“ Unbroken” – WWII POW and Olympic Medalist Seventy-one (71) years ago, beginning on May 27, 1943, the life of U.S. Army bombardier Louis Silvie Zamperini took a twisted turn that sent him on a horrendous journey in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that few people could survive. Despite countless miracles that took place during World War II, Louis Zamperini’s story is a unique and inspiring one—an astounding example of faith, perseverance, endurance, resilience, and survival of the human spirit. In the 1930s, “Lou” Zamperini was just another Depression-era kid in Southern California destined to become a troublemaker, until his older brother Pete discovered that he could run fast, really fast. Pete “coached” him and helped Lou focus on his running skills, which eventually led him to break speed records at the age of 16, nab a scholarship to attend the University of Southern California for track, and compete at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. During the Olympics, he boldly tore down a Nazi flag in front of Adolf Hitler and kept it as a souvenir. Lou Zamperini enlisted in the Army on April 25, 1941 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps where he learned to pilot airplanes at Midland, TX and graduated as a bombardier. After Pearl Harbor, he was stationed at Funafuti, in the Pacific Ocean, with the 372nd Bombardment Squadron, 307th Bombardment Group and took part in bombing Wake Island in December 1941. He was later part of a crew that barely survived a raid on the Japanese base at Nauru Island. Their plane, a B-24 “Liberator,” safely returned home despite being torn up by 500 bullets and shell fragments. On May 27, 1943, Zamperini, co-pilot Russell Allen “Phil” Phillips, Francis “Mac” McNamara and a crew of 8 more embarked on a rescue mission to find a lost plane. They soon encountered engine troubles and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Only Zamperini, Phillips and McNamara survived the crash. They drifted at sea in shark-infested waters for 47 days with no food, water or protection from the sun and very few tools of any use to them. Hunger drove them to eat raw fish, including sharks, and birds despite being repulsed by them. McNamara died before they landed on an island occupied by the Japanese Army. Weak and starving, Zamperini and Phillps were taken to Yokohama on the Japanese mainland, then moved to various camps and eventually held as prisoners in the same camp as Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington for the remainder of the war. Due, in part, to his celebrity status in sports, Zamperini endured extreme cruelty from his captors who tried their best to break him down. Every time he felt defeat approaching, he miraculously became reinvigorated and found the strength to prevail. The Army declared Zamperini dead in 1944. After Japan surrendered in 1945, Zamperini and the other surviving prisoners were set free. Lt. Zamperini received numerous awards including the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and Purple Heart. He married Cynthia Applewhite in 1946, then set about keeping a promise that he made while adrift in the Pacific. He “got religion” with the help of Evangelist Billy Graham, then visited Japan in hopes of locating—and converting—his former captors. He then set out to write about his experience and in 1956 his memoir, Devil at My Heels, was published. The following year, in 1957, Universal Studios purchased the film rights to the book and signed on Howard Pine as producer and Syd Boehm as screenwriter. Zamperini’s story was fascinating and perfect for the big screen, but they couldn’t figure out how best to tell the story in film—there were too many good details that they wanted to include. In 2010, Laura Hillenbrand published a book entitled, “Unbroken,” based in part on Louis Zamperini’s 1956 book and interest in developing his story for film was renewed. Next week, Louis Zamperini’s story will finally open in theaters across the U.S. as a film called “Unbroken.” Louis died on July 2, 2014 at the age of 97--months before the film hit theaters-- however, he was able to view the movie before his death.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:02:55 +0000
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