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Sets a world interscholastic record in the mile at the age of 17. Qualifies for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin at the age of 19. Sets a national collegiate record in the mile at the age of 21. Lost at sea. Prisoner of War. Inspirational speaker.
These may seem like the accomplishments of Superman or a script straight out of a Hollywood movie, but they’re not. Let me introduce you to a man that not many people know of – Louis Zamperini.
Louis was born in 1917 in New York to an Italian immigrant family, and when he was two years old, his family moved to Torrance, California. Since Louis’s family was Italian, Louis did not know English very well and this made him a target for the bullies in school. So, his father taught him how to box at a young age and soon he was getting into fights with whoever wanted to fight him. This eventually led to the police getting involved.
Seeing this, Louis’s elder brother, along with the police chief, got him involved in the school’s track and field team to curb Louis’s capacity for getting into trouble. Louis quickly found his calling as a runner and forever changed his destiny.
In 1934, at the age of 17, Louis set the world interscholastic record for the mile at 4:21.2 in the semi-final state championships, and the following week won the state championship for the mile at 4:27.8. This helped him win an athletics scholarship to the University of Southern California.
At USC, he qualified for the 1936 Olympic time trials and flew to New York to compete with the best runners in the US for a shot at the Olympics. At the time, Don Lash, who was the current world record holder in the two miles, was also competing for a spot on the Olympic team. In the last lap of the race, Louis tied with Don Lash at the finish thus qualifying him for the 1936 Olympics and being the youngest US qualifier ever for that event at the age of 19.
In the 5,000 metre race at the Olympics, Louis finished in eighth place with the fastest lap of 56 seconds, which got the attention of Adolf Hitler, who insisted on a personal meeting with Louis. Hitler shook his hand and complemented him on his fast finish. After the Olympics, Louis headed back to USC and two years later, at the age of 21, he set the collegiate mile record of 4:12, a record which he held for fifteen years, earning him the nickname “Torrance Tornado”. While Louis and other athletes around the world were training hard and looking forward to competing in the 1940 Olympics, they were sorely disappointed at the cancellation due to the onset of the coming World War.
With the onset of the global war, Louis enlisted in the US Army Air Force in 1941 as a bombardier and was deployed in the Pacific theatre of the war. In April 1942, he and his team were deployed for a search and rescue mission looking for a lost aircraft and its crew. While on the rescue mission, the plane faced technical difficulties and the plane crash landed in the Pacific Ocean, killing eight of the eleven members on board. The three survivors were able to get into a life boat waiting to be rescued.
The three survivors drifted across the Pacific Ocean surviving on raw fish and drinking rain water. The survivors were constantly fighting off shark attacks, braving storms and being attacked by the Japanese Air Force. After 47 days at sea and being adrift for 2000 miles, the survivors, now two, reached Marshall Islands and were immediately captured by the Japanese Navy. Louis and the other survivor were held in captivity in a prisoner of war camp till the end of the war.
As there was no proof of his death, the US Army had both of them declared as missing in action and a year later, killed in action. However, Louis survived in the POW camp and there he was severely beaten and tortured by the guards on a daily basis. One of the most merciless prison guards, nicknamed “The Bird”, had a special disliking for Louis and went out of his way to beat and torture Louis. After the end of the war, “The Bird” was listed as one of the 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan.
In 1950, Louis went to Japan to give his testimony against the prison guards who had tortured him so badly. Louis forgave his former prison guards for what they had done and they were shocked at his genuine gesture. By forgiving his former tormentors, Louis was able to get the closure he so desperately required as he was suffering from post traumatic stress ever since he was released from the prisoner of war camp.
After the war, Louis created the Victory Boys Camp where he taught youngsters the skills needed to succeed in life. Now, at the very spry age of 96, he travels the country talking to people about his life and experiences and to never give up when faced with adversities you face in life.
As runners, we often find ourselves facing hardships that we are not be able to get away from, no matter how hard we try. We push our minds and bodies in overcoming our hardships where any other person would have given up long ago. This, I find, is the greatest characteristic of all runners anywhere in the world – the ability to rise to the challenge no matter how tough or daunting it may seem. A runner will square their shoulders, look up at the hill, set their eyes to the top, steel their spirit and run up that hill and across the finish line, even if they have to crawl towards it.
