Zamperini - Dont give up, dont give in: lessons from an extraordinary life

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A son of Italian immigrants, LOUIS ZAMPERINI (19172014) was a U.S. Olympic runner, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor. After the war, he returned to the United States to found the Victory Boys Camp for at-risk youth and became an inspirational speaker. Zamperinis story was told in his 2003 autobiography Devil at My Heels , as well as in Laura Hillenbrands 2010 biography Unbroken .

DAVID RENSIN worked closely with Louis Zamperini for many years and cowrote Devil at My Heels , as well as fifteen other books, including five New York Times bestsellers.

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Cover design by Amanda Kain

Cover photographs: courtesy of the author ( top left and top middle ); Tom Sanders ( top right ); Bettmann/Corbis ( bottom )

All photographs courtesy of Louis Zamperini

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DON T GIVE UP , DON T GIVE IN . Copyright 2014 by The Louis Zamperini Trust. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

ISBN 978-0-06-236833-1

EPub Edition NOVEMBER 2014 ISBN 9780062368812

14 15 16 17 18 DIX / RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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F OR MY LATE WIFE , C YNTHIA ;
MY CHILDREN , C ISSY AND L UKE ;
AND MY GRANDSON , C LAYTON

Contents

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People tell me, Youre such an optimist. Am I an optimist? An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A survivalist is practical. He says, Call it what you want, but just fill the glass.

I believe in filling the glass.

L OUIS S ILVIE Z AMPERINI

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When I learned that Louie Zamperini had died on July 2, 2014, I didnt want to believe that he was gone. Impossible. Inconceivable. Just two days earlier we had sent the manuscript for this book to our editors, and I looked forward to us celebrating its publication. But sadly, death comes for us alleven for those like Louie who deserve to live forever.

Louies family issued this statement: After a forty-day-long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives. His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days.

Were all a little afraid of death, Louie had said the last time wed met, when we broached the subject of mortality. Were afraid because no matter how old you are youre always making plans and you dont want to be interrupted. Im ninety-seven years old, but after everything thats happened in my life, I feel as if Ive lived two hundred yearsand I wouldnt mind two hundred more so that I can keep doing what Ive been doing.

What hed been doing, he explained, was helping the underdog. Thats been my program. Thats been my whole life.

S INCE COLLABORATING WITH Louie on his 2003 autobiography, Devil at My Heels , wed become friends. When we spokeor had a meal when he had the time; Louie was always going somewhere, doing something (age did not seem to affect him)he would talk nonstop, regaling me with stories of his latest adventures, travels, and appearances. Id hear about celebrities hed met (who were as impressed with him as he was with them), fan letters hed received, people hed helped, and impromptu tales from his life after the war. Hed tell me about Unbroken author Laura Hillenbrands latest research discovery. Hed ask about my wife and son, give parenting advice, and talk proudly about his family.

Every now and then my phone would ring and there would be Louie, who, without much preamble, would launch into new thoughts for this book while I scrambled to turn on the tape recorder. Wed begun sketching out Dont Give Up, Dont Give In after Devil at My Heels was published. At the time, it was called All Things Work Together for Good, which was a bedrock aspect of Louies attitude toward life. But Unbroken had come along, and with it in the works Louie really had no time to spare, so we decided to put our next project on the back burner. In the meantime, because hed occasionally kvetch about how busy he was, I loved to tease him about what I promised would be the reaction to Unbroken , and all the attention hed get. If you think youre busy now, just wait, I told a man who had already been a huge public figure for most of his life.

In December 2013, Louies daughter, Cynthia, called with some news. My dad says he still has stories he wants to tell. Was I interested in reviving our book?

I immediately said yes. I cleared my schedule and we met weekly to work on what we now titled, Dont Give Up, Dont Give In . Unlike our first collaboration, our sessions couldnt go on for hours. Louie was, after all, ninety-seven. But age had not diminished his always unflagging enthusiasm. And his mind was clear. So we sat in his home office, looking at the broad sweep of Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles through the picture window, he wearing his University of Southern California cap and blue jacket, and me pushing the digital recorder closer and closer to make sure I got every word.

Once, when I arrived for our usual 10 a.m. appointment, Louie answered the door.

Oh, no! he said. Its you. This was not his usual greeting. I discovered I had been mistakenly left off the schedule.

Are you okay? I said. He looked a bit worn out.

I just woke up, he said. Tom Brokaw was here yesterday interviewing me, and they had to put cardboard all over the floor for the equipment, and there were so many people, and... Im a little exhausted.

Lets just reschedule, I said.

No, no. Come on in. I can talk for half an hour, okay?

Typical Louie, he got more loquacious as he reminisced with relish about both a sailing trip along the Mexican Baja coast during which hed gone missing and a pesky parrot named Hogan. He loved Hogan. Make sure Hogan is in the book, he reminded me, when I finally said goodbye an hour and a half later.

Of course, this book wasnt Louies only project. Unbroken had become a film, directed by Angelina Jolie, and hed promised to be available to help however he could to support and promote it. And then there was his daily life: meals with the family, reading the never-ending fan mail and requests for photos and autographs, figuring out ways to help kids in need (a habit for sixty-five years), and looking forward to when Angelina would come to visit, often bearing gifts.