Memorial Service Held For World War II Hero, Olympian Louis Zamperini

A hometown memorial service was held tonight at Torrance High School for World War II hero and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, who died July 2 at age 97.

The service at the school’s stadium named for Zamperini included flyovers of military aircraft and a symbolic lap around by the track run by members of the school’s track team.

“My grandfather has been a lot of things to a lot of people,” Zamperini’s grandson Clay Zamperini said. “He was an example of elite athleticism and a reminder that with hard work and dedication, we’re all capable of anything.”

Funeral services for Zamperini were held earlier this month, attended by close family and friends.

Born in 1917 to Italian immigrants, Zamperini moved to Torrance in 1919 and became a world-class distance runner by the time he graduated from Torrance High School, setting a world interscholastic record in the mile, helping him receive a scholarship to USC.

At age 19, Zamperini qualified to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing eighth in the 5,000 meters, running the final lap in 56 seconds and causing Adolf Hitler to request a personal meeting with him.

During World War II, Zamperini became a bombardier and served in the South Pacific.

While on a reconnaissance mission, Zamperini’s aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He and a surviving crewmate spent 47 days adrift on an inflatable raft before being captured by Japanese soldiers when they reached the Marshall Islands.

Zamperini was a prisoner of war for more than two years, during which time he was frequently beaten and tortured by his captors. He returned to Southern California to a hero’s welcome.

Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Zamperini found solace in 1949 when he became a born-again Christian after attending a Los Angeles crusade led by evangelist Billy Graham. He eventually became an inspirational speaker preaching the power of forgiveness.

Zamperini practiced what he preached in 1950, when he went to Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, where Japanese war criminals were being held, and met with some of his torturers to offer them forgiveness.

At age 81, Zamperini -- a five-time Olympic torch-bearer -- ran a leg in the torch relay for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. During his visit, he attempted to meet with his most brutal wartime tormentor, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, but Watanabe, who escaped prosecution as a war criminal, refused to see him.

In 2005, Zamperini returned to Germany to visit the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the first time since he competed there in 1936.

Zamperini has been inducted into the Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Laura Hillenbrand, author of the book “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption,” on which the film about Zamperini is based, called him her “surrogate grandfather” and a beloved friend.

Zamperini was selected to be grand marshal of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade.

“Unbroken,” based on Zamperini’s life, which was directed by Angelina Jolie, is scheduled to be released on Christmas Day.

--City News Service