RIP Louis Zamperini of Torrance HS & USC 1917-2014

800 dude wrote:

...some rather obnoxious literary tropes, like the notion that the reason a mother can't accept that her son is dead is because she loves him so much. It's touching in a novel, but if you met someone like that in real life, you'd pity them, thinking they were weak or delusional.

Actually no, I would not. You are overreaching here.

There were many incredible people from the "greatest generation" but Zamperini may have been the greatest of them all, especially with his track background. A 56 last lap in Berlin 78 years ago. That alone is fairly mind-blowing.

I read this earlier this afternoon, pondered for a while, and decided I'd respond to it. I didn't get any of that same feel.

I can't speak for how much backside research LH did in writing the book, but I can tell you that the details of the Japanese prison camp experience rings remarkably similar to a story my father's cousin wrote of his days as a Japanese POW.

I think perhaps the further we get from the horrors of the atrocities of WWII the more ready we are to write them off to exaggeration. We have difficulty imagining people behaving that way. I assure that my father's generation had none of the same difficulties, but they are nearly gone now and it's easy to dismiss the stories of the 90-somethings remaining as fanciful.

I would agree with you that she doesn't seem to know what to do with his born again Christianity and has some trouble linking it to his willingness to forgive the Bird. I've puzzled over that a few times.

One thing I felt she completely lost in the story was what happened to Zamperini's marriage. The book itself never clarified if it remained intact or not and I often wondered. The obit pieces today seem to suggest the marriage remained intact and, for that, I am thankful. That man paid dearly enough for enough things in life without having that burden on his shoulders as well.

holbythebear wrote:

Question for Letsrunners:

Zamperini ran a 4:08 [mile] in 1938. NCAA record for 15 years. If he would have ran for SUB 4, do you think he would have been the first?

replace "would" with "could"

And replace "could have ran" with "could have run." This is a fairly important verb for us, folks, let's try to get it right.

Ancient Times aren't worth it wrote:

During those days of the 1940's, Amercians were racists and raping and colonizing Asia, Africa, South America, and so forth was the thing to do. LZ was just a kid and went along with it. That was before Walter Cronkite's CBS news and Al Gore's internet invention. Recently as an old man, LZ was honored much, maybe too much, even though ptresent day Americans don't want to colonize Asia anymore, especially after the defeat by Vietnam. Praising LZ became a media cottage industry before he died. It was like jumping on the 2014 San Antonio Spurs bandwaggon. The LZ bandwaggon was innocent albeit revisionist. LZ is dead now so let's all just let him R.I.P., o.k.?

Yeah, those non-whites and ziopricks are never racist. Oh, wait a minute, they're actually more racist than whites. But people aren't allowed to tell the truth. Why don't you go back to licking your soc professor's bunghole. Something the hasbara bunch practices with great zeal.

Ancient Times aren't worth it wrote:

Al Gore's internet invention. R

You're speaking tongue-in-cheek here, right? No more self-delusional statement has been uttered in this generation than AG's claim to have invented the internet.

I loved this guy.

When it was announced about the movie coming out I made a thread on an SMU fan board because of the great guy he is and only one guy made a comment about him before my thread was deleted!.

All that this guy was in life and someone deleted that thread.

And on another SMU fan board I made the same thread talking about LZ and my thread and account was deleted!

besides the war, what made him great?

A 56 last lap in Berlin 78 years ago. That alone is fairly mind-blowing.

MarathonMind wrote:

A 56 last lap in Berlin 78 years ago. That alone is fairly mind-blowing.

Which is why when introduced to him, Hitler said: "So your the boy with the fast finish!"

Pretty sure little ol' Adolf said "you're" the boy although it can be hard to tell when English is spoken by a German.

someone clue me in wrote:

besides the war, what made him great?

He didn't routinely post inane questions on LRC.

That's what's killing the legend of Sir Ernest....

But who knows, maybe Hillebrand will write an even taller tale about you.

Alyssa B wrote:

I loved this guy.

When it was announced about the movie coming out I made a thread on an SMU fan board because of the great guy he is and only one guy made a comment about him before my thread was deleted!.

All that this guy was in life and someone deleted that thread.

And on another SMU fan board I made the same thread talking about LZ and my thread and account was deleted!

Thank you for persisting.

800 dude wrote:

There are also some rather obnoxious literary tropes, like the notion that the reason a mother can't accept that her son is dead is because she loves him so much.

If you followed the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 story you would know that you are being a heartless fecker...

I have not yet read the book, yet get the general impression that nobody quite knows what to do with his Christianity and spiritual renewal. Certainly I have not read anything about it on any of the links posted here. Perhaps the greatest lesson here is his ability to forgive his captors. That should be the biggest, most important part of the story.

Hopefully Jolie captures it...

Sagarin wrote:

I have not yet read the book, yet get the general impression that nobody quite knows what to do with his Christianity and spiritual renewal. Certainly I have not read anything about it on any of the links posted here. Perhaps the greatest lesson here is his ability to forgive his captors. That should be the biggest, most important part of the story.

Nobody has to do anything with that. It's what worked for him. That's what matters.

Mo Ron wrote:

800 dude wrote:

There are also some rather obnoxious literary tropes, like the notion that the reason a mother can't accept that her son is dead is because she loves him so much.

If you followed the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 story you would know that you are being a heartless fecker...

...and multi-purpose asshat too.

p.n. wrote:

holbythebear wrote:

Question for Letsrunners:

Zamperini ran a 4:08 [mile] in 1938. NCAA record for 15 years. If he would have ran for SUB 4, do you think he would have been the first?

replace "would" with "could"

And replace "could have ran" with "could have run." This is a fairly important verb for us, folks, let's try to get it right.

Yea, because "could have run for SUB 4" is much better grammarizing.