Thursday, July 3, 2014

Louis Zamperini, A Hero Proved




Louis Zamperini died yesterday, "old and full of days", at the age of 97.

I have written about Mr. Zamperini before on my blog.  I call him Mr. Zamperini because of the great respect I have for him but I also call him "Louie" because I feel as if I know him.  I never met the man but I feel as if I have lost a treasured friend.  "Be Hardy", is what he wrote in my copy of "Devil At My Heels".



In 2004, I read the book, "Devil At My Heels".  I was so moved by it that I wrote a letter to the publisher and asked them to please let Louie Zamperini know how much I loved his story and to please convey that to him.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I received  a letter from Mr. Zamperini himself!  He actually sent me a note to tell me that Laura Hillenbrand was writing a book about him.  Due to her illness (she has chronic fatigue syndrome) it took seven years for her to finish it.   I would suggest reading "Devil At My Heels" first and then, read "Unbroken".  The second book goes into such detail about his Louie, his family, his very good friends and his war buddies, which you will already know from the first book.

Louie Zamperini completely changed his life after attending a Billy Graham Crusade in California in the early days of Billy Graham's ministry, in the late 1940's.  In his own words, Louie said he was "bubbling over with joy".  I don't know how much Angelina Jolie (the director of the movie, "Unbroken") will focus on Mr. Zamperini's Christian faith, but I am hoping that even when it is not mentioned that it will be there for all to see and witness, just as it was in his long life.

 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith    2 Timothy 4:7

"An old man and full of days", do you recognize that?  It is from the Bible, the last words from the Book of Job and it is the first thing I thought of when I heard that he had passed away. 
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Happy 4th of July to all my American friends, and a happy 4th of July to all my other friends in the world too!!   (I know you might think we call it Independence Day, but we don't, we just call it the 4th of July!) 

Oh Beautiful for heroes proved...
 

32 comments:

  1. Kay, We have lost another beautiful hero. I can't wait to see the movie. Hope you have agreat 4th tomorrow. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

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    1. Hey Susie,
      Make sure you look back here at the end of the year. You know I will do a review on this movie! I do so hope that Louie's life will be well represented!

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  2. As the Canadian news report said about his death -- "only pneumonia could take him down" -- not the war, not being adrift on the open sea, not POW torture, not alcoholism, not post-traumatic stress disorder, not even old age. I thought of you when I first heard the news of his passing because I know how often you championed his story and his heroism here on your blog. I sure hope Angelina Jolie's movie of "Unbroken" does him justice when it comes out.

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    1. Thank you, Debra. I was surprised at how I felt when I heard of his death, it truly felt as if I had lost a friend.

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  3. I remember your older post (or posts?) about Louis Zamperini. So far, I have not read the book you so highly recommended, but it is on the long list of books I want to read.

    As you say, you did not know Mr. Zamperini personally, but still feel as if by his death, you have lost a friend. I know what you mean, it does happen, doesn't it, when someone dies who has touched our lives in a significant way, no matter whether we've ever met him or her personally or not.

    Happy 4th of July to you! My Mum, my sis and I will be watching the Germany v. France match together tonight, at my sister's place, with drinks and snacks to sustain us :-)

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    1. Let me know if you read any of these books, Meike. And make sure to look out for the movie at the end of this year too.
      Hey, it is now July 8th and the score for Germany and Brazil is 7 to NIL!!
      Oops, Brazil just scored and now it is 7-1. Now, the game is finished, so Germany will play either Netherlands or Argentina in the Final. I am hoping it will be the Netherlands, we shall see!

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    2. By now we know it's Argentina. Well, that was some game!!! Never seen anything like it. It was well worth staying up until midnight (something I usually don't do when I have to work the next day).

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    3. That game made me proud that Gemany only scored ONE goal against the USA when they played against each other. (The USA goalie was great, if you saw the game of USA vs Belgium, that score could have been much higher!)
      I know that Germany is favored to win in the final. Good luck anyway!

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  4. When I heard that Louis Zamperini had died, I immediately thought of you, Kay. I would never have known his inspiring story if it hadn't been for you. I really admire how much you honor our incredible veterans and remind us of their sacrifices for us. Thanks for the Ray Charles version of "America the Beautiful." I hope that you, Richard, and Christopher have a lovely 4th!

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    1. Thank you, Louise, I have spoken about Mr. Zamperini to anyone who would listen since I read that first book I told you about. I love his story and his strength and determination. We should all aspire to be like him.
      I am glad that you like the Ray Charles version too, of America The Beautiful. And we had a lovely 4th, my friend, and hope you did too! xx

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  5. A blessed and beautiful Independence Day to you! We discussed a bit about Mr. Zamperini at Bible study this morning, and talked about what heroes like him have done to keep us free.

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    1. Years ago, I spoke with my middle school Sunday school class about Mr. Zamperini and the importance of forgiveness. The class signed a post-card and sent it to him. Once again, he replied, and my Sunday School class was so pleased.

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  6. A true American hero, a dying breed, I hope his life brought him joy and peace, he deserved it. And thank you for bringing him to my attention.

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    1. I am glad that you learned of him here. Make sure to watch out for the movie!

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  7. I saw that he had passed on the news. As Messymimi discusses, a great topic for Bible studies in looking at change and positive character.

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    1. "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience And Redemption"
      is the complete title of the book by Laura Hillenbrand.
      Mr. Zamperini always spoke of the importance of forgiveness, a very good topic for churches!

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  8. I remember your previous post about this wonderful man. I read the book Unbroken, which was a very hard book to read in light of all the torture he and the others experienced. I was just about to give up, but since I knew the story involved redemption, I hung in there and was so happy to read the ending. I hope the movie treats the story properly and also I hope that the faith he shared with Angelina Jolie will shine through.

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    1. I agree with you about Unbroken, the torture is very hard to get through.
      It was hard for Mr. Zamperini to read also, he wrote me and said that it made him feel like he was there again.
      If you know any teenagers who want to read this story, I would suggest the first book I told you about, "Devil AT My Heels" would be a better choice. "Unbroken" should be for adults only, in my opinion.

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  9. Happy 4th July Kay. We ate hotdogs and toasted marshmallows to join in! Sad news about this remarkable man. x

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    1. Hey Julie!
      Thank you! It was a fantastic 4th!! Lovely weather, it's usually so hot, you can't stand it!!
      Remember to look out for the movie about him, and let me know what you think when you see it!!

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  10. What a strong man.
    Have a great and safe holiday.

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    1. Thanks, Terry.
      Hope you have good weather in Colorado. The weather this year has been so strange! Never know what will happen next.

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  11. There was a biography about him today in the newspapers here. An amazing life.

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    1. I agree, just so amazing.
      If you read his book, you will just be astounded by his life story! His brother said, "Everybody loves Louie" and it is so true, you will like him so much and you will know that if you are ever in a lifeboat in the open sea, you would want someone like Louie Zamperini in there with you.

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  12. I would never have heard of Louis Zamperini except for your blog. And I am so glad that I did learn about his remarkable story.....He will be remembered....I'm commenting rather late, Kay, so belated Glorious Fourth of July!

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    1. Oh Kristi, it makes me glad to have this blog, just so I could let folks know about Louis Zamperini! I just wish that I could convey how much his story resonates with me, it is hard for me to explain!
      We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

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  13. Sad, but on the other side of the coin...it was wonderful that he lived long enough to know a movie was being made about his life. The movie, "Unbroken" directed by Angelina Jolie was filmed not far from where I live here in South East Queensland. He was a very special person, that's for sure.

    I hope you're having a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. :)

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    1. I am grateful that he lived long enough to know that his life story would be on the screen. I am glad that he and Angelina Jolie became such great friends!
      Did you know that Louis Zamperini was an extra in the movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"? You would if you had read "Devil At My Heels" as much as I have! What a man, what a life story...

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  14. Hi Kay

    There are obituaries in a number of UK papers eg Daily Telegraph.

    Just did a quiz to test my knowledge of the USA. Scored 90%. Can I come and live there, please?

    Henry

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    1. I hope you will read the books about Mr. Zamperini that I have mentioned here. Devil At My Heels is the one that I first read, the one that made me write a letter to the publisher, something I had never done before.
      And YES! Please do come and live in the USA, there are several houses empty near us, you would very welcome! And what a ball we would have, I would bore you to death with my nature walks! HA!! xx

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  15. A little late in reading this post, Kay, but a nice tribute to Mr. Zamperini and what a nice gesture on his part in replying to you letter. He was a true hero and gentleman as well - a rare combination these days.

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    1. I think that Mr. Zamperini must have spent a lot of money on postage, he handwrote replies to all the people who wrote to him. In his long life, that must have been a lot of folks. I am just thankful to have been one of them.
      A true hero and gentleman, I very much agree.

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