Track Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini dies

Louis Zamperini, a 1936 U.S. Olympian in the 5,000m, survived missions as a bombsight operator in Second World War, a plane crash and subsequent stranding on a life raft and the cruel conditions of a Japanese war camp to die at the outstanding age of 97.

Zamperini’s life became well-known after author Laura Hillenbrand published his story in the book Unbroken, which came out in 2010. Angelina Jolie is the director of the Hollywood movie based on the book, which is set to be released December 25, 2014.

Born into an immigrant family and speaking only Italian when he was young, Zamperini struggled in his preteen years. He stole habitually and was known to be violent. When he was 15, Zamperini’s brother convinced him to try running track. The sport proved to be exactly the discipline and validation that Zamperini needed. He ran a 4:21.3 at age 17, which was an unofficial world record. After high school he decided to delay college in favour of training for the 1936 Olympics.

Zamperini shocked the country at the Olympic trials when he came second in the 5000m to the favourite, Don Lash. At the Berlin Olympics he ran near the back of the pack, but finished with a spectacular final lap, rising four places to finish eighth. His finish was so impressive that German Chancellor Adolf Hitler asked to meet “the boy with the fast finish.”

In 1938, Louis Zamperini ran a NCAA record in the mile, with a time of 4:08.3. The 1940 Olympic Games were canceled due to war. Zamperini joined the Army Air Corps and was trained as a bombsight operator. In 1942 he was posted to the Hawaiian islands. After surviving several perilous missions and a raid on the base by the Japanese, his plane crashed during a search and rescue mission in May of 1943. All but three of the crew were killed.

Of those three, only two, including Zamperinini, survived the 46-day ordeal of drifting on a life boat, fighting off sharks, dehydration and starvation. Picked up by the Japanese, Zamperini became a prisoner of war. After the war, Zamperini suffered from nightmares and post-traumatic symptoms, ultimately lapsing into alcoholism. He turned his life around with the help of preacher Billy Graham and was married in 1946. Louis and his wife, Cynthia went on to have two children.

Zamperini has carried the torch at five different Olympic Games, the last one at age 80 before the Nagano winter games in Japan. On that day, he ran with the Olympic torch past the site of the camp in which he was held as a prisoner of war. He has published two versions of his memoir, titled Devil at my Heels, in 1956 and 2003. Though his running career was cut short by violence and suffering, Zamperini’s life is an example of resilience and determination, fitting for the United States’ oldest surviving track Olympian.