| ESPN.com: Olympics |
Thursday, July 3, 2014
LOS ANGELES -- Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and World War II 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.
Zamperini's death was confirmed by Universal Pictures studio spokesman Michael Moses. A family statement released early Thursday said Zamperini had been suffering from pneumonia.
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| War hero and Olympian Louis Zamperini, 97, ran the final lap of the 5,000-meter race in 56 seconds at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. |
Zamperini is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," which is being made into a movie directed by Angelina Jolie and is scheduled for a December release by Universal.
"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-meter run at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He finished eighth but gained notoriety by running the final lap in 56 seconds.
Zamperini enlisted in the Army before Pearl Harbor and was a bombardier on a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber in World War II. He and his crew were searching for a downed B-24 when their plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing eight of the 11 men.
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.
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| The best-selling book "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" is based on Louis Zamperini's life and will be released as a movie in December. |
In accepting the honor, Zamperini, wearing a USC cap, recalled that Hillenbrand, in researching the book, asked to interview his friends from college and the Army.
"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."
He was a guest of Jolie last year when she was presented with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Zamperini was born Jan. 26, 1917, in the western New York city of Olean. A group in Olean is raising funds to place a granite marker in Zamperini's honor in War Veterans Park in August.
He was just 2 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 honor. A stadium at Torrance High School and the entrance plaza at USC's track and field stadium both bear his name.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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