Olympian and war hero called Jolie a friend
LOUIS ZAMPERINI 1917- 2014
LOS ANGELES Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and Second World War veteran who survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific after his bomber crashed, then endured two years in Japanese prison camps, has died. He was 97.
A family statement released Thursday said Zamperini had been suffering from pneumonia.
Zamperini is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, which is being made into a movie directed by Angelina Jolie scheduled for December release.
“After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives,” the family statement said. “His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days.”
“It is a loss impossible to describe,” Jolie said in a statement. “We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly.”
A high school and University of Southern California track star, Zamperini competed in the 5,000-metre run at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He finished eighth but caught attention by running the final lap in 56 seconds. In the Second World War, he was a bombardier on a U.S. army air forces bomber that crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a reconnaissance mission. He and one of the other surviving crew members drifted for 47 days on a raft in shark-infested waters before being captured by Japanese forces. He spent more than two years as a prisoner of war, surviving torture.
In May, Zamperini was named grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
“And now after the book was finished all of my college buddies are dead, all of my war buddies are dead. It’s sad to realize that you’ve lost all your friends,” he said. “But I think I made up for it. I made a new friend — Angelina Jolie. And the gal really loves me, she hugs me and kisses me, so I can’t complain.”
Zamperini was born Jan. 26, 1917, in Olean, N.Y. He was two years old when his parents moved the family to Southern California, where he lived for the rest of his life. Zamperini Field, a city-owned public airport in Torrance, is named in his honour. A stadium at Torrance High School and the entrance plaza at USC’s track and field stadium bear his name.