Louis Zamperini, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Louis Zamperini

Italian-American middle distance runner

Date of Birth: 26-Jan-1917

Place of Birth: Olean, New York, United States

Date of Death: 06-Jul-2014

Profession: military personnel, long-distance runner, athletics competitor, motivational speaker, autobiographer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran, a Christian evangelist and an Olympic distance runner.
He took up running in high school and qualified for the US in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
In 1941, he was commissioned into the United States Army Air Forces as a lieutenant.
He served as a bombardier in B-24 Liberators in the Pacific.
On a search and rescue mission, mechanical difficulties forced Zamperini's plane to crash in the ocean.
After drifting at sea for 47 days, he landed on the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands and was captured.
He was taken to a prison camp in Japan where he was tortured.
Following the war he initially struggled to overcome his ordeal. Later he became a Christian Evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness.
Since 1952 he devoted himself to at-risk youth which his family continues today.
Zamperini is the subject of three biographical films: Unbroken (2014), its sequel Unbroken: Path to Redemption (2018), and Captured by Grace (2015).