Louis Zampirini – Freedom through Brokenness

Significance

Louis Zampirini – Freedom through Brokenness

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Within the past few years I read a book that, though a true story, was absolutely unbelievable. Unbroken is the incredible biography of a 1936 Olympic qualifier in the 5,000 meter race, and a World War II survivor. This Christmas the movie came out in the theaters, and I enjoyed watching it on the big screen with our family.

Louie Zampirini was born on January 26, 1917, to Italian immigrant parents. Because his family could not speak English well, his young life in Torrance, California, was not easy and he was often the target of bullies. Louie tried to find ways to compensate for the bullying and developed habits of fighting, drinking, smoking, and stealing.

His brother Pete, recognizing that he was traveling down a slippery slope, encouraged him to put his energies into running. Louie soon proved to be very talented and fast. His fanatical determination and ability began to win him recognition, and at the age of 19, Zampirini decided to try out for the 1936 Olympics.

On the hottest day of the year, though a number of other contestants collapsed during the preliminary race, he tied the American record holder, Don Lash. Louis Zampirini became the youngest American contestant to qualify for the Olympics 5,ooo meter race to be held in Berlin, Germany. Years later this same tenacious quality of determination would serve him well in the most severe test of his life.

In September 1941, Louis enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He was deployed as a bombardier to the Pacific Islands where he participated in bombing missions against the Japanese. On one fateful flight his B-24 malfunctioned and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He, along with two other crewmates, survived the collision, inflated rubber rescue boats, and began a 47-day fight for their lives on the hostile ocean.

Beating the odds of survival against the elements, shark attacks, few supplies, and enemy bullets, two of the men (the third died after 33 days) were finally rescued only to find out that their savior was the Japanese navy. Immediately they were taken as prisoners of war, kept in captivity and severely mistreated until the war ended in 1945.

Despite horrendous deprivation and torture, Louie Zampirini remained unbroken in spirit to the end. When others would have given up all hope or desire for survival, he fought with every ounce of strength he possessed. He did survive the ordeal, but, even after his rescue and return to the United States, he became engaged in another war that was not so easily won.

After returning home, Zampirini married and tried to settle down, but his dreams were haunted with memories of his imprisonment. He found himself strangling his captors in his sleep, drinking heavily during the day, and straining to forget the atrocious experiences that he had survived but that now threatened to be his undoing.

About this time his wife, Cynthia, attended a crusade held by Billy Graham, an up and coming Christian evangelist. She recognized her own need for a Savior and accepted Jesus Christ into her life. She went home and finally convinced Louie to attend another night of the crusade.

That evening Billy’s message reminded Louie of his many desperate prayers spoken while adrift in the Pacific Ocean. As the Holy Spirit pierced his heart with the truth, the unbreakable will of Louie Zampirini finally broke in the presence of a holy God. He accepted God’s forgiveness for his own sins and recommitted his life to serving this One Who had not only created him, but Who never left him during the darkest days of his life. With the Lord’s help Louie began the process of forgiving his captors. His nightmares finally disappeared, leaving him with a peace that was beyond human comprehension.

For the rest of his life Louie spoke to groups about God’s amazing love and encouraged his audiences to forgive those who had hurt them. He even visited many of his own prison guards to give them the gift of forgiveness. Many of them came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior through this act of kindness.

Though tenacity and perseverance served this unbroken and strong-willed spirit well in incredibly difficult circumstances, it wasn’t until Louie Zampirini found himself offering God the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart that he experienced the freedom that he truly longed for – the freedom that only forgiveness can bring!

Love,

Mama

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Hi, I'm Sandy! 

I write inspirational letters based on the Bible that share words of hope, encouragement, truth, and healing to my children and anyone else who longs for a mama's touch.

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