[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ``UNBROKEN''

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on a fateful day in May 1943, 
bombardier Louis Zamperini and his fellow airmen were flying in a B 24 
over the Pacific Ocean on a reconnaissance mission. The plane fell 
apart mid-flight, crashing into the middle of ocean and killing all but 
three of the 11-man crew.
  In the midst of the catastrophe and chaos, Louis along with his pilot 
Russell Allen Phillips and tail gunner Francis McNamara, found a small 
rubber life raft. All three avoided sharks, dodged bullets from 
Japanese aircraft and devised ways to catch rainwater, fish and 
sometimes birds.
  After 33 days on the raft, Francis McNamara died. The chance of 
rescue for the other two men seemed bleak, until day 47, when their 
raft finally made landfall in the Marshall Islands.
  Once they reached the island, Louie and Russell were immediately 
captured by Japanese forces and put in a POW camp where they were 
imprisoned for over two years in several infamous camps, including 
Ofuna, Omori and Naoetsu. Thought dead by his family, Louis faced 
torture worse than death.
  One particular brutal guard, nicknamed ``The Bird,'' planned to make 
an example of the famous Olympian. Louis would look away from The 
Bird's eyes and get punched for looking away; Louis would stare into 
The Bird's eyes and get punched for staring at his eyes. The Bird would 
then whip Louis with a 2-pound steel buckle across the face and head. 
The Bird would torture, starve and force Louis to perform demeaning 
acts every day. It seems unthinkable, but during the two years of abuse 
and torture, Louis never broke down. That is a resilient spirit.
  Finally, almost 28 months after his plane crashed, Louis was brought 
home to California. Louis tried to balance the horrors of his 
imprisonment with his new found celebrity status in America. His life 
began to spin out of control. This is not where his story ends.
  Louis attributes getting his life back on track to a young evangelist 
named Billy Graham who inside a revival tent changed Louis's life 
forever. After his reconfirmation to his God, Louis became a missionary 
to the same country that had held him captive. In Japan, he preached 
the good word of forgiveness to the guards that tortured him during the 
war.
  Laura Hillenbrand tells the tale of the great American hero Louis 
Zamperini in the appropriately titled book ``Unbroken.'' Born in Olean, 
New York in 1917, Louis moved to Torrance, California with his Italian-
American family in the 1920's. Like most rural American children of the 
era, he grew up poor in the Depression.
  Louis's teenage years were far different from the life he leads 
today, but, they were a precursor to the spunk he still exhibits some 
80 years later. In his younger years, he was in and out of trouble with 
the law, having established a reputation on the streets of Torrance as 
a fighter and a thief. It was here that his older brother, Pete, 
discovered Louis's talent for running.
  In an effort to restore his street reputation, Louis joined the high 
school track team. Pete helped develop Louis's natural athletic speed 
by training him, first for the mile run. By his senior year, Louis set 
the world's high school record in the mile run. Soon after, he 
qualified to run in the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he was the top 
American finisher in the 5,000-meter run.
  At the Berlin games, Louis's speed caught Adolf Hitler's attention, 
and Hitler sought him out for a congratulatory handshake. The 
dictatorship that Louis witnessed in Berlin would soon affect him 
personally.
  After returning from the '36 Olympics, Louis enrolled at the 
University of Southern California where he earned a track scholarship. 
It was five years later that Louis enlisted in the U.S. Army. After 
Pearl Harbor, Louis was sent to Houston to train in the U.S. Air Corps 
bombardier school. From there, he served as a bombardier in the South 
Pacific during World War II.
  Louis is now 94 years young. Louis has done more in his life than 
many can claim: he ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics; fought in the 
Second World War; survived a plane crash into the ocean; and endured 
two years of torture at Japanese POW camps. Having lived for nearly a 
century, Louis still travels the country telling his story and 
inspiring generations to come. He still has the fight left in him--
don't let his age fool you.
  Today, Louis still travels the world and tells his story of endurance 
and survival. His patriotic legacy of military service and plain old 
giving back is one of the best examples of our greatest generation in 
American history. Louis is that special warrior who never forsook his 
duty and never forsook his honor. He was unbroken.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________