Louis “Louie” Zamperini
Louie Zamperini is one of the greatest South Bay heroes who have ever lived. Louis Zamperini was born January 26, 1917 in Olean, New York, to Italian immigrants Anthony Zamperini and Louise Dossi. In 1919, the family moved to Torrance. Louis had a troubled childhood, and it is said that he developed his extraordinary running talents from out running the local police.
Louie attended Torrance High. To counter Louie’s tendency to get into trouble, his older brother Pete encouraged Louis to join the track team. .Louie excelled in the long distance events and In 1934 set a world interscholastic record for the mile, clocking in at 04:21.2. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Southern California.
Louie’s specialty was the mile run, but for the 1936 Olympics, he trained for the 5,000 meters believing he had a better chance at that distance, and qualified for the team. Although he finished eighth in the 5,000 meters at the Olympics, his finishing lap of 56 seconds drew the attention of Hitler who specifically asked to meet the young Louie. Louie later managed to steal a Nazi flag as a souvenir. Louie finished off his running career by setting a national collegiate mile record of 4:08 in 1938 which held for fifteen years, earning him the nickname "Torrance Tornado". At the time, many believed that Louie would be the first to break the four minute mile barrier.
Louie joined the Army Air Corps in September 1941 as a second lieutenant flying a B-24 bomber in the Pacific. He and two other crewmen were shot down during a rescue mission searching for another downed bomber, and spent 47 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean. After reaching the Marshall Islands, he was immediately captured by the Japanese. Zamperini was held in the Japanese Prisoner-of-war camp at Ōfuna for captives who were not registered as prisoners of war (POW).Louie was held prisoner with [Gregory] "Pappy" Boyington of the famed “Black Sheep Squadron” and became friends. One of the guards there, James Sasaki, had known Louie at USC. Louie was especially tormented by another sadistic prison guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe (nicknamed "The Bird").
After the war, Louie found the means to forgive his tormentor after attending a Billy Graham Crusade, and began a career as an inspirational Christian speaker.
Zamperini had been reported lost at sea and his family believed him to be dead. The City of Torrance in 1944 renamed the Torrance Airport as “Zamperini Memorial Field”. After the war ended and Louie was released from prison camp, on Dec. 7, 1946, the city named the airstrip at Torrance Municipal Airport Zamperini Field but unfortunately this name change was never officially recognized. Finally, on Jan.29, 1974, the Torrance City Council made the name change official. In 1987, the football field at Torrance High was renamed Zamperini Field.
Zamperini’s life will be documented in a new movie based on the best selling book “Unbroken” currently being filmed and directed by Angelina Jolie.
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