A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE LOUIS ZAMPERINI
A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE LOUIS ZAMPERINI
Hello. On Saturday Brad and I saw the movie, UNBROKEN, the Angelina Jolie directed film about the true life story of Louis Zamperini. While it was certainly not a feel-good movie, it was very true to the book and very well done. I recommend it to everyone, especially for the historic value.
Sadly Louis died last July 2nd at the age of 97. Back in July I wrote the following tribute to the late Louis Zamperini and now that the movie is out I thought I’d repost it in case you missed it. So here ya go…
Those of you who have read the book UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand will know of Louis Zamperini. The award-winning and best-selling biography chronicles Louis Zamperini’s remarkable “World War II story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.”
If I hadn’t known that the book told the true story of Louis Zamperini’s harrowing, real-life experiences, I would have dismissed it as fiction. But this book tells the non-fiction story of Louis Zamperini, a man truly blessed with nine lives, who managed to survive a 47 day ordeal floating adrift on a liferaft after his B-24 Bomber was shot down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
After enduring scorching heat, near starvation, constant shark attacks, nearly being capsized by a storm and lack of water but for the occasional rainfall, Louis was finally captured by the Japanese, having drifted at sea for more than 2,000 miles. However, making landfall would not put an end to his troubles. Then came more unspeakable brutality and torture as a prisoner of war for two-and-a-half years. But, his story did not end there, Louis Zamperini went on to survive prison camp, was eventually rescued and became an Olympic distance runner. Remarkably, he also went on to carry the Olympic Torch for the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, the town where he had been interned as a Japanese POW.
Louis Zamperini, center, at Olympic tryouts in 1936.
I am proud to say that I got to meet Louis Zamperini, a true American hero. He was the guest of honor at a “Taste of Flight Gala” that I attended at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.
Accompanied by four-time USC Olympic gold medalist swimmer John Naber, the two sat under a giant American Flag as they recounted together the story of Louis’s life.
A large map and timeline outlined Zamperini’s harrowing WWII experiences.
In 1934 Zamperini set a world interscholastic record for the mile at the California State Track Championships, going on to win the championships with a 4:27.8 minute mile. This achievement helped to earn him a scholarship to USC. Wearing his Cardinal USC cap, he related anecdotes from his University of Southern California days and discussed how proud he was of being a Trojan.
Fittingly, the event took place in an airplane hangar where many WWII era aircraft are restored and displayed.
It was the perfect setting in which to meet Mr. Zamperini.
After hearing his heroic war tales, it was easy to imagine the era of Japanese Bombers……
having aerial dog fights with American Bombardiers like Zamperini.
The mission of the Planes of Fame Air Museum is to……
preserve aviation history……
educate the public……
and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. They certainly achieved their mission that evening.
Have you seen the UNBROKEN movie yet? I wish Louis were around to see the movie; how sad that he passed before its debut. Perhaps he saw parts of it during post production, or maybe he even saw this trailer.
It was thrilling to meet Louis Zamperini, whose spirit, after all that he endured, remained “Unbroken”. He was a national treasure, an American hero.
Rest in peace Louis Zamperini.
So there you have it: A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE LOUIS ZAMPERINI
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