Louis Zamperini

Sharks. Hunger. Torture. During WWII, and after crashing his plane in the middle of the ocean, Louis Zamperini was stranded in the ocean with no food and little water for 47 days, only to be "rescued" by Japanese tourists and abused for the next two years. While in the prison camps, Louis was starved and beaten day after day. Before Louis was imprisoned in Japan, even before he joined the army, he was a trouble-making boy. As a teen, Louis, also known as Louie, was addicted to alcohol. He also committed petty theft and got into street fights. But, while in high school, he joined the track team to end his mischievous ways. Louis Zamperini was born in Olean, New York, but a few years after he was born, he and his family moved to California. As a young teenager, Louis was very into street fighting and drinking. As he got older and times got worse, his older brother and his parents started to worry about him, so they put him on his high school's track team to set his priorities straight. As his life went on, he continued to run, and eventually went to the Olympics. After the Olympics, he joined the Army as a Pilot. While in flight, Louie and 11 other men crashed over the ocean in a plane, 9 of which died, and 47 days later they were found by Japanese, who brought them to torture camps, where he stayed for the next two years. In Louis' life, he has shown incredible determination, perseverance, and forgiveness. Hero's possess many different qualities. That's what make them heroes. Some become heroes because of tough experiences, while others may possess qualities that you admire, and want to have yourself. Their unique characteristics make them admirable and make them who they are.

Louie seeing his family for first time in 2 years (http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/lucky-louie/ (Martin Jacobs))

Now, the war was over and Louis had made it home, but not without a tragic story to tell. Years after he had returned home, he was given the chance to forgive the men who had hurt him in the torture camps during the war, and chose to forgive all the men who had ever hurt him. Louis was a very amazing man. "At that moment, something shifted sweetly inside him. It was forgiveness, beautiful, meaningful and effortless. and complete. "For Louie Zamperini, the war was over" (386,Unbroken). While in Japan, he also found out the fate of 'The Bird' (Watanabe), hearing that he was supposedly dead. When he heard this news, instead of feeling the anger he used to feel usually this man, he felt sorrowful and upset. He was finally able to forgive him for all the horrible things he did to him. "What really makes him a hero is after the war. He decided to forgive The Bird and anyone else who tortured him. He called The Bird but then he didn't want to talk to Louie because he couldn't believe this man has forgiven his actions." 'The Bird' was very confused, just like many people would be. He was confused about how Louis chose to forgive him, after all he had done to him. He had beaten him senseless, starved him almost to death, and gave him the two worst years he ever lived to encounter.

Louis looking through a hole in a plane durin WWII (http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/lucky-louie/ (Martin Jacobs))

Unlike many other people we see as heroes, Louis Zamperini used his painful past as a prisoner of war to spread his new found determination and forgiveness around the world, along with the tragic story of his time in Japan and how he showed extreme perseverance. While in the Japanese torture camps, Louie Zamerpini showed incredible determination by always looking to the positives of the future, not the negatives of the past. While in WWII, Louis and eleven other men crashed over the ocean, miles and miles away from land, food, and fresh water. While the other survivors were close to losing their sanity, Louis never gave up hope."Louie was determined that no matter what happened to their bodies, their minds would stay under their control." (p.152, Unbroken)Louie is truly an amazing man. He tried as hard as he could, day after day, to save the very few men that had survived the crash keep in touch with their sanity. He made it a personal goal that those who had survived would live to see another day. Louie was determined that they would survive the war and make it back home to their families. He never gave up hope and never failed to make his goals come true.While stranded out in the ocean, to keep from loosing their sanity, Phil (the only other living survivor) and Louie shared their histories and personal stories, singing church hymns and telling jokes. Their favorite conversations were the one's about Louie's mothers cooking. He would go on and on about the meals his mom used to make, which kept the two men's hopes up and their sanity intact. Once the two men were finally found, and after 47 grueling days adrift in the shark infested ocean, they were taken captive by Japanese tourists. At these camps, Louie was put hard to work with little to no food a day. The dictators of the camps were the worst, especially Mutsuhiro Watanabe, also known as 'The Bird'. He took out his personal pain and grief on Louie, making him hold hundred pound beams for hours and then beating him up."He was moved to another prison, which he thought would be better if only because the Bird would not be there. He was dismayed to find the Bird, too, had been transferred. The abuse continued until the war ended. Zamperini was promoted to captain during his captivity."(Louis Zamperini). Louis showed incredible determination every day by never giving up on his dream to survive and return home to his family. At times, it was very hard for him to not want to give up, but with his strength, both mental and physical, he was able to return home and escape the fear that lies inside the torture camps in Japan. Although life may seem hard at times, everybody faces trials that they have to overcome. Some may takes years to accomplish, while others just days. At times, the future may seem dim, like there is no ending, but with determination and hope, anybody can find their way through dark times.

Being stranded in an ocean for over three months, only to be captured by the enemy of the war being fought. Louis Zamperini could have very easily given up on his life, but he didn't. He showed perseverance throughout the war by staying positive and fighting for his life. Louis Zamperini faced many hardships in his life, one of which was being locked away for years in abusive camps with terrible torture and horrible food. More times than one, Louis and many other prisoners of war were moved to different prison camps, hoping and praying that it would be better than the last. "He was moved to another prison, which he thought would be better if only because the Bird would not be there. He was dismayed to find the Bird, too, had been transferred. The abuse continued until the war ended."(Louis Zamperini) While in these Japanese torture camps, Louie and many other prisoners of war were held hostage and many were killed every day. They had little to no food and were kept in small cells. Many people gave up, even though they didn't want to,but not Louis. He kept his head high and endured the pain and suffering for years. The worst man Louis ever encountered at one of these camps was also known as 'The Bird'. He would throw Louis food to the ground, step on it with his boots, the make Louis eat it of the ground. He would also pour his only tea of water for the day onto the ground, sending Louis into extreme dehydration. Now, it is easy to see why Louis was completely devastated to see 'The Bird' at his new prison camp. One day when Louie was being especially defiant, 'The Bird', being the horrible man he is, made Louie pick up a 150 pound beam and hold it above his head. " Five minutes passed, then ten. Louie's arms began to waver and go numb. The beam tipped. . . . He felt his consciousness slipping, his mind losing adhesion's until all he knew was a single thought: He cannot break me." (p.302, Unbroken). When he says, "...He cannot break me...", it really impacted me. It showed me, for the first time, that Louis was personally strong enough to know that he was going to live. He wanted to kill that man. He hated him with a burning passion in his heart. But at that moment, he knew that he wasn't going to let anyone control him anymore. Even if the men in that camp still beat him and hurt him in many ways, he knew that he was free, free from the fear that he had towards 'The Bird'. But when times seemed the darkest, that's when he realized he was free. Not only from the pain and abuse, but also from the fear that was buried inside every last nerve in his body. He was free from the fear of not knowing if he would return home. In Louis' darkest time, he showed perseverance by finding his lost hope and using it to bring him a small bit of happiness he truly deserved.

Today, we may find it hard to forgive a sibling after they have hurt us or took something of ours without asking. Imagine how hard it must have been for Louie in 1990 when he returned to Japan and stood face to face with the very men who imprisoned him. It was one of the toughest things for him to do, but his heroic trait of forgiveness allowed him to become the man we knew and loved. Unlike many other people we see as heroes, Louis Zamperini used his painful past as a prisoner of war to spread his new found determination and forgiveness around the world, along with the tragic story of his time in Japan and how he showed extreme perseverance. Although it must have been near to impossible to survive the treacherous journey Louis Zamperini lived through, he showed incredible determination and perseverance all the time he was in captivity. After the war, Louis was able to meet up with his prison camp dictators, and forgave every last one of them for their terrible deeds. "Now Louie tours the country speaking at public events with John Nebor.", a friend who shares similar experiences. Zamperini was able to face bigger fears than most people will ever have to come across in their lives. He has incredible heroic traits that allow him to be and inspiration to many people around the world.