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Courtesy of Louis Zamperini. Photo of original image by John Brodkin.
One The One-Boy Insurgency IN THE PREDAWN DARKNESS OF AUGUST 26, 1929, IN THE back bedroom of a small house in Torrance, California, a twelveyear-old boy sat up in bed, listening. There was a sound coming from outside, growing ever louder. It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air. It was coming from directly above the house. The boy swung his legs off his bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door, and loped onto the grass. The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound. The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound. The sky had disappeared. An object that he could see only in silhouette, reaching across a massive arc of space, was suspended low in the air over the house. It was longer than two and a half football fields and as tall as a city. It was putting out the stars. What he saw was the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin. At nearly 800 feet long and 110 feet high, it was the largest flying machine ever crafted. More luxurious than the finest airplane, gliding effortlessly over huge distances, built on a scale that left spectators gasping, it was, in the summer of ’29, the wonder of the world. The airship was three days from completing a sensational feat of aeronautics, circumnavigation of the globe. The journey had begun on August 7, when the Zeppelin had slipped its tethers in Lakehurst, New Jersey, lifted up with a long, slow sigh, and headed for Manhattan. On Fifth Avenue
Page 2: Also by Laura Hillenbrand SEABISCUI
Page 8: For the wounded and the lost
Page 14 and 15: PREFACE ALL HE COULD SEE, IN EVERY
Page 16: man under the raft.
Page 24 and 25: that summer, demolition was soon to
Page 26 and 27: in amazement. Soon after, on a pedi
Page 28 and 29: ants. In the lobby of the Torrance
Page 30 and 31: myth. Though Pete earned grades lit
Page 32 and 33: their chins, each waiting for the o
Page 34 and 35: As Louie prepared to start Torrance
Page 36 and 37: couldn’t kick free. In the back b
Page 38 and 39: 1932. Pete had big plans for Louie.
Page 40 and 41: themselves and eating,” he said l
Page 42 and 43: Nearly every afternoon, he commuted
Page 44 and 45: Louie wins the 1933 UCLA Cross Coun
Page 46 and 47: he felt a tug of regret. He felt to
Page 48 and 49: July, and the Olympic committee wou
Page 50 and 51: 5,000 qualifier, but the toe injure
Page 52 and 53: lead, with Bright in close pursuit.
Page 54 and 55: Louie and Lash at the finish line a
Page 56 and 57: Louie Zamperini was on his way to G
Page 58 and 59: unners were buffeted about, all sta
Page 60 and 61: at Hamburg, a doctor noted that qui
Page 62 and 63: were treated to a thunderous show t
Page 64 and 65: elax, knowing how far he had to go.
Page 66 and 67: miles ever run, the winner’s fina
Page 68 and 69: The guards conferred, went inside,
Page 70 and 71:
around Tokyo, Japan. * Louie would
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Sasaki’s scholarliness; prior to
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Louie had a four-minute mile in him
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With a cracked rib and puncture wou
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Olympic stadium was partially colla
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warned military officials that a Ca
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In Texas, Louie was in a theater, o
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PART II
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in a police car, sirens blaring, sh
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uns, he had the Norden bombsight, a
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Ephrata, Washington, where there wa
Page 94 and 95:
Russell Allen Phillips. Courtesy of
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Phil’s crew. Left to right: Phill
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turbulence; one slip and you’d tu
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another, in stereo, from a colonel
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and judging by their training score
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where they would serve. Judging by
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* In June 1941, the air corps becam
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involving all sixteen officers, Phi
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average. Louie’s bombing scores w
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Louie’s two proudest moments as a
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Waiting to fly. Courtesy of Louis Z
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ig news: The Japanese had built a b
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the bomb bay door control valve, an
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done. With the bomb bay yawning ope
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oadcasters had a different take. Th
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Moznette, had lived in the pornogra
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a result of enemy action. In many c
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they’d land simultaneously, with
Page 130 and 131:
The risks of flying were compounded
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ditching, enabling the plane to flo
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thousands of square miles. The long
Page 136 and 137:
The man’s boilersuit had been in
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letters to Cecy on an upturned box,
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* Two published accounts of this in
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Two days later, the men flew back t
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enforced their authority with the s
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ay, and the plane rocked again. At
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iplane. Its gunners shot down one Z
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The Zero had sprayed the entire rig
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arely keeping the plane up, and the
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crew would later report that not on
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he breathed. Pillsbury couldn’t b
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plane. Later, ground crewmen would
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Ten The Stinking Six AS EVENING FEL
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was alone. He had apparently been f
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Staff Sergeant Frank Rosynek huddle
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Japanese bombs lying in a neat row.
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through the holes, a shower of star
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mix up a crew, they have a crack up
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Eleven “Nobody’s Going to Live
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Green Hornet. Courtesy of Louis Zam
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Louie ran from the flight deck, yel
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He emerged in a puzzle of debris. H
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PART III
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Louie pulled out his raft’s oars,
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e unpalatably bitter so soldiers wo
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Louie came up with ground rules. Ea
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Thirteen Missing at Sea DAISY MAE T
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escue search was surely under way.
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The plane was Daisy Mae. Its crewme
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kidded around with them but now the
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In Saranap, California, Payton Jord
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frantic and confused and didn’t k
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overwhelming guilt. “If I had onl
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sweat and fuel from their pores, sl
Page 206 and 207:
Louie used the pliers to tear the b
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October, a B-17 carrying Rickenback
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imaginary meal was prepared, the me
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and starvation loomed, this act too
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person had died naturally, would be
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have whisked it through the water a
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water. The men were able to keep th
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huddled there, watching bullets tea
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teeth, widened his eyes, and rammed
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after it, another. The men gripped
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ief sleep rotations. Once the top w
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far side of the earth’s tilt. The
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ocean. To Louie’s surprise, it wa
Page 232 and 233:
In his Honolulu survival course, Lo
Page 234 and 235:
over Mac and let the blood flow int
Page 236 and 237:
In the morning, Phil wrapped Mac’
Page 238 and 239:
Joyful and grateful in the midst of
Page 240 and 241:
Japanese. As the days passed, more
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Phil and Louie had drifted into wha
Page 244 and 245:
One of the Japanese opened his shir
Page 246 and 247:
he arrived in Hawaii, noted that he
Page 248 and 249:
men’s shoulders, and carried. Lou
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PART IV
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slashing gesture. He pointed to the
Page 256 and 257:
into the pan and slurped up the wat
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een lost: dignity. This self-respec
Page 260 and 261:
What did he know about the E-model
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at Louie. When his shift was up, he
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minutes, Louie’s entire body was
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law, put in contact with the Red Cr
Page 268 and 269:
This clipping was in Louie’s wall
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could only just make out the silhou
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secret place, they could, and did,
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was another inspection outside, ano
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prejudices may still have been vuln
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out for gang attacks from his fello
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These murders were the first applic
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of Fitzgerald, clubbing him, jammin
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terrible curse. Jimmie Sasaki made
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emembered for descriptions of his m
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In a secret place inside his cell,
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The stealing left Ofuna in a state
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cigarettes, sank to the ground duri
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had arrived at Ofuna, he had asked
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this “plush” camp before the ca
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at any moment. What the Zamperinis
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On October 6, Louie’s army trunk
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emains of a wooden structure, saw s
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ponder what little they knew. They,
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or they would have notified us long
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Twenty-two Plots Afoot THE PLOT BEG
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was left of the Weasel’s bushy ey
Page 312 and 313:
Tojo. He began to sound like he was
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memory, and the conviction that the
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y civilians, who beat them, struck
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coming. The Quack noticed something
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William Harris. Courtesy of Katheri
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Twenty-three Monster IT WAS LATE MO
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Louie and the other prisoners stood
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The corporal’s name was Mutsuhiro
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Japanese compensated the POWs for t
Page 330 and 331:
sent Watanabe into an explosion. He
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Quack were simply goons, Watanabe c
Page 334 and 335:
more. * In POW memoirs, Watanabe’
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then race in to choose his victim.
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on, they’d labor at the work site
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wrenched the pins and bolts out, an
Page 342 and 343:
Thanks to the stealing, a black mar
Page 344 and 345:
taken off work duty, losing half th
Page 346 and 347:
oadcast. The Japanese had written i
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At ten minutes to six on the mornin
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arracks. The men shushed each other
Page 352 and 353:
maternal sound, a sort of Awwww. He
Page 354 and 355:
evening’s broadcast to tease the
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foremost in the country speak highl
Page 358 and 359:
egan, “this is the postman callin
Page 360 and 361:
Your loving son, Louie —— Later
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Twenty-six Madness THE RADIO TOKYO
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it. They had hidden him from the wo
Page 366 and 367:
A B-29 over Japan. Associated Press
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epeatedly for five minutes, made hi
Page 370 and 371:
down the line of terrified POWs, sw
Page 372 and 373:
Four days before Christmas, a card
Page 374 and 375:
Japanese photographers circled, sna
Page 376 and 377:
The Bird was suspicious. After Toku
Page 378 and 379:
Twenty-seven Falling Down AT OMORI,
Page 380 and 381:
POWs were ordered to dig shelters.
Page 382 and 383:
hooked up with a Japanese fighter a
Page 384 and 385:
itterly cold. Fitzgerald, who had a
Page 386 and 387:
Australian POWs—one in every five
Page 388 and 389:
a few slices of vegetable. The drin
Page 390 and 391:
anything like the backbreaking labo
Page 392 and 393:
fight. Early the next morning, as t
Page 394 and 395:
saliva. There was just one bathtub
Page 396 and 397:
through the knothole hard enough to
Page 398 and 399:
cramming handfuls of the animal’s
Page 400 and 401:
growing number of B-29 sightings ov
Page 402 and 403:
With the Bird out of the way, the m
Page 404 and 405:
wrote POW Joe Byrne, “as if they
Page 406 and 407:
captives, Allied fighters circled t
Page 408 and 409:
Peenen, looked about him, considere
Page 410 and 411:
“Goat die, you die,” the Bird s
Page 412 and 413:
looked at the clock when Louie had
Page 414 and 415:
was terrified. “I have changed my
Page 416 and 417:
As the day’s first light walked o
Page 418 and 419:
Thirty-one The Naked Stampede THE N
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against the sea and two rivers, and
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outage. A few men celebrated the pe
Page 424 and 425:
—— On August 20, a white sky st
Page 426 and 427:
torpedo bomber, which was swooping
Page 428 and 429:
Thirty-two Cascades of Pink Peaches
Page 430 and 431:
mountain to the nearest villages. T
Page 432 and 433:
massacre had been imminent, it seem
Page 434 and 435:
unning into the drop zone. Louie sa
Page 436 and 437:
numbing statistics are untold numbe
Page 438 and 439:
—— Everyone in camp was eager t
Page 440 and 441:
children and Mom and Dad and home.
Page 442 and 443:
Thirty-three Mother’s Day THE NAO
Page 444 and 445:
Frank Tinker told him to talk to Lo
Page 446 and 447:
more had been killed in action. Of
Page 448 and 449:
families couldn’t rest easy. The
Page 450 and 451:
Phillips’s telephone began ringin
Page 452 and 453:
story, from the crash to Kwajalein
Page 454 and 455:
was the woman whose image had susta
Page 456 and 457:
“Cara mamma mia,” he whispered.
Page 459:
PART V
Page 462 and 463:
going to be just fine. Sylvia had a
Page 464 and 465:
down and slept. In the morning, he
Page 466 and 467:
in August. The man said that Mutsuh
Page 468 and 469:
he nosed the car back in the drivew
Page 470 and 471:
was trying to outlast the other. Si
Page 472 and 473:
to California to get married. Cynth
Page 474 and 475:
house, he became convinced that it
Page 476 and 477:
honored in Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrin
Page 478 and 479:
with such force that his face turne
Page 480 and 481:
on mattresses, ducked in terror whe
Page 482 and 483:
Many felt lonely and isolated, havi
Page 484 and 485:
homey. At the end of his first day
Page 486 and 487:
sudden, loud sound, perhaps a car b
Page 488 and 489:
Thirty-six The Body on the Mountain
Page 490 and 491:
aired, worried that they’d suspec
Page 492 and 493:
and willing instrument in Japan’s
Page 494 and 495:
egular summer visit to his sister M
Page 496 and 497:
door closed. The detectives left. M
Page 498 and 499:
Thirty-seven Twisted Ropes LOUIE KN
Page 500 and 501:
ound and round. He stopped the car
Page 502 and 503:
Cynthia was distraught over what he
Page 504 and 505:
Louie, after the war. Frank Tinker
Page 506 and 507:
Thirty-eight A Beckoning Whistle FO
Page 508 and 509:
the failure of the massive search.
Page 510 and 511:
man mentioned that an evangelist na
Page 512 and 513:
was taken in adultery, in the very
Page 514 and 515:
Louie rose from his nightmares to f
Page 516 and 517:
ody on a raft, dying of thirst. He
Page 518 and 519:
Thirty-nine Daybreak ON A CHILLY FA
Page 520 and 521:
As Louie looked at this last man, h
Page 523 and 524:
EPILOGUE ON A JUNE DAY IN 1954, JUS
Page 525 and 526:
kicking back on the first-class dec
Page 527 and 528:
Louie, skateboarding at eighty-one.
Page 529 and 530:
Allen Phillips with his children, C
Page 531 and 532:
Bill Harris with his daughter Katey
Page 533 and 534:
heavy-duty plastic bag to use as a
Page 535 and 536:
city, and stopped before a house wi
Page 537 and 538:
while wondering if he was free. Fin
Page 539 and 540:
severe.” He made a fist and waved
Page 541 and 542:
homes. In keeping with the goal of
Page 543 and 544:
uneasy. “I wasn’t given militar
Page 545 and 546:
If Watanabe received it, he never r
Page 547 and 548:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “I’ll be an eas
Page 549 and 550:
modest pilot known as Phil and unco
Page 551 and 552:
he ran the Torrance track with Pete
Page 553 and 554:
Bolling Air Force Base; Will Mahone
Page 555 and 556:
generous, sharing his voluminous re
Page 557:
NOTES All letters to or from Louis
Page 560 and 561:
undated article from Zamperini scra
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3 “like a huge shark”: Botting,
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21 He was “bighearted”: Peter Z
Page 566 and 567:
Zamperini scrapbook, NPN. 2 “the
Page 568 and 569:
Kenneth Griffin, interview by Georg
Page 570 and 571:
George A. Hodak, Downey, Calif., Ju
Page 572 and 573:
22 “Don’t let them see me!”:
Page 574 and 575:
interview; Louis Zamperini, intervi
Page 576 and 577:
interview; Payton Jordan, telephone
Page 578 and 579:
and Brigadier General Sherman Miles
Page 580:
PART II Chapter 6: The Flying Coffi
Page 583 and 584:
Grenz, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telep
Page 585 and 586:
24 “It’s the Flying Coffin”:
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Pacific,” unpublished memoir. 4
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19 STEEL FILLS JAP SOX: Undated art
Page 591 and 592:
15 “We just sat there”: Martin
Page 593 and 594:
interview. 2 Makin, Tarawa missions
Page 595 and 596:
Fight: Lou Zamperini, Former Track
Page 597 and 598:
Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmo
Page 599 and 600:
17 Francis McNamara: Louis Zamperin
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Zamperini, telephone interview; Rus
Page 603 and 604:
8 Hours after crash: Louis Zamperin
Page 605 and 606:
1943, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 9
Page 607 and 608:
6 Fishing: “42nd Bombardment Squa
Page 609 and 610:
interview. 25 Catching birds: Louis
Page 611 and 612:
5 Death of Mac: Louis Zamperini, te
Page 613 and 614:
8 Seeing planes: Ibid. 9 Capture: L
Page 615 and 616:
they were on Wotje. Phil also state
Page 617 and 618:
Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic O
Page 619 and 620:
(accessed September 20, 2009); Loui
Page 621 and 622:
Katsuo Kohara (Vol. I, Record of Tr
Page 623 and 624:
9 Phil doing calisthenics: Russell
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38 Phil sent to Ashio: Kelsey Phill
Page 627 and 628:
8 Sasaki’s sudden change: Ibid. 9
Page 629 and 630:
9 Watanabe’s history: Martindale,
Page 631 and 632:
Zamperini, telephone interview. 5 A
Page 633 and 634:
aircraft_id=82 (accessed October 15
Page 635 and 636:
3 Reason Louie spared from executio
Page 637 and 638:
29 Red Cross packages delivered: No
Page 639 and 640:
translated from Norwegian by Nina B
Page 641 and 642:
RAOOH, RG 331, NACP. 14 B-29 seen:
Page 643 and 644:
16 “Frisco dive in ’45”: Knox
Page 645 and 646:
http://www.echigonagaoka.com/index.
Page 647 and 648:
13 Rumors: Ken Marvin, telephone in
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1 End of war at Rokuroshi: Emerson,
Page 651 and 652:
Times, September 16, 1945; “Jap S
Page 653 and 654:
Chapter 33: Mother’s Day 1 POWs o
Page 655 and 656:
28 Hospital parties: Louis Zamperin
Page 657 and 658:
PART V Chapter 34: The Shimmering G
Page 659 and 660:
Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber,
Page 661 and 662:
38 Concerns about Applewhites: Loui
Page 663 and 664:
13 Louie’s torment, resumption of
Page 665 and 666:
12 Watanabe in hiding: Mutsuhiro Wa
Page 667 and 668:
4 Meeting at restaurant: Mutsuhiro
Page 669 and 670:
21 Louie’s last flashback: Louis
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13 Life, death of Harris: Katey Mea
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27 “I was just in a great joy”:
Page 675:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR LAURA HILLENBRAND
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