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.

Eye Opening?

Is it just me or do any of you find this story eye opening? I feel like we don't totally understand how fortunate we actually are. We are so wrapped up in our problems that we sometimes forget that bigger picture. Louie's story is one of those "never forget" ones, for me anyways. I love the book because it also shows anything is possible. I think the aspect of mental toughness is something we should take away from this book as it will get you a little farther in life. No matter what gets in your path, you have that mentality like "I'm coming out on top." Well, it is definitely something I will try doing more of. I was just wondering if any of you felt something similar to this?

Caring

I found it really amazing how on pages 103 and 104 Louie continuously kept checking in on his wounded crewmates and still managed to help Phil and get his job done. it shows how close the crew can get in just a short amount of time together. Also it displayed how no matter who it was that was wounded he was willing to help them all. There wasn't one guy on the plane that he favored more than the other he gave each one of them the same attention knowing that that could be him at any moment. This is an example of what the war and military is all about. sacrifice and teamwork. knowing that you could be in the same position as any of the men surrounding you is a major side affect to the war but it something that each of them have to realize and work through together.

Check this out

http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/interactive-map/

you guys should check this link out its pretty cool! you can go through Louie's journey on a map and there other things too its the author Laura Hillenbrand's website.

Funafuti

 

This is the picture from the book on page 113 of Funafuti the morning after it was destroyed. During the destruction of Funafuti men were petrified. an airman wrote to his parents. "I thought I was scared in the air, but I wasn't. [It was] the first time in my life I saw how close death could come"(112). Men were experiencing a real war, and real acts of terror for the first time in their lives. The had never seen such destruction or violence before. What they once thought was scary was nothing compared to what they were now experiencing. This line particularly stood out to me because it really showed what these men were facing and how petrifying and life changing it was to be in the military. Men were dying instantly, some from heart attacks and severed limbs. Many men could not even handle the terror so they just broke down crying and prayed for their lives which in no way benefited them but benefited the others because it made those who stopped and just lay on the ground to cry, more vulnerable than the ones fighting for their lives. I found this sentence from the book to be very powerful. What do you think?

Weight Loss

It is amazing that both Louie and Phil were able to survive despite the large amount of weight they lost. Both men had lost over half of their weight. After being rescued from the raft by the Japanese, Phil weighed 80 pounds and Louie weighed either 67, 79.5, or 87 pounds (Hillenbrand 181). Louie and Phil manage to stay alive despite the small amount of food and water they are given while being held hostage. They continued to lose even more weight and resembled "a dead body breathing" according to Louie. On a website, I found that the actors chosen to play the parts of Louie and Phil had to lose weight, so they properly resembled them.The actors said they often felt extremely tired. One actor lost 30 pounds to play his role.  http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/10/unbroken-cast-angelina-jolie Do you think Louie and Phil will recover from such an extreme weight loss?

Phil

Throughout the book there is always talk about how all their lives are in danger and one wrong move and that could be it. so on page 94 when it  talks about how Phil, as a pilot, has the life of all his crew in his hands it made me think about how I would feel if I had 8 lives in my hands. I cant imagine even having one life depending on my actions let alone 8. its crazy to think that some of these men, even now a days, stand and fall together. It also made me think about how well he handles his job for someone who has to deal with maintaining the lives of 8 other men along with his and still get his job done.

Sharks

Sharks are a reoccurring topic as Lauren stated in a previous post and I found it interesting how on page 90 it says that the men were very afraid of sharks. I realize that they are constantly flying their planes over shark infested waters and its dangerous and quite scary but out of all the things to be afraid of in war I found sharks an odd thing for them to be scared of. Did anyone else think the same thing or is it just me?

Gone Missing

I can't imagine as a parent receiving news your son has been reported missing and that being the only information you have received. Then also having California newspapers and radio broadcasts make tributes to him as if he had died (Hillenbrand 145). That must be a horrible feeling to have, not knowing what is or has happened to your son, brother, and friend. It is something nobody should have to go through. However, I do love the faith and hope his brother, Pete, has in him. He reassures his mother that Louie will make it (Hillenbrand 145). Part of him may have been saying that just to keep his family optimistic, but I also believe he truly thought that. I think Pete believed Louie could do anything. That is truly special, in my opinion. I feel like that sibling relationship is something to cherish.

Sharks

The sharks are a constant obstacle for Louie, Phil, and Mac. Even a couple of weeks of being on the rafts, they are still tormented by the sharks. Luckily, they "were able to keep the sharks away long enough" (Hillenbrand 159). It seems unrealistic that with all the sharks circling the rafts none of them are attacked or even injured. I had thought it was in a shark's nature to attack people. It still does not seem believable that out of all the sharks they were forced to deal with not one injured one of the members on the raft. Why did none of the sharks injure Louie, Phil, or Mac? Did their knowledge of sharks and fending them off save their lives?

Question

So I just have a question for yall's. Does anyone know if everything in this book is true or if its one of those books where its based off a true story but some of it is exaggerated and not completely true? As I have been reading its been getting harder and harder to believe everything that happened to Louie so it made me wonder if it was all accurate. Just a thought.

The Chocolate

Louie, Mac, and Phil were now stranded on a raft waiting for rescue. All they have is the stir of sharks around them. I would be terrified. The deal was to each have a square of chocolate and it would hopefully last them for a little bit. The plan quickly went down hill, "All the Chocolate was gone. He looked around the rafts. No chocolate, no wrappers. His gaze paused on Mac. The sergeant looked back at him with wide, guilty eyes" (Hillenbrand 138). I would be furious. I would not have forgiven him. He was selfish and now they are foodless so shame on Mac. However, Louie still forgave and comforted him. Yes, Louie was disappointed but acted much more calmly than one would think. They were stranded without food, how would you feel? I give Louie a lot of credit for not panicking. I definitely would have.