Unbroken

In her book, Unbroken, Lauren Hilderbran tells the story of Louis Zamperini an Olympic distance runner and a lieutenant in World War II. In 1943 his B-52 bomber crashed 800 miles south of Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Adrift on a raft with only two other survivors, Louis was pushed beyond his physical and metal limits. He and his companions fought off sharks, survived thirst and starvation, and miraculously remained unscathed after enduring forty-five minutes of machine-gun fire by a Japanese plane. 

As they drifted for hundreds of miles with no rescue in sight, God gave them glimmers of hope. One day they found a few chocolate bars in the pockets of the raft. When their bodies had become gaunt from near-fatal dehydration, merciful rain showers poured down water for them to drink. An albatross landed on Louis’s head, and he reached up slowly and caught it. The men feasted on the seabird like kings and then used its bones to fashion claws to catch the occasional fish that swam just beneath the surface of the water. Seeing the stars strewn across the night sky reminded Louis that God was still there. 

Louis had only prayed once in his life during childhood when he feared his mother might die. Now he prayed to God fervently for help. Without any church background, he recited bits and pieces of prayers he recalled from movies. “When you reach the end of your rope and there’s nowhere else to turn . . . you’re going to look up,” Louis said later. He promised the Lord that if He got him through this, he would serve Him for the rest of his life. 

On day 47 of their ordeal, Louis Zamperini and fellow survivor Russell Phillips were picked up by Japanese sailors. They were held in POW camps for more than two years where they were tortured viciously, injected with strange substances, and deprived of food. Somehow, the defiant American with an unbreakable spirit survived. When the Japanese surrendered and the war ended in 1945, Louis was released and reunited with his family. 

Back home in America, Louis received the Purple Heart and many other honors, but he suffered from severe PTSD, including haunting nightmares from his horrific experiences in Japan. He drank heavily to cope, and his marriage was crumbling. At the prompting of his wife, Louis attended a crusade in Los Angeles in 1949 where a young evangelist named Billy Graham shared the gospel. During the invitation, Louis remembered a prayer he had spoken on that little raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean six years earlier, promising God, “If you save me, I will serve you forever.” At the crusade, Louis stepped forward and gave his life to Christ and experienced a complete transformation. His marriage was restored, his taste for alcohol was taken away and his nightmares never came back. 

Years later, he even returned to Japan where he forgave his captors and led some to Christ. Louis’ life is nothing short of a miracle and a testament to the power of forgiveness. Only Jesus could so radically change a person and use it for such a glorious purpose. -DM