Louis Zamperini was an Olympian in 1936, went on to become a B-24 bombardier, and would eventually become famous for surviving 47 days afloat in the Pacific Ocean — followed by two years in Japanese POW camps.<\/p>\n
Zamperini died last Thursday, July 3rd, at the age of 97.<\/p>\n
Zamperini wrote a book about his experiences entitled Devil at My Heels<\/em>, which was reviewed here<\/a>. Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote Seabiscuit<\/em> and heard about Zamperini during her research, wrote another biography entitled Unbroken<\/em> (reviewed here<\/a>), which would go on to be a bestseller and even make the 2012 USAF Chief of Staff reading list<\/a>. Unbroken<\/em> is currently being made into a movie (directed by Angelina Jolie) scheduled for a December 2014 release.<\/p>\n Many of the articles<\/a> on his passing<\/a> focus on his story<\/a> from WWII, and, like Unbroken<\/em>, essentially end there. At least one<\/a> notes what happened afterward, as Zamperini focused on in his own book. Zamperini — an alcoholic bent on revenge against his former captors — attended a Billy Graham crusade, became a Christian, and returned to Japan to forgive his former captors.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
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