The Bird

I was doing research on "the Bird" and it said he refused to meet Louie later in life. I think there will be more detail further into the book but a few sites stated Louie tried to make amends. The bird was the only one who didn't want to interact. I find it amazing Louie would even consider finding such a cruel man and forgiving him. After everything he has done to Louie, it amazes me. It just shows the kind of man Louie really is. It also shows how disgusting the bird is. I think he knows he did wrong and does not want to face the man who has defeated him in a different way. He couldn't break Louie down with his hits and cruelty but Louie seemed to break him down with his kind actions. To me, that is extremely powerful. It goes to show the act of kindness and happiness is the best way to beat your enemy, no violence involved.

sad :'(

page 297

 Lauren posted something about the POW camps already but I couldn't comment the picture so I had to make a new post. Anyways, I could not ignore this picture. I felt sick to my stomach after seeing this. I know the book said that the people that survived looked like living skeletons but for some reason I just could not picture this. This is one of the saddest thing I've ever seen and although the men do not look particularly happy I cant help but notice their faces do not look as miserable as you would expect after looking at how withered their bodies look. I would assume that is because their body weight and hunger is the last thing they are worried about since they are probably facing much worse things in the prison camps making their skeletal looking bodies the least of their problems. I cant even imagine being in these men's situations nor can I imagine wanting to continue living once at that stage, practically a skeleton. all I can say is this picture was very eye opening and made me do a double take because I could not believe what I saw and that this was something that actually happened to so many people practically everyone that were lucky enough to survive in these prison camps. Plus on top of that to think that this was not even the worst of it.

Looking Back

Looking back at the book the most disturbing and horrifying, yet most interesting part for me was when Louie was deemed responsible for the thieves that stole a fish from the bucket, even though the other men confessed and he had nothing to do with it. I think this part of the book stuck out the most to me because I found the extreme hatred by the Japanese hard to believe, and the passage itself hard to read. The book states, "His punishment: Each enlisted man would punch each officer and thief in the face, as hard as possible... The beating went on for some two hours, the Bird watching with fierce and erotic pleasure" (Hillenbrand 290). Basically, each man in the barracks was forced to punish Louie and the other men in the face as hard as they could or else face a beating. Then at the end the officers clubbed each man twice in the back of the head. Wade estimated that they men were hit some 220 times. After reading a NY Post article I realized that the number of blows could have been a bit exaggerated. The number however, was still extremely large and the reason behind it still makes no sense, which is why I found it to be the most interesting passage for me. So now I'd like to know... What was your favorite passage or part of the book? What did you find to be the most unbelievable?

Link to the NY Post Article: http://nypost.com/2014/12/21/is-all-of-the-powerful-tale-unbroken-really-true/

Watanabe

Watanabe mistreated the hostages worse than any of the other Japanese guards. He beat up all of the POW and constantly jumped on any opportunity to hurt Louie. All of the POW, were overjoyed when "the bird was ordered to leave Omori" (Hillenbrand 275). They would no longer endure such hurtful attacks and be as mistreated as they were under Watanabe's rule. Watanabe had once beaten up Bush extremely bad, but he later on apologized for his actions and had Bush keep him company. He always had feelings of sympathy and regret after his attacks on the POW. These moments, however, did not last long. It was also strange how Watanabe would order the POW to spend time with him. Watanabe's actions suggest that he takes his anger and frustration out on the POW. Underneath his hard exterior, I think Watanabe is just a lonely man struggling to deal with his own life. Why do you guys think Watanabe led so many violent attacks on the POW?

Louie Zamperini and the Ofuna Prison Camp

The top picture is of Louie Zamperini returning home to California and seeing his family again for the first time. Seeing this picture brings tears to my eyes after seeing everything he went through and was forced to deal with. Louie was extremely strong and I am glad that the book contains many pictures like this one that follow his journey. 

The bottom picture is of the Ofuna Camp Louie and that Louie stayed in in mainland Japan before being transferred to a POW camp after almost a year (Hillenbrand 229). Seeing both pictures together, the terrible place he was forced to live, and reuniting with his family tied the story together for me and reminded me of everything he went through. I know Louie's life following his return was nothing but easy, and I can imagine the guilt and pain he was probably suffering every day from the trauma he faced.

Jimmie Sasaki

I am absolutely intrigued and blown away by Jimmie Sasaki and his story. I can not stop reading party because I want to know why he has been so kind to Louie and I want to know what is ultimate plan is. The book states that he knew Louie had lied at Kwajalein and tried to pass himself off as a bigwig but he does not seem angry at him and he definitely does not hate him (Hillenbrand 202). When I picture some one who turned against a country they spent a significant amount of time in I would have thought there would have been some resentment, especially during a war. Jimmie, however, just wants to talk about the good days at USC and does not address the fact that Louie is a prisoner in the camp, its just like their buddies.  Louie does become suspicious of him when it says, "They had brought him to Ofuna to soften him up for something else, but he had no idea what it was" (Hillenbrand 208). I think something major is coming up between Louie and Jimmie and I can not wait to find out what it is.

POW

It came as a shock to read about how bad Louie and the other POW were treated. They were given minimal food that was infected with rat droppings and maggots. They were consistently beaten for harmless actions such as looking out the window. On top of the poor conditions, they were dehumanized. The Japanese tried to strip the POW of their dignity. In addition, the prisoners constantly worried about the "kill-all" rule. Under this policy, the Japanese would kill all of the prisoners if Allie advances were made (Hillenbrand 204). What keeps the prisoners from giving up and enduring this terrible treatment? It also made me wonder if POW are still treated this badly today.