Louis Zamperini
Louis Zamperini or Louie, as he likes to be called, is a truly inspiring man who has lived through a series of catastrophes almost too unbearable to believe. His life’s story is told in Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken. Louie was a juvenile delinquent in the 1920’s-turned-Olympic runner in the ‘30’s. He qualified to run on the 1936 Olympic team and was America’s top finisher at the Games in Berlin where Hitler was in power. World War II broke out and Louie joined the U.S. Air Corps as a bombardier. He was on a routine search mission over the Pacific when his plane crashed into the ocean, and Louie and another crew member survived in a life raft, drifting 2,000 miles for 47 days into Japanese controlled waters. His rescuers were also his torturers, as the Japanese put Louie into a series of prison camps. Louie outlasted his captors to return to California. In 1998, Louie carried the Olympic flame during the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, just outside the town where he had been held captive. Today at 94 years of age, Louie is still spry, and full of life. He lectures audiences across the globe on how to deal with stress, the meaning of Olympism and freedom. His is truly a story of courage, selflessness and humanity.
