Unbroken

  46 Japanese saluting: Wall, p. 304.

  Chapter 33: Mother’s Day

  1 POWs on train: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005; Wade, p. 171; Knox, p. 452; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  2 “First there were trees”: Knox, p. 451.

  3 “Welcome back, boys”: Wade, p. 171.

  4 “Before me in immaculate khaki uniform”: Ibid.

  5 Women like goddesses: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

  6 Trumbull encounters Louie: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “Zamperini Gives Sidelights of His Dramatic Trip Back,” October 1, 1945, NPN, from papers of Louis Zamperini; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

  7 “Zamperini’s dead”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  8 “If I knew”: Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

  9 Hoarding K rations: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

  10 Rosynek watches men deplane: Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 21, 2005.

  11 POW told his wife married his uncle: “Sends Love Message to Soldier Husband,” Council Bluffs Nonpareil, September 11, 1945.

  12 Louie interviewed: Frank Rosynek, written interview, December 8, 2007.

  13 “Well, I’ll be damned”: Jack Krey, telephone interview, August 18, 2005.

  14 11th Bomb Group, 42nd squadron men lost: Cleveland, pp. 484–85.

  15 Only four of sixteen men from barracks alive: Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.

  16 four hundred athletes killed: “400 Stars Give Lives in Service,” Oakland Tribune, December 30, 1944; Walt Dobbins, “I May Be Wrong,” Lincoln (Neb.) Journal, January 6, 1944.

  17 Louie not allowed food, clothes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  18 Louie assessed by physicians: “Lou Zamperini Has Won Final Race on Track,” Olean (N.Y.) Times-Herald, September 13, 1945.

  19 “It’s finished”: “Zamperini Drifted 1,200 Miles on Raft,” Stars and Stripes, September 14, 1945.

  20 “Darling, we will”: Sylvia Zamperini, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 31, 1945.

  21 Pete learns Louie free: “Lou Zamperini’s Release Thrills Brother at NTC,” Hoist (U.S. Naval Training Center, San Diego), September 14, 1945.

  22 Preparing for homecoming, family quotations: “Zamperini’s Mother Sheds Tears of Joy,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

  23 Freeing Rokuroshi: George Steiger, “Captain George Steiger: A POW Diary,” https://www.fsteiger.com/gsteipow.html (accessed October 2, 2009); Emerson, pp. 86–87; Giles, pp. 155–65; Kerr, Surrender, pp. 288–89.

  24 History of American flag: Giles, pp. 156–57.

  25 Kelsey Phillips learns Allen is free: “Lt. Allen Phillips Back in Care of U.S. Army, Mother Informed,” Terre Haute Star, September, 1945.

  26 “That day”: Ibid.

  27 Louie remains in Okinawa: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

  28 Hospital parties: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  29 Louie startling USC recruiter: Ibid.

  30 Typhoon: Ibid.

  31 Louie flies in B-24: Ibid.; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

  32 Overloaded B-24 crashes: Martindale, p. 243.

  33 “This is Kwajalein”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  34 One tree left on island: Ibid.

  35 Hospitalization mandatory: Bernard M. Cohen and Maurice Z. Cooper, A Follow-up Study of World War II Prisoners of War (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1955), p. 40.

  36 Garrett and Louie stay together: Ibid.

  37 Louie loses beloved shirt: Ibid.

  38 Louie and Garrett wrestle on beach: Ibid.

  39 “I just thought I was empty”: Ibid.

  40 Wade goes home: Wade, p. 179; Tom Wade, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 20, 1946.

  41 Phil’s homecoming: Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; telegram and photographs from Phillips scrapbook.

  42 Pete and Louie meet: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  43 Louie flown home: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN; Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004.

  44 “Cara mamma mia”: “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

  PART V

  Chapter 34: The Shimmering Girl

  1 “This, this little home”: “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

  2 Homecoming: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

  3 Louie hears record: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

  4 Nightmare about the Bird: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  5 Wade named Watanabe: Wade, p. 176.

  6 MacArthur arrest list: “MacArthur’s Round Up of Criminals,” Argus (Melbourne), September 25, 1945; “Tojo Shoots Self to Avoid Arrest; MacArthur Orders 39 Other Criminals Arrested,” Port Arthur News, September 11, 1945.

  7 Tojo suicide attempt: “Think Tojo Had Planned Suicide,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, September 11, 1945; “Blood of Men He Sought to Destroy May Save Life of Man Ordering Pearl Harbor Attack,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, September 11, 1945; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

  8 Watanabe flees: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  9 Watanabe hears name listed with Tojo, resolves to disappear: Ibid.

  10 Manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

  11 Fake letter: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  12 Watanabe said he’d rather die than be captured: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

  13 Wave of suicides: Philip R. Piccigallo, The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945–1951 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979), p. 45.

  14 Affidavits: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331,0020NACP.

  15 Two thousand letters: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 5, 1946.

  16 Ringing phone, ninety-five speeches: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

  17 “It was like he got hit”: Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004.

  18 Louie drives to forest: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  19 Los Angeles Times dinner, drinking: Ibid.

  20 Zamperini Invitational Mile: “Hero Takes Mile Without Running,” Kingsport (Tenn.) News, March 4, 1946.

  21 Louie meets Cynthia: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letters to Cynthia Applewhite, April 15 and May 9, 1946; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

  22 “I want to see you again”: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

  23 Cynthia dating Macs, first date: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  24 Cynthia’s history: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

  25 Drinking gin at sixteen: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 8, 1946.

  26 Louie throws toilet paper down hotel wall: Louis Zamperini, telephone i
nterview.

  27 Louie proposes: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 9, 1946.

  28 Engagement concerns Applewhites: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 13, 1946; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  29 Cynthia ignorant of POW experiences: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  30 Easy on rice, barley: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 2, 1946.

  31 Louie gets drunk on date: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  32 Louie warns Cynthia: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

  33 “We have got to set”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 15, 1946.

  34 “If you love me enough”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

  35 Louie prepares for wedding: Louis Zamperini, letters to Cynthia Applewhite, April 5, 9, 27 and May 8, 1946.

  36 Cynthia wants a home: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

  37 Sleeping on floors: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 10, 1946.

  38 Concerns about Applewhites: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Louis Zamperini, letter to Eric Applewhite, April 1946; Eric Applewhite, letter to Louis Zamperini, April 16, 1946.

  39 Louie trains: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 13, 1946; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

  40 Cynthia’s deal with parents: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 25, 1946; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

  41 Ric’s fears: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

  42 Louie, Cynthia argue: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  43 Cynthia calls home, Louie drinks: Ibid.

  Chapter 35: Coming Undone

  1 Garrett upset over rice: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  2 Toll of captivity: Norman S. White, MD, letter to the editor, Hospital and Community Psychiatry, November 1983; Bernard M. Cohen and Maurice Z. Cooper, A Follow-up Study of World War II Prisoners of War (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1955); D. Robson et al., “Consequences of Captivity: Health Effects of Far East Imprisonment in World War II,” JM: An International Journal of Medicine, vol. 102, no. 2, 2009, pp. 87–96; Robert Ursano, MD, and James Rundell, MD, “The Prisoner of War,” War Psychiatry (Washington, D.C.: Office of the Surgeon General, 1995), pp. 431–56.

  3 Nightmares, sleeping on floors, ducking, hallucinations: Knox, pp. 461, 463, 478–79.

  4 McMullen speaking Japanese: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

  5 Weinstein’s urges to scavenge in garbage cans: Weinstein, p. 316.

  6 Weinstein housing complex: “Georgia: No Shenanigans,” Time, January 2, 1950.

  7 Halloran’s experience: Raymond Halloran, email interview, March 3, 2008.

  8 Former POW spitting at Asians: Burke, p. 184.

  9 Former POWs try to attack hospital staffer: Knox, p. 465.

  10 McMullen after Japan: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

  11 “a seething, purifying”: Jean Améry, At the Mind’s Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor of Auschwitz and Its Realities (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), p. 40.

  12 “You must look”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 4, 1946.

  13 Louie’s torment, resumption of running: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

  14 Louie injured: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; John P. Stripling, “Striptees,” Torrance Herald, November 28, 1946.

  15 Louie’s nightmares, drinking, decline, resolution to kill the Bird: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

  Chapter 36: The Body on the Mountain

  1 Manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

  2 Officer’s visit: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  3 Watanabe’s flight and quotes in this section: Ibid.

  4 Conviction rates: John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 447.

  5 Ofuna convictions: “Jap Officers to Be Hanged for POW Brutality,” San Mateo (Calif.) Times, October 13, 1948; 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; “8th Army Commission Court Gives Sentence to POW Torturers,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, February 29, 1948.

  6 Naoetsu convictions: Lyon, pp. 49–51.

  7 Sasaki’s capture, trial, imprisonment: Kunichi Sasaki and James Kunichi Sasaki records from RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division and Prosecution Division, NACP: Kunichi Sasaki, Isamu Sato, Kazuo Akane, 1945–1948, Investigation and Interrogation Reports; Nakakichi Asoma et al., trial, exhibits, appeal, and clemency files; Nakakichi Asoma et al., 1945–1952, POW 201 File, 1945–1952, Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948.

  8 Kano: Martindale, pp. 230, 240; Gamble, p. 339; Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano, Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale; Yukichi Kano, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952), File Unit from RG 331: RAOOH, WWII 1907–1966, Series POW 201 File, 1945–1952, NACP.

  9 Kato accused of kicking a man nearly to death: Martindale, p. 141.

  10 “Cross my heart”: Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano, Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale.

  11 “I thought I”: Yukichi Kano, letter to Robert Martindale, December 23, 1955.

  12 Watanabe in hiding: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  13 Intensified manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

  14 Watanabe goes to Tokyo: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  15 “You have plenty of room”: Ibid.

  16 Watanabe approached for arranged marriage: Ibid.

  17 “if she liked books”: Ibid.

  18 “a burden which would make her unhappy”: Ibid.

  19 Watanabe becomes cowherd: Ibid.

  20 Bodies found on Mitsumine: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker; Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

  21 Shizuka taken to body: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  22 Watanabe’s death announced: Ibid.

  Chapter 37: Twisted Ropes

  1 Louie plans to go back to Japan: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

  2 Louie’s decline, troubled marriage: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004; Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 22, 2004; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

  3 “nails every one of us”: Améry, p. 68.

  4 Shizuka sees dead son: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  Chapter 38: A Beckoning Whistle

  1 Relatives think dead man is Mutsuhiro: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  2 Shizuka believes Mutsuhiro is alive, Mutsuhiro promises to return: Ibid.

>   3 Authorities question identity of body, tail family: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker; Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  4 Meeting at restaurant: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  5 Shizuka refers to deaths at Mitsumine: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker.

  6 Rumors: Martindale, p. 248; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 1, 1991, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith.

  7 if I am alive: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

  8 Billy Graham history: Cliff Barrows, Graham musical director, telephone interview, February 22, 2007; Billy Graham, Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (HarperSanFrancisco and Zondervan, 1997), pp. 92–158.

  9 Los Angeles campaign: Graham, pp. 143–158; “Billy Graham Acclaimed: Crusade Continues as Over 300,000 Attend,” Van Nuys (Calif.) News, November 17, 1949; “Old Fashioned Revival Hits Los Angeles,” Gettysburg (Pa.) Times, November 2, 1949.

  10 Movie contract: Virginia MacPherson, “Preacher Laughs Off Film Offers to Make Him Star,” San Mateo (Calif.) Times, November 12, 1949.