Who is Louis Zamperini?

Some stories change your life. As a writer, I’ve always believed in the power of storytelling. If it weren’t for those putting pen to paper, imagine how many stories would be left untold. Whether it’s a newspaper article, a novel or the lyrics of a song, stories enrich our lives. Unbroken enriched my life.

As a child, Louis Zamperini was a bit of a rebel. Thanks to the encouragement of his brother Pete, the kind of person we all could do with in our lives, Louis joined the school track team. He won a lot of races as a kid and within the next few years, Louis was competing in the Berlin Olympics. Several years later, something happened that would change his life forever.

World War II.

Louis joined up and soon found himself struggling to get to the end of the track when his bomber crashed into the pacific, leaving him and two other men fighting for survival. On the 33rd day at sea, one of the men died. Louis and the other survivor, Russell Allen Phillips spent 47 days at sea in a life raft, battling sharks, insanity and starvation.

When they finally reached land, they were captured by the Japanese Navy. It would be years before the two men saw their families again. Held as prisoners, the two men were beaten, starved and mistreated. They were later transferred to different prisoner of war camps in Japan. At the Naoetsu POW camp, Louis faced the most frightening part of his life: Mutsuhiro “Bird” Watanabe. This prison guard beat Louis, day after day. He and the other prisoners were barely fed; their bodies grew skeletal. Even though they hardly had the strength to breathe, the prison guards demanded these men work from morning till night. While most Americans woke up on a thick mattress to a steaming cup of coffee every morning, Louis and the other men woke up on a concrete floor to painful hunger cramps and regular blows to the head. As the months passed by, many of these prisoners watched their fellow men die in agony. When Louis and all the other POW’s thought they’d never return home, something extraordinary happened.

World War II ended.

Just when Louis thought he’d seen the end of the ruthless “Bird,” he saw him again. In his dreams. The prison guard entered his dreams, every night. Whenever he fell asleep, Louis found himself back in that prison camp, back with a bloody nose and a throbbing head. The only difference between then and now was that Louis fought back. In his dreams, he was strangling the “Bird”. Louis came to realize that no matter how many punches he threw or how tight he clenched his hands around the Bird’s neck, justice never felt served. His hatred towards the brutal prison guard led him down a path of alcoholism.

This time it wasn’t his older brother Pete telling him he was better than this. It was his wife. She urged him to attend one of Billy Graham’s evangelical crusades.  Faith saved Louis’ life.

Until I delved into the world of track races, bomber planes, rafts, and prayers, I’d never heard of his name. Every story teaches you a lesson. Louis Zamperini’s story teaches you many things. To never give up. To face challenges. To turn that negative energy into something positive. And most of all, to forgive. Because forgiveness, as Louis said, is the only way we can move forward and move past those bad experiences in our lives. 

We all go through rough times in our lives and we all face darkness and hopelessness. The story of Louis Zamperini (1917-2014) will remain with me forever. His strength, his endurance, his hope is inspiring. In the midst of so much worldly suffering, we all need to be reminded of hope.