Memoir Historical Investigation for UNBROKEN

By

John Byrne

Primary Source:

This is a picture of Louis Zamperini winning one of races as a young

man. I chose this picture to show you how Louis looked before he went

into war. This picture is connected to the book because the book starts

out talking about how Louis was a great runner and how everybody

knew he had a lot of talent.

Secondary Source:

Louis Zamperini made this statement in one of his interviews about his

running career.

“Someone who doesn't make the (Olympic) team might weep and collapse. In my day no one fell on the track and cried like a baby. We lost gracefully. And when someone won, he didn't act like he'd just become king of the world, either. Athletes in my day were simply humble in our victory. I believe we were more mature then...Maybe it's because the media puts so much pressure on athletes; maybe it's also the money. In my day we competed for the love of the sport...In my day we patted the guy who beat us on the back, wished him well, and that was it.”

When I read this quote from Louis I knew exactly what he was talking

about but I was really surprised that he felt that way. It shows you how

much athletes have changed over the years. I chose this quote because

it tells you what competition was like back then and what it meant to all

the athletes.

Summary:

UNBROKEN is a story about an amazing journey that begins on a May

afternoon in 1943. An Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a slick of oil, gasoline and blood.

Then, on the ocean surface a face appeared. It was a young lieutenant,

the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling

himself aboard. So began one of the most amazing stories of the

Second World War. The young lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini,

in his early ages he was an incredible runner but as a young boy he

would break into houses, brawl and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As

a teenager he left all the bad stuff behind and started running. He found

that he had an amazing talent and later everyone else started to notice

as well. His talent carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of

the four-minute mile. Sadly his career was cut short because of war, the

athlete had become and airman, facing a journey that included a terrible

flight, a tiny raft and a drift into the unknown.

Review:

I think that overall this book is amazing, it is book that is full of action and

it makes you never want to put it down. When I first got this book I

wasn’t sure if I would enjoy reading it but boy was I wrong, I couldn’t put

the book down because I found it fascinating how a young man of his

age could go through horrible torture and has still managed to stay alive

and share his story with everyone. I would definitely recommend this

book because I really enjoyed reading it and it really is one of the most

extraordinary stories of the Second World War.

A Rocky Ride To Hell

As I lay down on this wet, yellow raft I gaze up at the sky wondering what I would be

doing right now if our plane hadn’t crashed, if the war had never started. I still

remember exactly what happened, like it was yesterday. The day that my journey

began was on May 26 at Kahuku Airbase where I ran a mile in four minutes and

twelve seconds. Hours later my crew and I headed out to search for a missing B25.

The only plane available was the "Green Hornet", a plane that had been stripped of

its parts to service other planes. The pilot Russel Philips was told that the Green

Hornet had passed inspection. We loaded up the plane and headed south to the

point where the B25 had last been heard from. Flying at 1000 feet all of us looked

down at the water searching for survivors. As we circled around, our number one

engine stopped. A couple of seconds later another engine stopped and after that the

plane suddenly dropped. Out of the twelve crew members the only ones who

survived were me, Philips and the tailgunner named Francis McNamara. I felt like

someone had just hit me in the head with a sledgehammer, my whole head was

pounding. All that surrounded me was blood, oil and two heads bobbing over the

ocean surface. Then as I turned around I spotted a life raft and as I got on I rowed

back to Philips and McNamara.

We were floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and knew that we needed

a miracle to survive. Between us we had six bars of chocolate and six pints of water.

On the first night while Philips and I were sleeping McNamara began to panic and

ate all of the chocolate. I remember waking up to him crying and seeing the

chocolate wrappers by his feet, I could have sworn I was going to push him of the

raft and leave him floating. We somehow managed to stay alive even though we had

a ton of obstacles to pass. We went from riding through horrible storms to fighting off

a giant shark that wouldn’t leave our raft for two days. We also had to kill small

sharks and eat their livers just to stay alive.

Every other day was the same. We would wake up, try to find something to

eat then fall asleep until it got dark. When it got dark we wouldn’t be able to sleep at

night because we were all afraid that something horrible would happen and we

wouldn’t be ready. Then on the 33rd night spent on the raft, Francis realised his

journey was coming to an end, he looked at me and said “ Louis do you think I am

going to die?”

“ Yes I think you will” I replied.

“ I’m scared, I don’t want to die out here”

“Well I am afraid you don’t have a choice at this point, you are too weak”

That night while all of us were sleeping Francis McNamara passed away. The next

day I was the one who put McNamara's body into the ocean and said my final

goodbye.

Out of nowhere I feel my stomach jump; I was back in reality, still on this small

raft with Philips. Then suddenly I feel my stomach jump again as we ride over a huge

wave. When we are at the very cusp of the wave I spot an island.

“ An island, there is an island” I scream as we passed over the humongous wave.

“ Are you serious, where?” he replied

“ Quick, paddle” I scream again

“ I am, stop rushing me”

We had drifted 2000 miles and washed up on this small, exotic island surrounded by

crystal blue water called the Marshall Islands. We were nearly sure that we were

saved, but surprisingly we were not alone. We had drifted 2000 miles and washed up

on this small, exotic island surrounded by crystal blue water. The Marshall Islands

had been taken over by Japan. Sadly Japanese soldiers found Russel and I. They

grabbed us by our arms and dragged us to our new home. They had put Russel and

I into a dark cell and informed us that we would be executed very soon. As we sit

there in the pitch black I wonder if we will ever make it out of this nightmare alive.

Works Cited:

"The Indomitable Man." SUCCESS Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov.

2012. <http://www.success.com/articles/1446-the-indomitable-man>.

"Louis Zamperini." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012.

<http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/625516-someone-who-doesn-t-

make-the-olympic-team-might-weep-and>.

"Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and

Redemption." Goodreads. N.p., 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.

<http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8664353-unbroken>.