Louis S. Zamperini (1917-2014): Olympian, P.O.W. and redemption

Louis (Louie) Zamperini was born the son of Italian immigrants in New York in 1917. Due to Louie’s medical needs, the family physician recommended a warmer climate for him and his family, and the Zamperini family moved to Torrence, California. Permit me to share the highlights of his life: 

* Louie was filled with mischief and a touble-maker during his boyhood.

* Thankfully he turned to sports in school and became a distance runner on the track team.

* He set California high school records in running, and was chosen to run in the 1936 Berlin Olympics at age 19 and roomed in the same cottage as Jesse Owens, Olympic Gold Medalist. Although an impressive young runner, Louie won no medals. 

* While in Germany he witnessed anti-Semitism against the Jewish people as World War II approached.

* He attended the University of Southern California and ran track for USC, setting NCAA records as he prepared for the 1940 Olympics.

*WWII interrupted his college education and he entered the Army Air Corps and trained as a bomber on the B-24 bomber. 

* He served in the Pacific theatre, and on of his missions his plane ran out of fuel and ditched in the ocean.

* Only  three of the seven-man crew survived, and during their 47 days adrift another crew member died, leaving Louie and Phil, the pilot, as the lone survivors. 

* Sighted and picked up by the Japanese and placed in several P.O.W camps for the next 27 months, he and Phil enduring brutal treatment and starvation and felt robbed of their dignity. 

* At war’s end, he and thousands of other American P.O.Ws returned home to begin life again.

* Louie met and married Cynthia Applewhite, but their marriage was troubled due to Louie’s PTSD. With hatred toward his former captors, to turned to alcohol, and caused embarrassment to his wife, family and friends. 

* The Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade came to Los Angeles in 1949, and both he and his wife made life-changing decisions for Christ during the event. Louie forgave his former captor and their marriage was renewed. 

*Louie opened Victory Boy’s Camp for lost and troubled boys in 1954.

*He, Cynthia and their two children, Cissy and Luke, belonged to the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, Calif. 

* Louie received many honors and awards and was selected to carry the Olympic Torch five times, notably in the 1998 Japan Olympics. 

*Cynthia died of cancer in 2001, and Louie died in 2014 at the age of 97. Louie Zamperini was an American hero and is remembered in honor. God had changed his life, and God continues to change lives. 

Peace!

Writer’s note: An excellent biography of Louis S. Zamperini by Laura Hillenbrand was published in 2010.