And he had to fend off the sharks, go up and get air, here comes the airplane back again, go back down, play with the sharks. Had you met him before the project. Zamperini was later transferred to Tokyo's Ōmori POW camp, and was eventually transferred to the Naoetsu POW camp in northern Japan, where he remained until the war ended. Following the war he initially struggled to overcome his ordeal, and struggled with post traumatic stress. He confided to us, “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this or not, but I just read for the part of my granddaddy yesterday.” If you look at Will, he looks like the youthful version of his grandpa. He had an older brother named Pete and two younger sisters, Virginia and Sylvia. Louis Zamperini had an older brother named Pete and sisters named Sylvia and Virginia. The film focused on Zamperini's faith, to which he credited his "unbroken" status. This was about 67% of all the recorded Zamperini's in the USA. But we hadn’t met Will. I decided that summer to go all-out; overnight I became fanatical. At a recent press event in New York, Zamperini’s children, son Luke Zamperini and daughter Cynthia Garris, shared their memories of a remarkable father, one who was not only dedicated to his family but also loving in every sense of the word. They’d go to a movie and they go, ‘Oh, come on.’” So, she toned a lot of things down. The Louis Zamperini Foundation and Royal Family KIDS have partnered together to develop camp curriculum using Louis’ amazing story. And these army chaplains were sitting there with their chins dropped because they are forbidden to speak the name of Jesus Christ in the schools and my dad is getting away with it because the kids are asking. Initially held at Kwajalein Atoll, after 42 days they were transferred to the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp at Ōfuna, for captives who were not registered as prisoners of war (POWs). Zamperini later related several anecdotes from his Olympic experience, including gorging himself on the boat trip to Europe: "I was a Depression-era kid who had never even been to a drugstore for a sandwich in his life," he said, "and all the food was free. Louis Zamperini was raised in California by Italian immigrant parents in the town of Olean, New York. What did that mean to you as you two were forming your identities and faith? [29], Zamperini appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 7, 2012, speaking about his life in general, the 1936 Olympics, and his World War II exploits.[30]. Zamperini was held at the same camp as then-Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington, and in his book, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Boyington describes the Italian recipes Zamperini wrote to keep the prisoners’ minds off the food and conditions. Cynthia: That was rough on us. Wikimedia Commons Japanese prison guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe and Louis Zamperini. Louis’s Education details are not available at this time. Copy. This is your life story and this is the most important part of your story.” And it’s the only time I can ever recall him getting upset with me. He was asked to give the prayer over lunch and he gets on the microphone and this voice comes across the PA system and we thought, “Oh my goodness, this is going to be something. He wanted to pique your curiosity and get you asking questions and then he could tell the whole story. Dad didn’t want the movie to be a “Christian” film. Early Years Louis Silvie Zamperini was born to Italian immigrant parents on January 26, 1917, in the town of Olean, New York. He wanted it to be a film that would appeal to a broad audience of people and maybe pique their interest to then look further and read his book, Unbroken, or one of the other books he wrote. Just reaching out and straight-arming them on the nose to keep them from biting him and going to get air, going back down. Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Force in September 1941[15] and earned a commission as a second lieutenant. Portrait of American former bombardier Lt Louis Zamperini as he poses at home, Los Angeles, California, June 13, 1985. They were given another B-24, Green Hornet, notorious among the pilots as a defective "lemon." Later Zamperini became a Christian evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. In April 1943, Super Man participated in a bombing mission against the Japanese-held island of Nauru, with Zamperini serving as bombardier. Lorrie Blitch, owner of Magellan Christian Academy, was so moved after reading about his life, he was asked him to speak at their private Christian school graduation ceremony. He was chosen to serve as Grand Marshal of the 2015, In the fall of 2015, Zamperini was named as the, This page was last edited on 27 January 2021, at 03:58. Zamperini competed in the 5,000-meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympics – attracting the … A group of Torrance merchants raised enough money for the local hero to live on once he got there. [25] It was not until the end of World War II in late 1945 that Zamperini was discovered to be still alive and freed from his captors. 5,000-meter distance event at that Olympics, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, "B24 memorial honoring the personnel who crewed and supported the B-24", "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present", "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field", "Miler Zamperini as Bombardier, Had 'Toughest Race' on Nauru Raid — Lieutenant, Credited With Saving Lives of Two Wounded Crewmen, Tells of Action in Shell-Riddled Liberator New York Times, May 4, 1943, page 6", "Louis Zamperini – Adrift in the Pacific", "Former track star, POW, doesn't get closure at 81 in his return to Japan", "Olympian runner, hero of WW II is honored anew", "Louis Zamperini dies at 97; Olympic track star and WWII hero", "Louis Zamperini returns to Berlin after 69 years", "There is no goal that USC's Matt Barkley won't pursue", "Louis Zamperini, war hero chosen as 2015 Rose Parade Grand Marshal, dies at 97", "Japanese rock singer Miyavi makes debut in, "War hero, former Olympian Louis Zamperini named Rose Parade Grand Marshal", "Brother Zamperini's incredible story focus of, "Olympic runner and WW2 prisoner Louis Zamperini dies", "The Tournament of Roses Expresses our heartfelt sympathy to the family of Louis Zamperini", http://news.usc.edu/72869/riderless-horse-traveler-to-honor-louis-zamperini-at-rose-parade/, https://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/06/05/torrance-hometown-hero-louis-zamperini-earns-a-stretch-of-the-405-in-his-honor/, "A stop-by-stop timeline of Louis Zamperini's journey", 1936 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), First International Congress on World Evangelization, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_Zamperini&oldid=1003035558, American expatriate sportspeople in Japan, United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II, American prisoners of war in World War II, Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics, Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism, Olympic track and field athletes of the United States, Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), World War II prisoners of war held by Japan, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, On 10 May 2008, Zamperini was awarded the, In October 2008, Zamperini was inducted into the. [33][34], Author Laura Hillenbrand[35] wrote a biography of Zamperini entitled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010) and published by Random House, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Louis Zamperini and A Victory for Hope. Send an Email. Associated with Zamperini had at first been declared missing at sea, and then, a year and a day after his disappearance, killed in action. Louis Zamperini was a man of accomplishment: He was an athlete. The 1,500 metres was stacked that year, with eventual silver medalist Glenn Cunningham, Archie San Romani, and Gene Venzke all challenging to get on the team. He had an older brother Pete, and two younger sisters, Virginia and Sylvia. First, Unbroken by the Coen brothers, was directed by Angelina Jolie, and starred Jack O'Connell as Zamperini. After his bomber was shot down in World War II, he survived forty-seven days at sea on a raft boat before being sent to the Japanese POW camps where he was brutally tortured, but the most life-changing aspect of Zamperini’s story, his conversion to Christianity, wasn’t showcased in the first film. Luke: Expect for the torture scenes, those were all real. His story was eventually turned into a film called Unbroken that was directed by Angelina Jolie and has impacted thousands. "[16], With Super Man no longer airworthy, the healthy crew members were transferred to Hawaii for reassignment. Absolutely. Don't Give Up, Don't Give In: Lessons from an Extraordinary Life by Louis Zamperini, … In the film, it just shows a shark coming near Louis and he kicks it with his foot. Louis Zamperini lived life well. Family. I think it’s going the way it was meant to go, obviously. And so now it’s being told in its own right and I think it’s just incredible. But even as an adult, I’ve probably read his autobiography half a dozen times, and Unbroken I’ve read three times, and the films and just all the hundreds of time we have heard him tell the story, but it still is fantastic to fathom what he went through. To provide hope, instill resilience and demonstrate forgiveness while developing compassion and empath Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran, an evangelical Christian and an Olympic distance runner. [24] His wife Cynthia attended one of the evangelistic crusades led by Billy Graham in Los Angeles, and became a born-again Christian. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even sent Zamperini's parents a formal condolence note in 1944. In 1919, Louis Zamperini along with his family moved to California. The books and the films don’t quite get all the details. I just wanted to dispel any ideas that he was not happy with the film. Risen Magazine: Many are familiar with the story of Louis Zamperini from either his book or the Angelina Jolie-directed movie, Unbroken, that showcased aspects of his life. He was 97. Above is his family tree. Lisa Zamperini: I remember sitting in my living room on the phone with him and having a discussion about what was definitely being left out. RM: Is Clay involved with the family legacy? It is unknown whether Watanabe even read the letter; Zamperini never received any response, and Watanabe died in 2003. In 1941, he was commissioned into the United States Army Air Forces as a lieutenant. Indeed, there was the prayer on the raft where he made his promise to God and then the title at the end of the film where it spoke of him fulfilling his promise to God. He was a leading candidate to break the 4-minute barrier in the mile run. (l to r) Merritt Patterson as Cynthia with her husband Louis Zamperini played by Samuel Hunt in the film Unbroken: Path to Redemption. Of course, there was the miracle of surviving the crash, the miracle of surviving forty-seven days on a life raft, but the greatest miracle of all was coming to faith on that day of October 16, 1949. RM: In this sequel, Unbroken: Path to Redemption, we see how Louis came to know Jesus and Billy Graham was a big part of that. The May 4 New York Times credited Zamperini with administering first aid to the five wounded members of his Liberator bomber crew and saving the lives of two on the return flight from the April 21 Nauru raid. In 2015, the Billy Graham organization released a 30-minute documentary film, Captured by Grace. After a summer of running in 1932, starting with his first cross-country race, and throughout the last three years of high school, Zamperini was undefeated. [12] As Zamperini told the story, Hitler shook his hand, and said, "Ah, you're the boy with the fast finish. He took up running in high school and qualified for the US in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing 8th, but not without setting a new lap record. He actually did a wonderful job running it for about a year-and-a-half and then last March, he asked us if we would take over and he’s going back into his chosen field. Interviewed for Risen Magazine on the film set in Pomona, California. Luke: Lisa, you had an encounter with him when you complained that the whole story was not going to be told. The Goal of The Louis Zamperini Foundation is to help transform the lives of young people through character building instruction of the Unbroken Curriculum. However, as he declined, he was forced back into the prisoner of war camp. Soon he claimed to be "beating the tar out of every one of them; but I was so good at it that I started relishing the idea of getting even. The stories are real, powerful, and oftentimes life altering because they offer hope, truth, faith, redemption and love. Luke: We hope it shows that it is a life-changing experience when you come to faith in Jesus Christ. However, his final lap of 56 seconds was fast enough to catch the attention of Adolf Hitler, who insisted on a personal meeting. All things work together for good. Dad didn’t want the movie to be a “Christian” film. Zamperini is the subject of three biographical films: Unbroken (2014), its sequel Unbroken: Path to Redemption (2018), and Captured by Grace (2015). Having qualified at age 19 years, 178 days, Zamperini remains the youngest American 5,000 meters qualifier.[10]. The home football, soccer, and track stadium for Torrance High School has been named Zamperini Stadium in his honor. He poses at home, he was forced back into the United States of America started as... 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