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Louie was born.
Louie Zamperini was born in Olean, New York at 327 Coleman Street. While he was growing up he didn't have alot of friends. He got in a lot of trouble in school and outside of school. He was known around the town, but not in a good way. -
Moved to Torrance California.
Louie moved to Torrance California where his parents would live for the rest of their lives. Later he would become a Torrance legend because of his fast legs. He lived in a very small house with four other family members. -
Louie runs his first competitive meet.
Louie ran his first competitive meet on April 28, 1933 in the UCLA Cross Country two-mile race winning by more than a quarter of a mile. This gave him confidence. He was a very successful runner and eventually finished eighth in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. -
Louie joins the army
Louie joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to the Hancock College of Aeronautics in Santa Maria, California. He learned to fly a plane and that it is was nothing like watching from the ground. He got airsickness and signed out of the air corps. Later he was drafted back into the army on September 29. Pearl Harbor was later attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, which would send America into World War 2 and Louie into training in Texas. -
Louie and Crew are Assigned a B-24D
Louie and his crew are assigned a B-24D bomber ,which was one of the worst bombers you could have. The pilot Phil managed to keep his crew alive for longer than most of the other crews. The B-24D was later called "Super Man". The whole crew would become best friends. Louie's best friend became his pilot Phil. They were life long friends. It suprised me that they were both able to live what they lived through, and after the war, still able to find each other and remain best friends. -
Super Man returnes with 594 holes in it
The "Super Man" crew returned from a mission with 594 bullet holes in it. This would be Super Man's last mission. I would think that the plane would have crashed if it had 594 holes in it because, the average life of a bomber was only a couple of months. This plane was a piece of junk to start with and they still managed not to crash. -
"Green Hornet" goes down in the Pacific.
Phil and Louie were assigned to look for a plane that had crashed in the Pacific Ocean. They didn't have a plane so they were given a different B-24D called the "Green hornet. This plane barely passed inspection. Mac and Cuppernell were also part of the mission. Green Hornet crashed due to a malfunction. Cuppernell and Mac both died. Louie and Phil spent 47 days in a raft. A Japanese vessel picked them up on the 47th day and put them in POW camps. -
Louie is transferred to Omori POW Camp
Louie is transferred to Omori POW Camp. He won't see Phil till the end of the war. At Omori he meets the man who torments most of Louie's life, Mutsuhiro Watanabe "the Bird". He would destroy Louie mentally and physically. Waking Louie up in the middle of the night, then beating him back to sleep. The Bird was transferred to Naoetsu POW Camp to lead there. But not long after, so was Louie on Feburary 28, 1945. This is important because, it is a major problem later in Louie's life. -
Louie sends a message on a Tokyo radio station
Louie sends a message from a Tokyo radio station to Torrance. Friends of the Zamperini's heard it and told everyone in town about it. It is important that Louie's family and friends know he is alive. I was suprised that the Japanese let him do this, considering the torcher they have gave him. If the Zamperini's hadn't heard this message they would have lost all hope. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan surrenders after two atomic bombs are dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki within a three day difference. This would officialy end the war. Louie Zamperini would finally see his family again on Feburary 1, 1945. It is good that Louie finally got out of the POW camps because, he probably couldn't have taken much more beatings. -
Louie meets Cynthia Applewhite
Louie meets his future wife, Cynthia Applewhite at a bar. They would later get married on August 26, 1946. Cynthia helps Louie get rid of PTSD and from The Bird haunting Louie's dreams. They have some problems during their marriage, but they learn to get over them. This is important because , if Louie had never met Cynthia she would have never helped him get rid of The Bird and he would have been miserable for the rest of his life. -
Billy Graham's sermon
Louie attends Billy Graham's sermon after being begged by Cynthia. Billy inspires Louie to give up alcohol. For the first time in five years Watanabe doesn't haunt Louie's dreams, and he won't for the rest of his life. This is important because, if Louie didn't go he would probably be an alcoholic for the rest of his life and continue to suffer from PTSD and try to num the feeling away with alcohol. Also with Louie being sober, there were no problems betweeen him and Cynthia. -
Louie visits Japan
Louie visits Sugamo Prison where all of his old prison guards were being held. He didn't get revenge on them, but he forgave them, because now he was a true christian. Before he left he gave every guard a hug. This is important because, he won't live his life with anger against all Japanese people and he learns to forgive them. -
Louie Zamperini dies
The former track star and survivor of World War 2 died of pneumonia at the age of 97.
