How Does Louis Zamperini Survive

Forgive to Live
On January 26th, 1917, an American wild-child was born who, unbeknownst to the world, would later become a hero and role model for millions. His name is Louis “Louie” Zamperini, and he is noted by many to be one of today’s most inspirational individuals. Eager to share this American legend’s story, Laura Hillenbrand spent countless hours researching and interviewing Zamperini, along with those who knew him well. As a result she published the best-selling novel Unbroken. In the book she descriptively describes the challenges Zamperini endures from his delinquent childhood to the challenges and horrors he faces as a prisoner of war (POW) in World War II (WWII) and beyond. More so, she highlights how he overcomes each of these

adversities. However, Unbroken also tells the story of learning to survive, accept, cope, and move forward.

Throughout the novel Hillenbrand clearly illustrates how Zamperini’s incredible battle to survive leads him to his greatest victory of all, his postwar power to forgive and live.
Survival is a basic human instinct. However, as a bombardier in WWII, Louis Zamperini endured endless combat missions where he was forced to go beyond “basic instincts” and fight hard simply to survive. His real fight, however, began on May 37, 1943, when his B-24D plane, Green Hornet, plummeted into the Pacific Ocean. Trapped inside the fuselage, Zamperini plunged into the bone-chilling water and rapidly began to sink. His attempts to escape were futile, and he quickly lost consciousness. Miraculously, however, he awoke from his stupor and swam to the water’s surface where he “burst into dazzling daylight. He gasped in a breath and immediately vomited...he had survived” (Hillenbrand 127). He, along with two other crew members, spent several weeks in inadequately-supplied, inflatable rafts, drifting to wherever the ocean’s currents desired. Forty-seven excruciating days passed before they, now only Zamperini and one

other, were rescued. Unfortunately, this “rescue” was no rescue at all; they were snatched by the Japanese, America’s unscrupulous enemy. For the next two years, Zamperini was inhumanely tortured in POW camps throughout Japan. He was repeatedly beaten, forced to perform hard labor, starved, and more. He often witnessed fellow prisoners submit to the officers, crumble, and die. Yet Zamperini refused to become a member of this group; survival was his only option. For example, one deplorable guard who relentlessly tortured Zamperini, once forced him to stand with a long, heavy board above his head. If he dropped the board, he would be shot. Refusing to let the guard win, Zamperini thought, “‘He cannot break me’” (Hillenbrand 302), and as “time ticked on...Louie remained in the same position, conscious and yet not, the beam over his head, his eyes on the [guard’s] face, enduring long past when his strength should have given out” (Hillenbrand 302). Zamperini refused to fall to the guards and ground; he absolutely refused to die.
Simply stated, Louis Zamperini chose to survive. The unparalleled adversities that he conquered are matched by few, if any. Yet his story gives hope to those whose challenges, while possibly not as extreme, are real. Individuals, such as a single parent seeking assistance, a patient fighting cancer, or a college graduate seeking meaningful employment, for example, can learn from Zamperini and his trials. He clearly demonstrates that an internal desire to survive, coupled with a fighting attitude and confidence, can produce positive outcomes. Yet, as his story continues to unfold, it becomes evident that “surviving” is not enough for Zamperini. Rather he soon desires to “live” and to do so requires the ability to forgive.
The words “surviving” and “living” are not necessarily interchangeable.

For Zamperini, the former was not enough, and the latter was unachievable unless he was able to forgive. Therefore, as the war began to draw to a close, Zamperini began the process of forgiving the guards at the POW camps. American planes were dropping supplies over the camps, thereby replenishing the prisoners both physically and mentally, and the guards often demonstrated remorse for the brutal acts that they had committed. “Though [Zamperini] was still sick, wasted, and weak, he glowed with euphoria such as he had never experienced. His rage against his captors was gone. Like all the men around him, he felt flush with love for everyone and everything” (Hillenbrand 322). Furthermore, in 1950, Zamperini returned to Japan on a mission to meet and share his forgiveness with 850 of his old captors. Specifically, he wished to meet with the Japanese guard that had forced him to stand holding the board aloft. What Zamperini learned, however, was that the guard had been found dead in the local mountains. It was assumed suicide. “As [Zamperini] was told of [the guard’s] fate...He felt something that he had never felt for his captor before...compassion. At that moment, something shifted sweetly inside him. It was forgiveness, beautiful and effortless and complete. For Louie Zamperini, the war was over” (Hillenbrand 386). This was the defining moment for Zamperini. At last, his ability to sincerely forgive

allowed him to once again be whole and to truly live.
The act of forgiving those who have caused pain is difficult to master, and for Zamperini, this was no exception. As the war was ending, it is noted that Zamperini’s rage was gone. Yet his immediate, postwar life was not described as happy or peaceful but rather difficult and restless. It was not until he returned to Japan that he truly found peace through forgiveness. In doing so Zamperini was free to live and spent the rest of his years going on adventures, mentoring troubled youth, and ultimately loving life. His life clearly teaches that while acceptance of one’s realities is important to begin the recovery process, it is the ability to forgive that is crucial. When he passed away in July 2014, he left behind a legacy to last for years.
Zamperini’s battle to survive the daunting waters of the Pacific, as well as the inhumane conditions of the POW camps, later affords him the strength and desire to forgive. By channeling his inner strength, he is able to overcome unbelievable circumstances and survive. However, the capacity to forgive is what ultimately gives Zamperini the satisfaction and peace he needs to truly survive and live life to the fullest. It is quite understandable why Louis Zamperini is considered a great American hero and role model, as he truly exemplifies the meaning and correlation between surviving, forgiving, and, thereby, living.

Work Cited
Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. Penguin, 2014.