World War II prisoner of war
Zamperini competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and was set to compete again in the 1940 games in Tokyo, which were canceled when World War II broke out. In 1941, he was commissioned into the United States Army Air Forces as a lieutenant. On a search and rescue mission, Zamperini's plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean, and after drifting at sea on a lifeboat for 47 days, with two other crewmates, he landed on the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands where he was taken as a prisoner of war and tortured for two years. He was taken to two different prisoner-of-war camps in Japan where he was tortured and beaten by Japanese military personnel,specifically by Mutsuhiro Watanabe-also known as "the Bird". Zamperini was released only after the war ended in 1945, and he returned to the United States.
Fast Facts:
- Full Name:Louis Silvie Zamperini
- Occupation:Olympic athlete, Army veteran, Christian evangelist
- Born:January 26, 1917
- Died:July 2, 2014 at age 97 of pneumonia
- Education:University of Southern California
- Key Accomplishments:Track record holder, Olympic athlete, decorated WW II POW, Christian evangelist and philanthropist
- Spouse:Cynthia Applewhite(were married in 1946, until her death in 2001; they had two children, Cissy and Luke.)
Following the war he initially struggled to overcome his ordeal, battling with post traumatic stress. He later became a Christian evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. From 1952 onwards, he devoted himself to at-risk youth.He became an inspirational figure, and his life served as the basis for the 2014 biography Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption written by author Laura Hillenbrand. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and named the top nonfiction book of 2010 by Time Magazine.
Legacy
- Race at Madison Square Garden was named the Louis Zamperini Invitational Mile
- On 7 December 1946, Torrance Airport was named Zamperini Field after him
- Louis Zamperini foundation