Unbroken Can’t Be Broken

by Meaghan Angers
Louis Zamperini: an Olympic distance runner, an American World War II prisoner of war survivor, Christian inspirational speaker, and a hero. Zamperini was born in 1917 in Olean, New York to Italian immigrants Anthony and Louise. Zamperini, his older brother Pete, and two younger sisters Virginia and Sylvia moved to Torrance, California in 1919.

 

The family spoke no English and Zamperini would get into fights with the bullies. Pete, the star of the track team at Torrance High School, encouraged his brother to join him in order to keep him out of trouble. Zamperini’s career as a runner began. Throughout the last three years of high school, Zamperini was undefeated. In 1934, Zamperini ran a 4:42.2 minute mile, setting a world interscholastic record for the mile, and the following week won the CIF California State Meet championships. In 1936, Zamperini tried out for the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany and qualified to run the 5,000 meters as the youngest American qualifier. Zamperini finished eight in the race due to running his lap in 56 seconds. His final lap caught Adolf Hitler’s attention and shook Zamperini’s hand and stated, “Ah, you’re the boy with the fast finish.” After the Olympics, Zamperini attended the University of Southern California where in 1938 he set the national collegiate mile in 4:08 minutes. Zamperini running career earned him the nickname “Torrance Tornado”. Zamperini’s personal bests are 3:52.6 minutes in the 1500 meters, 4:08.3 minutes in the mile, and 14:46.8 minutes in the 5000 meters.

When World War II began, Zamperini gave up his dream of running the 1940 Olympics and enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in September 1941. Zamperini was deployed to the Pacific Island of Funafuti as a bombarded on the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber Super Man. In April 1943, the bomber was no longer flight-worthy and the crew was transferred to Hawaii. On May 27^th, 1943, the crew was sent on The Green Hornet on a search for a lost aircraft and crew, but the plane experience mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. Russell Allen “Phil” Phillips, Francis “Mac” McNamara and Zamperini were the only three survivors on two rafts supplied with little food and no water. The men ate two albatrosses, small fish, and drank rainwater. Sharks swam and attack the raft numerous times and the men actually killed and ate one. On day 33, McNamara died. Finally on day 47, Zamperini and Phillips reached the Marshall Islands where the Japanese Navy captured them.

After being held at Kwajalein Atoll for 42 days, Zamperini was transferred to Tokyo’s Omori POW camp and later moved to Naoetsu POW camp in northern Japan. In Tokyo’s Omori POW, Zamperini met Mutsuhiro Watanabe or as the prisoners nicknamed him the “Bird”. Watanabe took a special interest in the American track star. Watanabe tortured Zamperini for the BLANK years due to the fact that he was an American Olympian. His acts of torture included every prisoner punch Zamperini in the face for not making false radio report about the Japanese POW camps to America and made him stand for 37 minutes holding a heavy wooden log over his head threatening to kill him if he dropped it. Zamperini was finally free of Wantanabe’s torture in August 1945 when the war ended. Watanabe was listed as number 23 of General Douglas MacArthur’s 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan.

On November 16^th, 2010 Laura Hillenbrand wrote Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. Hillenbrand who was inspired by Zamperini’s story, wrote the biography of Zamperini. The biography received many awards and honors, including a New York Times bestseller. The novel was filled with vivid imagery that put the reader into the story. I personally enjoyed the book as it was inspiring and heart felt and the rest of the AP Language and Composition class would agree.

On September 30^th, 2013 Angelina Jolie’s idea to develop Hillenbrand’s book into a movie was approved by Universal Pictures and Jolie was named director. Although, the movie does not entail everything about Zamperini’s life, including focusing little of his running career and not describing his post-war life. I was disappointed to see little of Zamperini’s running career, as well as his post-war life was not described, except for showing him at the age of 80 at the Olympics. However, a major part of the book included Zamperini’s post-war life, including going back to Japan to meet Wantanabe, even though he refused to meet Zamperini. All in all, Jolie’s adaptation provides Zamperini’s life was great justice and the story remained to be inspirational and heart felt. His story will continue to inspire others. The movie is currently placed at number three and has grossed a domestic total of $87.8 million.