Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner, prisoner of war, dies at 97
Runner who spent two years in Japanese prison camps featured in bestselling book Unbroken
Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and second world war 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 yesterday said Zamperini had been suffering from pneumonia.
Zamperini is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling 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.
"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."
Zamperini competed in the 5,000-metre run at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He finished eighth but caught attention by running the final lap in 56 seconds.
In the second world war, he was a bombardier on a US Army Air Forces bomber that crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a reconnaissance mission. 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.