Back لويس زامبريني Arabic لويس زامبرينى ARZ Louis Zamperini Aymara Louis Zamperini German Louis Zamperini Spanish Louis Zamperini Estonian لوئیس زامپرینی Persian Louis Zamperini Finnish Louis Zamperini French לואי זמפריני HE
.jpg) Zamperini in 1943 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Louis Silvie Zamperini | ||||||||||
| Nicknames | |||||||||||
| Born | January 26, 1917 Olean, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died | July 2, 2014 (aged 97) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | USC | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 132 lb (60 kg) | ||||||||||
| Spouse |
Cynthia Applewhite
(m. 1946; died 2001) | ||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||
| Event | Middle-distance running | ||||||||||
| College team | University of Southern California | ||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 1936 Berlin: 5000 m – 8th | ||||||||||
| Personal best |
| ||||||||||
| Military career | |||||||||||
| Branch | U.S. Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Service years | 1941–1946 | ||||||||||
| Rank | Captain[3] | ||||||||||
| Unit | 372nd Bomb Squadron[3] | ||||||||||
| Wars | World War II | ||||||||||
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross | ||||||||||
Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran, an Olympic distance runner and a Christian evangelist. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing 8th while setting a new lap record in the process.
Zamperini was commissioned in the United States Army Air Forces as a lieutenant. He served as a bombardier on B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. On a search and rescue mission, his plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. After drifting at sea on a life raft for 47 days, with two other crewmates, Zamperini landed on the then Japanese Marshall Islands and was captured.
He was taken to a total of four different prisoner-of-war camps in Japan, where he was tortured and beaten by Japanese military personnel—specifically including Mutsuhiro Watanabe—because of Zamperini's status as a famous Olympic runner. He was later taken to a new prison camp at a coal factory, and after much hardship, he was finally released. Following the war he initially struggled to overcome his ordeal, afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.
He later became a Christian evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. From 1952 onwards, he devoted himself to at-risk youth. Zamperini is the subject of three biographical films: Unbroken (2014), its sequel Unbroken: Path to Redemption (2018), and Captured by Grace (2015).
- ^ Chawkins, Thursby, Steve, Keith (July 3, 2014). "Louis Zamperini dies at 97; Olympic track star and WWII hero". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Louis Zamperini". ABC Special Broadcast. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "B24 memorial honoring the personnel who crewed and supported the B-24". Veterans Museum & Memorial Center Air Garden. Veteranmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2012.