirational comebacks found widespread interest with the 2010 publication of Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  It rose to No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

The story is being retold in a film adaptation of the book directed by Angelina Jolie and scheduled for a Christmas Day release. Jack O’Connell plays Zamperini. But sadly, Louie passed away July 2 at the age of 97.

I found the most fascinating parts of Hillenbrand's stories the parts centering upon Louie's Olympic competition and his imprisonment in Japan. When the war finished, Zamperini and hundreds of other prisoners of war were liberated from Naoetsu camp, northwest of Tokyo. “Though he was still sick, wasted and weak, he glowed with euphoria such as he had never experienced,” she wrote.

Louie received a hero's welcome upon returning home, partying with celebrities and marrying a debutante. However, his life spun out of control as he fell into alcoholism because he couldn't forget what happened to him as a POW.

Then a chance meeting with a young Billy Graham changed Louie's life forever. The evangelist inspired Zamperini to become a missionary to Japan, where he would preach the gospel of forgiveness to guards who tormented him throughout the war.

Hillenbrand continued to wend tales that only truly great writers are able to tell. When Zamperini competed in the 5,000-meter race at Berlin in 1936, he finished eighth (Lash finished 13th), although Louie had a great finishing kick. The other athletes were just standing around near Hitler's box, but something told Louie to get a picture of Der Fuhrer.

“I was pretty naïve about world politics,” Mr. Zamperini said in an interview with The New York Times, “and I thought he looked funny, like something out of a Laurel and Hardy film, especially the way he stamped his feet and slapped his thighs.”

Because he was not close enough, he asked one of Hitler’s entourage to take Hitler’s picture for him. “It was the skinny guy,” Zamperini said, referring to Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda. He even briefly met Hitler, who shook his hand and said, “Ah, you’re the boy with the fast finish.”

Two years later, Louie set a national collegiate mile record at 4:08.3, which stood for 15 years. Graduating from USC in 1940, it wasn't long before he was fighting for the Allies overseas.

After his return to California following the war, he fell into alcoholism because he couldn't handle thinking about his ordeal at sea and the prisoner of war experience. His wife, Cynthia, almost divorced him over that, but they remained together for 54 years until her death in 2001. His survivors include a son, Luke; a daughter, Cynthia Garris, and a grandchild.

Louie straightened out his life, carving out a lengthy commercial real estate career, and remaining physically active into his 90s, skiing, running, mountain climbing and skateboarding. He was also in demand on the lecture circuit.

In addition to stints as a missionary in Japan, Louie also returned to run a leg of the Olympic torch relay at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. The people of Nagano told Louie they would be honored if he carried the torch.The route took him past Naoetsu, the snowy, mountainous region where he was imprisoned.

“Louie’s story was well told, but as an autobiography it was limited to Louie’s point of view," she said. "No one had approached Louie’s story as a biography, incorporating numerous points of view.

“I began interviewing Louie’s fellow airmen, POWs, Japanese camp officials and home front friends and family, and went through their diaries, memoirs and letters. What I found was a fascinating untold story.”

Louis also created the Victory Boys Camp for wayward youth, teaching other juvenile delinquents the skills to succeed in life. He lectured audiences worldwide on dealing with stress, the meaning of Olympism, and the freedom he found through a personal relationship with God.

Cal Thomas gleaned some wonderful insights from Zamperini when he met and interviewed Louie before Memorial Day, 2011, as he visited Washington, D.C. He said Louie was sharp as a tack, inscribing Laura Hillenbrand’s biography to him “Be Hardy.”

Louie recalled vivid memories of his friends who died in the plane crash and the ones who later died in the prison camp.

“The memories never fade," he said. "It’s like indelible ink. When you go through an intense period like we did, it’s branded on your heart and mind.”

Louie said you may have buddies in college and on the Olympic team, but that there's something about combat buddies that it's hard to explain. He recently read about “a kid who came back from Afghanistan about three months ago. They fixed his leg up and told him, ‘Well, you can get out of the service now’ and he told them, ‘no, I want to go back to Afghanistan to be with my buddies.’ That’s the way it is in war. It’s altogether different from athletics and close friends. My buddies were a pilot, co-pilot and navigator.”

Thomas asked Hillenbrand about the Greatest Generation and what she thought shaped it.

“What struck me about these people,” she begins, “is they had all gone through the Depression… and while that was very difficult, it was like they were being forged in fire. I think the men and women who came out of the Depression were made of sterner stuff than people are today. And it made them capable of getting through what they had to get through in the war.

"It gave them a sense of purpose; it gave them fortitude; it gave them an ability to endure. I think that may be the biggest difference between that generation and now. We have had it easier. We have expectations we will be given certain things and things will come without sacrifice. That generation didn’t have that.”

Following Zamperini's passing, his family released a touching statement that just about summed it up.

“Having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini has never broken down from a challenge,” the statement said. “He recently faced the greatest challenge of his life with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives. His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days.”

Universal Pictures, which will be releasing the movie in December, disseminated the following statement. “We are so profoundly sad at this moment and all of our thoughts and prayers are with the Zamperini family. Louis was truly one of a kind. He lived the most remarkable life, not because of the many unbelievable incidents that marked his near century’s worth of years, but because of the spirit with which he faced every one of them.”

And Jolie released a heartfelt statement following Louie's passing: “It is a loss impossible to describe. We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly.”


Related Thursday Review articles:

The Last Fellows of Easy Company; Earl Perkins; Thursday Review; March 18, 2014.