Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
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25 Catching birds: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
26 Lice, chasing rain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
27 Phil overboard: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
28 Prayer followed by rain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.
Chapter 15: Sharks and Bullets
1 Strafing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; “Mr. Phillips on CBS, Our Hero, Mr. Phillips,” undated article from papers of Karen Loomis, NPN; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Alberta H. Jones, “La Porte War Hero Takes Part in Zamperini Show,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, June 23, 1943, entry.
2 Phil thinks America will win: “Mr. Phillips on CBS, Our Hero, Mr. Phillips,” undated article from papers of Karen Loomis, NPN.
3 Sharks attacking: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.
4 Patching: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.
5 Transforming Phil’s raft: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
6 Estimating distance from land: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
Chapter 16: Singing in the Clouds
1 Sharks try to jump into raft: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
2 Attempt to catch shark: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
3 Great white: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
4 Mac asking Louie if he would die: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
5 Death of Mac: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
6 Louie catches fish with lieutenant’s pin: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
7 Declining bodies: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
8 Doldrums: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
9 Sharpening intellect: Ibid.
10 Louie hears singing: Ibid.
11 More birds: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
12 More planes: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
13 Storm coming: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
14 Phil enjoys swells: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
15 Sighting island: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, July 12, 1943, entry.
Chapter 17: Typhoon
1 Islands appearing: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
2 Discussing land matter-of-factly: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
3 Rowing parallel to islands: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
4 Storm hits: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
5 Catastrophic typhoon: Keith Heidorn, PhD, email interview, March 24, 2008; “Foochow Flooded After Typhoon,” Nevada State Journal (Reno), July 24, 1943.
6 Smelling land, listening to surf: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
7 Waking among islands: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8 Seeing planes: Ibid.
9 Capture: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, July 13, 1943, entry.
10 Swatting beard with bayonet, cigarettes burn beards: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11 Questioned, taken into custody: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
12 “These are American fliers”: Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
13 Weight: Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, November 1, 1945, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif. Notes that Louie made in 1946 state that he weighed 67 pounds, and in later interviews, he would say that he was told that his weight was 30 kilos, 66 pounds. But in at least three interviews given just after repatriation, he was quoted as saying that he had weighed 87 pounds, and in a signed affidavit made immediately after the war, he was quoted as saying that he weighed 79½ pounds. In one interview just after the war, he also said he weighed 79 pounds. Phil’s postwar affidavit stated that he weighed about 150 at the time of the crash and 80 at capture. In the CBS interview, Phil stated that he and Louie weighed the same—about 80 pounds—at capture.
14 First meal: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
15 Interviewed about journey: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
16 Told that they were in Marshalls: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, POW diary; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview. It is unclear which atoll they were told they were on. In one 1945 interview, a 1946 affidavit, and a 1988 interview, Louie stated that they were told that it was Maloelap, but in many other interviews, as well as in the POW diary that he began shortly after his capture, he stated that they were told they were on Wotje. Phil also stated that it was Wotje.
17 Forty-eight bullet holes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
18 They are our friends: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
19 “After you leave here”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
20 Sick on freighter: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
21 Conditions on Kwajalein: Louis Zamperini, telephone i
nterview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini and Russell Allen Phillips, affidavits, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
22 NINE MARINES: Tripp Wiles, Forgotten Raiders of ’42: The Fate of the Marines Left Behind on Makin (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007), photo caption.
23 All I see: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
PART IV
Chapter 18: A Dead Body Breathing
1 Hardtack, tea: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
2 Meeting native: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
3 Forced to sleep by waste hole: Ibid.
4 Diarrhea: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.
5 Boiling water thrown in face: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.
6 Louie hears singing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
7 Phil’s ordeal: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.
8 Carving name in wall: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
9 “What’s going to happen?”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
10 Guards’ cruelty: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
11 “I was literally”: Raymond Halloran, email interview, March 3, 2008.
12 Louie’s interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
13 Women sexually enslaved: Chang, pp. 52–53.
14 “a ruptured octopus”: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
15 Phil’s interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.
16 Kawamura: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA. Louie would later be unsure if the name was Kawamura or Kawamuda, but the former is almost certainly correct, as it is a common name.
17 Sub men attack: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
18 Medical experimentation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.
19 Japanese experiment on captives: Tanaka, pp. 135–65; Gary K. Reynolds, U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan, Congressional Research Service, December 17, 2002, pp. 19–21.
20 Dengue fever: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.
21 Second round of interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
22 Condemned, then saved from execution: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.
Chapter 19: Two Hundred Silent Men
1 Attacked on ship: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.
2 Sailor knocking on Louie’s head, beaten in car: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
3 Louie allowed to bathe: Ibid.
4 Meeting Sasaki, “We meet again”: Ibid.
5 “unarmed combatants”: William R. Gill and Davis P. Newton, “A Compilation of Biographical Source Documents Concerning Major William Herald Walker, U.S. Army Air Force (1919–1945), a Prisoner of War in Japan During World War II,” 1999, p. 15.
6 Life in Ofuna: Yuzuru Sanematsu, “A Record of the Aftermath of Ofuna POW Camp,” Shukan Yomiuri, August 1974, translated from Japanese; William R. Gill and Davis P. Newton, “A Compilation of Biographical Source Documents Concerning Major William Herald Walker, U.S. Army Air Force (1919–1945), a Prisoner of War in Japan During World War II,” 1999; “Ofuna: Dolder Rescue Team Report,” September 22, 1945, http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/tokyo/ofuna/ofuna.html (accessed September 20, 2009); Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jean Balch, letter to legal section, prosecution division, SCAP, January 18, 1948; Gamble, p. 321; Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from Case Docket No. 218: Nakakichi Asoma et al. (vol. II, part 2 of 2 sections, exhibits, 1945–1949), RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Record of the Trial File, 1945–49, NACP; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Gregory Boyington, Baa Baa Black Sheep (New York: Bantam, 1977), pp. 251–53; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issues 1–2, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; “Main Subject Is on Ofuna POW Camp, February 1946–July 1947” and “Main Subject Is on Ofuna POW Camp, September 1945–May 1947,” RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Miscellaneous Subject File, NACP; information on Ofuna from the following files on Kunichi Sasaki and James Kunichi Sasaki in RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration and Prosecution Divisions (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP: Kunichi Sasaki et al., 1945–1948, Investigation and Interrogation Reports; Nakakichi Asoma et al., trial, exhibits, appeal, and clemency files, NACP; Nakakichi Asoma, 1945–1952, POW 201 File, 1945–1952, Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948, NACP; Yuichi Hatto, Aa, Omori Shuyojo (Tokyo: Kyoshin Shuppan, 2004), translated from Japanese.
7 “My job”: Glenn McConnell, telephone interview, June 8, 2007.
8 “were of such intensity”: Affidavit, Glenn McConnell, from files on Sueharu Kitamura, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP.
9 “Iron must be beaten”: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.
10 “No strong soldiers”: Ibid.
11 “transfer of oppression”: Chang, p. 217; Tanaka, p. 204.
12 Japanese view of Westerners, “Anglo-Saxon devils”: Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.
13 Japanese view of capture: Yuichi Hatto, Aa, Omori Shuyojo (Tokyo: Kyoshin Shuppan, 2004), translated from Japanese; Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.
14 “Have regard for”: Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2
006.
15 “the night of a thousand suicides”: “Cowra Outbreak, 1944,” Fact Sheet 198, National Archives of Australia, http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs198.aspx (accessed September 23, 2009); Harry Gordon, Voyage from Shame: The Cowra Breakout and Afterwards (Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, 1994). While the Cowra incident is sometimes described simply as an escape attempt, the event’s authoritative historian, Harry Gordon, describes it as a “mass suicide bid.” While some Japanese POWs remained in camp and committed suicide or were killed by other POWs, those who made the breakout run, including hundreds who ran directly at camp machine guns, were trying to force the Australians to kill them. According to one survivor, they carried weapons to “show hostility … so they would surely be shot at” and carried implements to use to kill themselves if the Australians didn’t kill them. Some who successfully escaped later killed themselves to avoid recapture.