Imagine growing up as someone who began drinking at just eight years old, began smoking at the even riper age of five, and had been threatened with a shotgun more than once because of thievery. Now imagine growing up as someone who set the national record for the high school mile, enlisted into the Army Air Forces to defend our country, and then became a prisoner of war who was tortured on a daily basis, but never gave up and survived the whole thing. Most people would rather be the person described in the latter sentence, but what if these were the same person? Louis Zamperini was all of the things described above and much more. Louis Zamperini was not only one of the best athletes of his generation, but he was also a true American hero. Louis Silvie Zamperini was born on January 26, 1917 to Anthony and Louise Zamperini. The Zamperinis were Italian immigrants which was definitely not the best thing to be in early 1900's America. Louis Zamperini was the couple's second child. As a young boy Zamperini was a troublemaker, to put it lightly. One thing that everyone in …show more content…
Soon after Zamperini joined the forces one of the greatest tragedies in American history occurred: the bombing of Pearl Harbor. America was at war. Zamperini was quickly trained at Texas’s Ellington Field and earned close to perfect test scores. He graduated from Midland in 1942 as a second lieutenant. During his graduation when Zamperini said goodbye to his family one harrowing thought refused to dissolve from his mind: he might never see his family again. Zamperini was sent to an air base in Ephrata, Washington where he met his soon-to-be best friend and pilot, Russell Allen Phillips, a quiet Hoosier who Zamperini would refer to as Phil. Shortly after meeting Phillips Zamperini had an entire crew and a plane that the men referred to lovingly as, “the flying coffin.” The close-knit crew would later give their plane the proper name “Super
I agree with the statement that Louie was as much a captive as he’d been when barbed wire had surrounded him after the war. The following quote was taken from chapter 39 of Unbroken. “It was forgiveness, beautiful and effortless and complete. For Louie Zamperini, the war was over” (386). From this quote, we can see that Louie was struggling with vengeance. Although the war was over in 1945, it toke Louie almost five years to say that the war was over for him because of the hatred and thought of revenge Louie undergo after the war. This is one of the reasons why I agree with the author’s choice to include the post-war years and explore this story of obsession for vengeance. Putting Part V into the book not only not take away the theme of survival,
Billy Bishop’s path to greatness was not an easy one. He encountered many challenges throughout his young life that recognized him as a fiercer fighter pilot and a true hero. Billy Bishop faced an incredibly tough task to achieving his dream of becoming Canada’s greatest ace. Bishop had a tough life at Owen Sound Collegiate. He would be the subject to many jokes and preferred the company of girls. However his anger and fists won him acceptance on the school ground. He was a good natured boy born on February 8th, 1984. In 1911, at the age of 17, his parents sent him Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario due to his mediocre marks in school which his father knew would not allow him to get accepted to the University of Toronto. He was not an academic student and in his third year of high school was found cheating on a class exam which would later be the subject to many controversie...
Jim Gordon, the leader of the Flying Tigers, was running short on pilots after the war had started so he began searching for new pilots. Blackie, one of the volunteers, wanted to be part of the Flying Tigers, but Jim didn't want Blackie. So his wife begged Jim to let Blackie into his group. One day during the Japanese bombing, Blackie's plane caught on fire. He jumped out attached to his parachute, but one of the Japanese planes saw him and shot him. Another volunteer, Woody, joined the Flying Tigers, he wanted to prove to Jim Gordon that he was an expert at flying planes. During the first attack, Jim wouldn't let Woody fly, but Woody flew anyway. When he was aiming for a soldier, he noticed that his plane didn't have bullets and was nearly killed. After that happened, Jim thought Woody would one day be a good pilot because he was brave enough to take on three Japanese planes all by himself with no bullets. When the day of December 7, 1941 hit, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced on the radio that Pearl Harbor was bombed which was, "A Day of Infamy," and when Jim heard on the radio he was very disappointed. The next day he decided to bomb Japan to help defend his country by himself, but Woody pretended to be the pilot flying the plane because he wanted to help Jim. When they got to Japan, they were aiming for a train full of Japanese soldiers. They started firing at them and when their plane caught fire, Jim and Woody decided to jump out. Then, all of a sudden, Woody pushed Jim out of the plane and flew the plane directly into the train and sacrificed his life to help Jim and his country.
Louis Riel was the first child of Louis Riel Pere and Julie Lagimodière. He was born October 22, 1844 in St. Boniface. His mother was the seventh child of Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière and Marie-Anne Gaboury. Louis Riel Pere had been born at Ile-à-la-Crosse in 1817. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Riel dit l'Irlande and Marguerite Boucher. Both of Louis Riel's parents were Catholics.
In the first article “The lonely Eagles” by Robert A. Rose, D.D.S. gave me a great insight to who these men really were. The U.S. Air Force Association honored all the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII at the 2008 Air and Space Conference. They gave out lifetime achievement awards to all who were there. Retired Airmen such as Colonel Charles McGhee, Lt. Colonel Walter McCreary and Colonel Elmer Jones were there to share the spotlight they deserved. They left a lasting legacy to aviators and support personnel. In his book "Lonely Eagles", Dr. Robert A. Rose tells there story of America’s black pilots in World War II. The book is a story of true patriotism, remarkable combat skills. The U.S. Air Force Association express their gratitude and the nation thanks to these heroes for their accomplished and duty's more than 60 ago.
Born in Virginia, to mother Martha Puller and father Matthew Puller, he grew to become a well recognized marine globally (Russell & Cohn, 2012). His father’s dead while he was 10 years did not stop him to achieve a high point career; in fact, his childhood lifestyle of listening to war stories...
Isolated and alone, many attempts from both sides, America and Japan, to force the feeling of invisibility on their POWs or Japanese-American internees. Separated from friends, denied human rights and on the brink of starvation demolishing their dignity. Louie Zamperini was a POW who was originally an Olympian athlete. He was taken captive by Japan while laying raft for over a month. Miné is a Japanese-American intern who had been condemned to an intern camp during World War Two. The experience that Louie and Miné have undergone are those that challenge the two in a very psychological way. However, they have recovered showing their resilience and how humans can recover even from scarring events.
Athletes waiver an uncanny amount of courage, by pushing their bodies to the test and showcasing themselves and abilities to the judgement of the public. Sports may come natural for many people, but having utmost character and bravery does not come easy to anyone. Undoubtedly, having both is a rare occasion. Being a prime example, Jackie Robinson used his natural born gifts of a strong character and personality, along with an unprecedented athletic ability. He fought for equality by dignity and hard work. Respectfully, he was one of the best in Major League baseball for his time, and sparked a Civil RIghts Movement while doing it.
In many ways, this American icon showed that you can do anything, but sometimes it comes at your own risk. He became a friend and entertainer of the American people. He was enjoyed for his successes and his failures. Evel Knievel showed that you can be whatever you want to be.
Allen, Thomas B. Remember Pearl Harbor: American and Japanese Survivors Tell Their Stories. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2001. Print.
Louis Zamperini went from being a olympic runner then his life shattered when his plane crashed and he became a Prisoner of War and was beaten severely. Louis Zamperini was an olympic runner. He was on a raft for over 45 days, then became a Prisoner of War and was punched roughly 220 times in the face. Louis Zamperini was a Olympic runner, then was a resilient Prisoner of War.
According to the article (“ Louis Zamperini” “things not know” ) Louis was born on January 26, 1917 in Olean, New York. He is the son of Louise Dossi (mother) and Anthony Zamperini’s (Father) . His parents were immigrants from Italy. He was the 2 out of 4 kids, His family consisted of Pete his older brother, he had 2
... things, and will always be and remain a hero in both the "athletic world" and the "world of cancer patients."
He is the definition of a patriotic hero. He is the true symbolism of man and the definition of freedom, strength, and compassion. Inevitably after not able to serve his country he still chose to protect it in a different way. Most would have went the complete other direction. That’s where a lot of people in the United Sates go wrong. Consequently, most just throw their hands up rather than fighting in what they believe. Francis Scott Key wrote these famous words in the 1800’s, “Land of the free, and home of the brave.” (http://www.theglobalist.com/the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave/) They are a part of our National Anthem today. Nonetheless, the American dream is what all men and women in the United States live for, work for, and die trying to have. The typical American dream is to have a car, family, a job, and to own your own house. This is something all Americans are raised to desire at an early age. One must work to succed or have anything in life, but having the “dream” is so much more when embracing life expectancies. Most get frustrated trying to reach these dreams because of wanting more. One can never be satisfied or happy. Instead if one would live appreciating the smaller aspects of life such as: freedom, compassion, and the strength of our country we would be more appreciative of what life has to
... top of my list to be one of my living heroes. He has done much to make people take him as an example and start thinking about others, and how people suffer when assistance is not provided .This essay showed me that Nick Vujicic had mental and physical strength and he believes that everybody can make changes. Nick’s strength is mainly found in his ability in leading others by his speeches in many countries. In my opinion, these things made him have the will to be an example of good hero. Nick is a role model for me because he showed a good example to others, he helps and inspires us to find our purpose, to be hopeful, to love ourselves and to have a positive attitude . I think, in his personality I see that he tries his best in this world and it was the hero dwelling inside Nick Vujicic that pushed him past his limitation and into a bright and satisfying future.