Originally Posted by
Jim3k
WaPo Obit
Louis Zamperini died yesterday at 97. He was a true American hero whose life has been chronicled by Laura Hillenbrand in her bio, entitled “Unbroken.”
Zamperini was a track star who competed in the 1936 Olympics where he met Hitler in an odd, naïve way. During the war he became a B-24 pilot in the Pacific theater where he crashed and survived in a life raft for several weeks, despite being strafed and attacked by sharks. ‘Rescued’ by the Japanese he was imprisoned in an island camp from which no one had survived. Eventually realizing ho they had, the Japanese hid him and kept his name off the POW list. He was starved and later transferred to a secret prison in Japan where he underwent even worse treatment by a particular tormenter.
He was released at the end of the war and returned home where he became an alcoholic. He recovered and led a pretty exemplary life until his death yesterday. Hillenbrand does a nice job of explaining how and why he forgave his abuser(s).
Thanks for being you, Mr. Zamperini. You had an incredible run. RIP.
Originally Posted by
fuse
For those who have not yet read Unbroken, I can't recommend it highly enough (and a I am neither a nonfiction nor history buff).
Thanks, guys. I read Unbroken last summer. Absolutely incredible story. Sad to read this news.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.