COOL STUFF: The Inspiration of Louie Zamperini

Each year I spend a lot of time in transit, returning home from one shoot or heading out to another. I log many hours sitting in cars or planes, and one of my favorite pastimes to while away these hours is to listen to audio books. It’s amazing how a 10-hour flight feels like “only” 9 hours when you’re listening to a good audio story! And one of the best books I’ve listened to in the last few years is Unbroken, which is the story of a true American hero, Louie Zamperini.

Zamperini was a Depression-era child who was bestowed with a preternatural gift for running. He logged several 4-minute miles back in the 1930s. He was an Olympic hopeful who, at age 19, attended the 1936 Games in Berlin. Hitler was so impressed with his running in the last leg of the 5000-meter distance event that he insisted on a meeting with Zamperini. Hitler shook his hand and said, “Ah, you’re the boy with the fast finish.” Later on, Zamperini climbed a flag pole and stole the personal flag of Hitler.

Zamperini went on to enlist in the Air Force in 1941 and was deployed to the Pacific Islands. Their faulty B-24 plane ended up crashing into the ocean 850 miles west of Oahu. Zamperini and two other survivors spent the next 47 days subsisting on captured rainwater and raw fish and albatross (though after 33 days one of trio died). On the 47th day, the two remaining survivors landed on the Marshall Islands and were taken prisoners by the Japanese. They were beaten and held in captivity for the next two years until the war ended.

After the war, despite the horrors he’d experienced, Zamperini made a point of embodying the theme of “forgiveness” as a way to find peace and overcome the traumatic stress of the war. He re-visited the Japanese guards who had held him captive to let them know he forgave them.

Sadly, Zamperini passed away recently, on July 2, aged 97, at his home in Los Angeles. Though the man himself is gone, his incredible human spirit remains with us in this book. It’s the adventure and survival stories that make Unbroken a good book, but really, it’s the incredible human being that you get to meet through Unbroken that make it a great read—or rather, a great listen.

If you’ve got a long drive or flight coming up, I highly recommend this book. Zamperini is a true American hero and role model!