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    Super Moderator GeorgiaPeach's Avatar
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    'Unbroken' WWII Hero's Example Continues to be Inspiration to Others

    April 7, 2015

    by Susan Pierce


    Louis Zamperini's legacy: Forgiveness


    Louis Zamperini was an Olympic runner, highly decorated war veteran, POW camp
    survivor, author of two memoirs and inspiration for the movie "Unbroken," directed
    by Angelina Jolie.


    "I never took it for granted that I had a hero for a father," says his son, Luke Zamperini, "but he was a hero to me because he was a great father.
    "When my dad came back from World War II, he was a famous athlete who was presumed to be dead. It was such an interesting tale of what happened that people began to ask him to tell his story right away -- and he began to take a couple of shots of alcohol to do that.


    "By the time I came along in 1953, he was making a living talking about his story.
    I knew all about it -- even for my bedtime stories growing up, I'd say 'Dad, tell me
    the story of wrestling sharks on the raft.' I like to talk about the lessons learned in his
    incredible life. But it's impossible to tell my dad's story without mentioning forgiveness."


    Luke Zamperini will be in Chattanooga on April 16 to share those life lessons at the Bryan Opportunity Dinner. His talk is one of only six such speaking engagements he makes in a year.
    He says while "Unbroken," the movie inspired by the book about his father's bravery and struggle for survival, is true, he describes the motion pictures as "a three-act play told over a couple of hours. The life of Louis was a six-act play. When I'm talking about my father, I'm bringing things to people's attention that may not have been known or details of things that were known."

    LOUIS ZAMPERINI'S LIFE

    Born in 1917, Louis Zamperini was the son of Italian immigrants who moved to California in 1919. No one in the family spoke English, making Louis a target for bullies, so his father taught him to box in self-defense. When boxing got him into trouble for fighting, Louis's older brother, Pete, got him involved in the school track team. The last three years of high school, Louis was undefeated in cross-country racing.

    In 1936, he qualified for the Summer Olympics in Berlin, the youngest American qualifier ever in the 5,000 meters race. After the Olympics, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he set a national collegiate mile record of 4:08 minutes.

    Zamperini enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941. In May 1943, he was one of three survivors from a crew of 11 when their B-24 Green Hornet crashed into the Pacific Ocean due to mechanical problems. The three drifted in the ocean for 47 days, fending off sharks, capturing rain to drink and small fish to eat raw. One of those crewmates died after 33 days.

    On the 47th day, the remaining two drifted to land in the Marshall Islands and were captured by the Japanese. They were held in captivity for 42 days before being transferred to the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp at Ofuna. Zamperini was transferred to Tokyo's Omori POW camp, then Naoetsu POW camp until the war ended. He was tortured and beaten daily by prison guard Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watanabe.

    When no survivors of the Green Hornet were found, the U.S. government classified Zamperini as killed in action. His surprise return home made him a sought-after speaker. He wrote two memoirs about his experiences and Laura Hillenbrand, author of "Seabiscuit," wrote his biography, "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption." He died at age 97 in July 2014.

    FINDING FORGIVENESS

    The younger Zamperini says his father suffered post traumatic stress disorder after his return from the war, "but they didn't know what it was back then and the VA couldn't help him. He had recurring nightmares that had begun in prison camp about being beaten by Bird or other prison guards. They beat him every day."

    The former athlete couldn't get back into his world-class Olympic shape because of injuries had had received in prison camp -- and his son says Zamperini started to self-medicate with alcohol to battle his nightmares.

    "He got into fistfights at the drop of a hat. His life was spiraling out of control. My mother was getting ready to file for divorce when a young couple that lived in their apartment building invited them to see Billy Graham in a 1949 revival in Los Angeles. My father wanted nothing to do with it. My mom went, and she came home expressing this newfound joy in her heart. She told my dad that because of that joy she would not seek a divorce, but she said she wanted him to go the next night to see Graham preach," recalls the son.

    Louis agreed to go, but Luke says his dad added a stipulation: "I'll go, but when he gets to the point he's talking about how we're all sinners, I'm out of there."

    And he was.

    When it got to that point in Graham's sermon, Louis grabbed his wife's hand and left. However, she convinced him to return the next night. When Graham started to reach the point that agitated Louis, he got up for the third time and started out.

    "But before he got to the end of the aisle, he heard Graham say, 'When people get to the lowest part of their rope with nowhere to turn, that's when they turn to God.' That reminded Dad of his prayers on the life raft and in prison camp asking God to save him. He felt like God had taken care of his end of the bargain, but he had not," Luke explains.

    That night, Louis Zamperini went forward to the altar and prayed with a counselor. He later told his son when he got up off his knees, he realized he was done fighting, he had forgiven his prison guards including The Bird.

    "He went home that night and did not have a nightmare for the first time in five years. He never had nightmares again. He quit drinking. He was a changed person before I began to know him. He was happy, joyful, a really great dad. He taught us everything he could. It was all about preparing us for life as adults."

    Zamperini says he concludes his talks with question-and-answer sessions and has witnessed a common theme develop from these sessions: His audiences are inspired by his father's ability to forgive those who tried to kill him and his will to survive.

    "People tell me 'If your dad can survive 47 days on a life raft, I can complete kidney dialysis,' or 'If he could forgive The Bird, I can forgive my brother who hasn't spoken to me in 10 years.' It's a story that inspires on many different levels."

    http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/l...others/297239/
    Last edited by GeorgiaPeach; 04-08-2015 at 02:04 PM.
    Matthew 19:26
    But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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