5 Japanese staffers burning documents: “Japanese Embassy Burns Official Papers,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), December 8, 1941; Manchester, p. 258.

6 Days after December 7: Carl Nolte, “Pearl Harbor Was a Close Thing for the City in 1941,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 7, 2006; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 25, 2004; “Entire City Put on War Footing,” NYT, December 8, 1941; “U.S. Cities Prove They Can Swing into Action,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), December 8, 1941; Adam Fjell, “ ‘A Day That Will Live in Infamy’: Buffalo County and the Attack on Pearl Harbor,” Buffalo Tales, November–December 2002, vol. 25, no. 6; Goodwin, pp. 295–96.

7 Wake’s defense: Lieutenant Colonel R. D. Heinl, Jr., USMC, The Defense of Wake, Marines in World War II: Historical Monograph (Historical Section, Division of Public Information Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1947).

8 Men on Wake singing: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

9 Louie’s test scores: Certificate of Proficiency, Air Force Preflight School (bombardier, navigator), Ellington Field, from papers of Louis Zamperini.

10 Norden bombsight: William Darron, Army Air Forces Historical Association, Oradell, N.J., interview and bombsight demonstration, courtesy of Robert Grenz, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “Bombardiers’ Information File,” War Department, Army Air Forces, March 1945.

11 Twice the price of a house: “The Year 1942,” The People History, http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1942.html (accessed September 11, 2009); “The Norden M-1 Bomb Sight,” Plane Crazy, http://www.plane-crazy.net/links/nord.htm (accessed September 11, 2009).

12 Ephrata: Sam Britt, Jr., The Long Rangers, A Diary of the 307th Bombardment Group (Baton Rouge: Reprint Company, 1990), pp. 4–5.

13 Phillips: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004; Monroe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Phoebe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.

14 Sandblaster: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005.

15 Cecy Perry: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004; Monroe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Phoebe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; letters from Russell Phillips to Cecy Perry, 1941–43.

16 Cecy’s ring: Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, March 11, 21, 1942.

17 “I’ve wished 100 times”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Phillips, summer 1942.

18 Phil’s bomber crew: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Charles McMurtry, “Liberator, Hit 594 Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmond News Leader, May 14, 1943.

19 Harry Brooks’s fiancée: “Sergt. H. V. Brooks Served in Pacific,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

20 B-24s: Charlie Tilghman, B-24 pilot, Commemorative Air Force, telephone interview, February 14, 2007; Consolidated Aircraft, Flight Manual: B-24D Airplane (1942), Flight Manual for B-24 Liberator, Aircraft Manual Series (Appleton, Wisc.: Aviation Publications, 1977); Martin Bowman, Combat Legend: B-24 Liberator (Shrewsbury, Eng.: Airlife, 2003); Frederick A. Johnsen, B-24 Liberator, Rugged but Right (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999); Fiske Hanley II, telephone interview, July 30, 2004; Byron Kinney, email interview, April 26, 2007.

21 “it was like sitting”: Byron Kinney, email interview, April 26, 2007.

22 Left arms stronger: Stephen E. Ambrose, The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001), p. 77.

23 Tails falling off: Johnsen, p. 28.

24 “It’s the Flying Coffin”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

25 Training: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006.

26 “I grew a little”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, August or September 1942.

27 “I guess you read”: E. C. Williams, letter to Louis Zamperini, July 1, 1941.

28 Stateside crash statistics: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II, Office of Statistical Control, December 1945, Tables 213 and 214.

29 Deaths of friends: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, October 1942.

30 Phil runs from meeting to write home: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, October 7, 1942.

31 Training for crashes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, Service Department, Emergency Procedure: B-24 Airplane (San Diego: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, 1944), pp. 21–25.

32 “kind of silly”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

33 “a damn swell pilot”: “Son of Pickett ‘Sky Pilot’ Pilots Bomber Over Wake I,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

34 Phil’s B-24: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

35 Phil’s dream of Cecy: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, August 15, 1942.

36 Phil misses Cecy by three days: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, November 2, 1942.

37 B-24 names: “Warpaint Photo Album,” Something About Everything Military, http://www.jcs-group.com/military/war1941aaf/warpaint1.html (accessed September 26, 2009).

38 Moznette names plane: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, February 13, 1943.

39 Phil says plane masculine: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 25, 1943.

40 Japan’s empire: West Point Atlas for the Second World War, Asia and the Pacific, map 22.

Chapter 7: “This Is It, Boys”

1 Oahu in 1942: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Cleveland, p. 158.

2 “one sees only about ⅓”: Cleveland, p. 158.

3 Barracks: Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.

4 “You kill one”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, December 8, 1942.

5 “like a dozen dirty”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, April 2, 1943.

6 Water fight: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 12, 1943.

7 Beer fight: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

8 Pornography: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, December 29, 1942.

9 Greenhouse windows froze: Cleveland, 103.

10 Phil hits pole: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 27, 1943.

11 Gunnery, bomb scores: Louis Zamperini, war diary, January 20, 30, February 2, and March 21, 1943 entries.

12 Sea search: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 27, 2004; Louis Zamperini, war diary, March 14, 1943, entry; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

13 Diving over sub: Louis Zamperini, diary, March 14, 1943.

14 Practical jokes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

15 “kind of daring”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

16 Leisure-time activities: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, war diary, November 1942–May 1943 entries.

17 Wake attack: Louis Zamperini, war diary, December 22–25, 1942, entries; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; “Son of Pickett ‘Sky Pilot’ Pilots Bomber over Wake I,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Walter Clausen, undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Delphi Flyer Is Given Medal for Pacific Bombing,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Former La Porte Youth Helps to Bomb Wake Isle,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Fledglings’ Raid on Wake Token of Things to Come,” Berkshire Evening Eagle, January 2, 1943; St. Louis Globe, undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Their Raid on Wake Biggest of Year,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943; “Tells of Raid on Wake Island,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943; “Nobody Scared in Raid on Wake Island, Ace Says,” Ada Evening News, January 2, 1943; Walter Clausen, “Hawaii Fliers Get Jap Planes in Wake Raid,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Britt, p. 12; Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.

18 New Year’s: Louis Zamperini, war diary, January 1, 1943, entry.

19 STEEL FILLS JAP SOX: Undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

20 “fled in terror”: “Tells of Raid on Wake Island,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943.

21 Japan finished within the year: “U.S. Can Take Care of Japan, Halsey Thinks,” Ada Evening News, January 2, 1943.

22 “it’s a little premature”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, December 31, 1942.

Chapter 8: “Only the Laundry Knew How Scared I Was”

1 Coxwell’s crash: Louis Zamperini, diary, January 8–10, 1943; Missing Air Crew Report No. 16218, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, February 13, 1943.

2 Buried in Honolulu: American Battle Monuments Commission.

3 Crashes over the past two months: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, Table 64; Louis Zamperini, diary, December 27, 1942, and January 9, 1943; Britt, pp. 10, 13.

4 Crash, loss statistics: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, Tables 100 and 161.

5 In the air corps, 35,946 personnel: Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II: Final Report, 7 December 1941–31 December 1946, Department of the Army, Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, p. 7.

6 Disease kills 15,779: Preventive Medicine in World War II, vol. IV: Communicable Diseases, Office of Surgeon General, Department of Army, Washington, D.C., 1958, Table 1.

7 In the Fifteenth Air Force, 70 percent of KIA: Mae Mill Link and Hubert A. Coleman, “Medical Support of Army Air Forces in World War II,” Office of the Surgeon General, USAF, Washington, D.C., 1955, p. 516.

8 Super Man flies into storms: Louis Zamperini, diary, January 1943; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 18, 2006.

9 Planes land together, bulldozer: Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 15, 2005.

10 “The takeoff”: Frank Rosynek, “Not Everybody Wore Wings,” unpublished memoir.

11 Foot on “off” switch: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 18, 2006.

12 Plane hits mountain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

13 Inadvertent release of life raft: Britt, p. 13.

14 Navigation difficulties: John Weller, email interview, September 21, 2006; John Weller, “The History and Flight Log, Jeter Crew,” unpublished memoir.

15 “We just sat there”: Martin Cohn, telephone interview, August 10, 2005.

16 Half of a Zero on B-24 wing: Cleveland, p. 103.

17 Japanese range finders: Louis Zamperini, diary, March 1, 1943.

18 B-24 drops mine into another: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; Cleveland, pp. 130, 137, 181–82.

19 AAF combat deaths: Army Battle Casualties, p. 7.

20 Odds of dying: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005.

21 Ditching: W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate, eds., The Army Air Forces in World War II, vol. XII: Services Around the World (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1966), p. 482.

22 Statistics on ditching: Johnsen, p. 29.

23 Death of Almond: John Henry, “Flier Wins 18-Hour Fight with Sharks,” San Antonio Light, July 13, 1943.

24 Rescue statistics: “Air Sea Rescue 1941–1952,” USAF Historical Division, Air University, August 1954, pp. 66–99; Air Force Historical Studies Office, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.

25 Half of Catalinas crashed: Craven and Cate, p. 493.

26 September 1942 raft ordeal: Cleveland, p. 237.

27 Raft found off Christmas Island: Katharina Chase, “Unraveling a WWII Mystery,” Defence, November–December 2006.

28 Rape of Nanking: Chang, pp. 4–104; Yuki Tanaka, Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II (Boulder: Westview, 1996), p. 80.

29 Rumors of Japanese killing on Kwajalein: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

30 All but one man choosing to die in crash: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

31 Nervous airman: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005.

32 Louie copes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, early 1943 entries; Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, spring 1943.

33 Bracelet, silver dollar: Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, August 20, 1942, and March 25, 1943.

34 “When I do get”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 10, 1943.

35 Tradition of drinking booze of lost men: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

Chapter 9: Five Hundred and Ninety-four Holes

1 Exploding sharks: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Makin, Tarawa missions: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, February 17, 20, 1943; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007.

3 Sharks circle: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, March 5, 1943; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, March 5, 1943.

4 Shooting sharks: Louis Zamperini, diary, April 3, 1943.

5 Nauru: Jack D. Haden, “Nauru: A Middle Ground During World War II,” Pacific Islands Report, Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawaii at Manoa, http://166.122.164.43/archive/2000/April/04-03-19.htm (accessed September 13, 2009); Jane Resture, “Nauru: A Short History,” http://www.janeresture.com/nauru_history/index.htm (accessed September 13, 2009); Britt, p. 34.

6 Nauru preparations: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 17, 19, 1943.

7 “We only hope”: Louis Zamperini, diary, April 15, 1943.

8 Nauru raid: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 20–22, 1943, and memoranda; Charles McMurtry, “Liberator, Hit 594 Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmond News Leader, May 14, 1943; “Catonsville Air Gunner Has 95 Raids to Credit,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 1, 1943; “Shapleigh Youth, Injured, Credited with Downing Zero,” undated article from papers of Stanley Pillsbury, NPN; Cleveland, pp. 257, 349–50; Howard and Whitley, pp. 137–38; Charles P. Arnot, “Bombardier Zamperini Saves Lives in Shell-Riddled Plane,” Oakland Tribune, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Japanese Phosphate Plants Are Blown Up,” Honolulu Advertiser, May 1, 1943; “Gen. Landon, Bomber Commander, Tells the Story of Nauru Attack,” May 5, 1943, from papers of Louis Zamperini, NPN; “Two Southland Officers Classified as Heroes in South Pacific Dispatches,” Long Beach Press-Telegram, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Lt. Phillips on Another ‘Thriller,’ ” May 4, 1943, from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Brave Flying Son of Pickett Chaplain Bears Charmed Life,” May 1943, article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Yank Pilot, Son of Pickett Chaplain, Saves Crewmen,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Lieut. Phillips Escapes Death on Pacific Raid,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “His Toughest Fight: Lou Zamperini, Former Track Star, Aids Five Wounded as Plane Limps Home,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Track Star in Heroic Role,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Raid on Nauru Told in Detail by Eyewitness,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Lou Zamperini Plays Great Role on Bombing Trip,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Charles P. Arnot, “Zamperini, S.C. Track Star, in Epic Air Adventure,” Los Angeles Herald Express, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Track Star Zamperini Hero in Jap Air Fight,” Los Angeles Herald Express, May 4, 1943.

9 “a volcano-like mass”: Charles P. Arnot, “Raid on Nauru Told in Detail by Eyewitness,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

10 Eight hundred rounds per minute: “Pistol Packin’ Warplanes,” Popular Mechanics, April 1944, p. 2.

11 If he’d just: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 26, 2004.

12 “Ow!”: Ibid.

13 One more pass: Louis Zamperini, diary, April 1943, memoranda page.

14 I have to kill: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 26, 2004.

15 Japanese never retrieved phosphates: Jane Resture, “Nauru: A Short History,” http://www.janeresture.com/nauru_history/index.htm (accessed September 13, 2009).

16 Pillsbury’s injuries: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 26, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 20–22, 1943, and memoranda page.

17 Manual alternatives to flaps, gear: Flight Manual: B-24D, pp. 71–75.

18 standard landing speed: Charlie Tilghman, B-24 pilot, Commemorative Air Force, telephone interview, February 14, 2007; B-24 Liberator Pilot Training Manual.

19 B-24 without brakes needed 10,000 feet: Charlie Tilghman, B-24 pilot, Commemorative Air Force, telephone interview, February 14, 2007.

20 “all torn to pieces” Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 26, 2004.

21 Parachute idea: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 26, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 1943, memoranda page.

22 Belle of Texas: Cleveland, pp. 183, 464; 11th Bomb Group (H), The Gray Geese (Paducah, Ky.: Turner Publishing, 1996), p. 73.

23 594 holes: Charles McMurtry, “Liberator, Hit 594 Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmond News Leader, May 14, 1943.

24 “He didn’t make it”: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, March 9, 2005.

25 Brooks family informed: “Sergt. H. V. Brooks Served in Pacific,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

Chapter 10: The Stinking Six

1 Funafuti bombing: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 21–23, 1943; John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005; Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005; Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; Frank Rosynek, “Not Everybody Wore Wings,” unpublished memoir; Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 15, 2005; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 1, 1943; Cleveland, p. 346; Britt, pp. 36–37; Howard and Whitley, pp. 138–44; Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

2 “I looked around”: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005.

3 Man runs into ocean: Howard and Whitley, p. 140.

4 Ladd saves natives: Howard and Whitley, p. 139; Philip Scearce, email interview, July 11, 2008.

5 “This feels like it, boys”: Howard and Whitley, p. 140.

6 “like animals crying”: Ibid., p. 143.

7 “I wasn’t only scared”: Cleveland, p. 258.

8 Phil’s fear: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Reverend Russell Phillips, May 2, 1943.

9 “seemed like a railroad carload”: Frank Rosynek, “Not Everybody Wore Wings,” unpublished memoir.

10 “like the whole island”: Cleveland, p. 346.

11 Fourteen Japanese bombers: Britt, pp. 36–37.

12 “the Stinking Six”: Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 15, 2005.

13 Doctor works on Pillsbury: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007.

14 “hamburgered”: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007.

15 Lambert’s ninety-five missions: “Catonsville Air Gunner Has 95 Raids to Credit,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

16 Palmyra, depression, Kualoa: Louis Zamperini, diary, April–May 1943.

17 Francis McNamara: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

18 Green Hornet: Cleveland, p. 159; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

19 Phil meets Smith: George Smith, letter to Cecy Perry, June 19, 1943.

20 Corpening’s plane: Missing Air Crew Report 4945, May 26, 1943 (National Archives Microfiche Publication M13801, Fiche 1767); Missing Air Crew Reports of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942–1947; Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, RG 92; NACP.

Chapter 11: “Nobody’s Going to Live Through This”

1 Louie on May 27, 1943: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 “There was only one ship”: Louis Zamperini, diary, May 27, 1943.

3 If we’re not back in a week: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

4 Search preparations: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Missing Aircraft Report 4945, Missing Air Crew Reports of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942–1947; Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, RG 92; NACP; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

5 Preparing for takeoff: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

6 Planes side by side: Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005.

7 Phil tells Deasy to go ahead: Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.

8 Searching: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

9 Phil and Cuppernell switch seats: Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

10 Engine dies, wrong engine feathered: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

11 “Prepare to crash”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

12 Plane falls: Ibid.

13 Nobody’s going to live through this: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

14 Louie and Phil’s experiences in crash: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Sandra Provan, “LP Man’s Part of Olympics,” La Porte Herald-Argus, February 18, 1988.

PART III

Chapter 12: Downed

1 Crash aftermath: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Sandra Provan, “LP Man’s Part of Olympics,” La Porte Herald-Argus, February 18, 1988.

2 “I’m glad it was you”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

3 Phil didn’t have bracelet, silver dollar: Ibid.

4 Contents of rafts: Ibid.

5 Contents of 1944 rafts: Emergency Procedure: B-24, pp. 26–27.

6 “Gibson Girl,” Delano Sunstill: Louis Meulstee, “Gibson Girl,” Wireless for the Warrior, http://home.hccnet.nl/l.meulstee/gibsongirl/gibsongirl.html (accessed August 8, 2005); Craven and Cate, pp. 486, 491.

7 “We’re going to die!”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

8 Hours after crash: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; “Mr. Phillips on CBS, Our Hero, Mr. Phillips,” undated article from papers of Karen Loomis, NPN; Gene Stowe, “He Shared Raft with Olympian,” South Bend Herald Tribune, March 2, 1998.

9 Phil shaking, sharks rubbing against rafts: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

Chapter 13: Missing at Sea

1 Events on Palmyra: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005; Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005.

2 Search: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005; Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005; “42nd Bombardment Squadron history,” AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

3 “we kept hoping”: Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005.

4 Chocolate incident: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview. For the sake of Mac and his family, Louie would not tell of the chocolate incident for many years, instead saying either that the chocolate had been eaten early in the journey or that it had been lost to the sea. Phil, too, would protect Mac, saying that the chocolate was lost in the sea.

5 B-25 flies over: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, POW diary (entered when Louie began keeping diary, after October 1943). In later years, Zamperini would speak of the B-24 flying over before the B-25, but in all of his early accounts, including the history he gave to his squadron upon repatriation and the diary he kept as a POW, he stated that the B-25 flew over first. In a 2008 interview, he confirmed that his early accounts were correct.

6 B-24 flies over: See note above, about B-25 flying over; also: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005; Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, May 30, 1943 entry (entered when Louie began keeping diary, after October 1943).

7 “If we ever looked”: Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005.

8 Smitty sightings: 42nd squadron activity log, May 30, 1943, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

9 “Cuppernell, Phillips, Zamperini”: Cleveland, p. 159.

10 Mac snaps: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

11 Louie prays: Ibid.

12 Letters home, Zamperinis see Cuppernells: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Reverend Russell Phillips, May 15, 1943; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 15, 1943; Peter Zamperini, letter to Louis Zamperini, June 3, 1943; Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004; Louis Zamperini, letter to Payton Jordan, May 27, 1943.

13 “I sure hope”: Reverend Russell Phillips, letter to Martha Heustis, May 6, 1943.

14 Search ends: Lester Herman Scearce, Jr., telephone interview, March 11, 2005.

15 Krey visits cottage: Jack Krey, telephone interview, August 18, 2005.

16 Telegram to Kelsey Phillips: telegram, Adjutant General to Kelsey Phillips, June 4, 1943.

17 Zamperinis react: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004; Peter Zamperini, telephone interviews, October 15, 17, 19, 22, 2004.

18 “Life of Zamp”: George T. Davis, “Zamperini Career Brilliant, Life of Zamp,” Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express, June 5, 1943.

19 Jordan learns news: Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004.

20 Louise’s hand sores: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

21 Pillsbury and Douglas: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006.

22 Pillsbury’s remainder of war: Ibid.

23 Flag hung: Jack Cuddy, “Flag Hangs in Memory of Zamperini,” Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal, June 24, 1943.

Chapter 14: Thirst

1 Heat: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

2 Rain falls, catching water: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

3 Phil cold at night: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

4 Phil thought birds must have thought them jetsam: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

5 Catching albatross: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

6 Fishing: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 What more bad luck could they have?: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

8 Sniffing wax: Ibid.

9 Phil’s thoughts of Rickenbacker: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, March 10, 1943.

10 Rickenbacker’s ordeal: Edward Rickenbacker, “Pacific Mission, Part I,” Life, January 25, 1943, pp. 20–26, 90–100; Edward Rickenbacker, “Pacific Mission, Part III,” Life, February 8, 1943, pp. 94–106; Edward Rickenbacker, Seven Came Through (Garden City: Doubleday, 1951).

11 Navy men survive on raft in 1942: Robert Trumbull, The Raft (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1942).

12 Poon Lim: “Tells of 132 Days on Raft,” NYT, May 25, 1943 (title was incorrect as to number of days); “Poon Lim,” Fact Archive, http://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/Poon_Lim (accessed September 15, 2009).

13 Phil thinking of how long they’d been floating: Russell Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

14 Quizzing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

15 Mac’s withdrawal: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

16 “If there was one thing left”: Russell Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997. 147 Phil’s faith: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004.

17 “I had told Al”: Reverned Russell Phillips, letter to Martha Heustis, May 6, 1943.

18 Bodies declining: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

19 Cannibalism: Neil Hanson, The Custom of the Sea: A Shocking True Tale of Shipwreck, Murder, and the Last Taboo (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999); Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea (New York: Viking, 2000).

21 Cannibalism not considered: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

22 Praying, second albatross, catching fish, bandage rotting: Ibid.

23 Dolphins: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

24 Hooks on fingers: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

25 Catching birds: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

26 Lice, chasing rain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

27 Phil overboard: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

28 Prayer followed by rain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

Chapter 15: Sharks and Bullets

1 Strafing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; “Mr. Phillips on CBS, Our Hero, Mr. Phillips,” undated article from papers of Karen Loomis, NPN; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Alberta H. Jones, “La Porte War Hero Takes Part in Zamperini Show,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, June 23, 1943, entry.

2 Phil thinks America will win: “Mr. Phillips on CBS, Our Hero, Mr. Phillips,” undated article from papers of Karen Loomis, NPN.

3 Sharks attacking: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.

4 Patching: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

5 Transforming Phil’s raft: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

6 Estimating distance from land: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

Chapter 16: Singing in the Clouds

1 Sharks try to jump into raft: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Attempt to catch shark: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

3 Great white: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

4 Mac asking Louie if he would die: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

5 Death of Mac: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

6 Louie catches fish with lieutenant’s pin: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 Declining bodies: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

8 Doldrums: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

9 Sharpening intellect: Ibid.

10 Louie hears singing: Ibid.

11 More birds: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

12 More planes: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

13 Storm coming: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

14 Phil enjoys swells: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

15 Sighting island: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, July 12, 1943, entry.

Chapter 17: Typhoon

1 Islands appearing: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

2 Discussing land matter-of-factly: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

3 Rowing parallel to islands: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

4 Storm hits: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

5 Catastrophic typhoon: Keith Heidorn, PhD, email interview, March 24, 2008; “Foochow Flooded After Typhoon,” Nevada State Journal (Reno), July 24, 1943.

6 Smelling land, listening to surf: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 Waking among islands: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

8 Seeing planes: Ibid.

9 Capture: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, July 13, 1943, entry.

10 Swatting beard with bayonet, cigarettes burn beards: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

11 Questioned, taken into custody: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

12 “These are American fliers”: Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

13 Weight: Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, November 1, 1945, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif. Notes that Louie made in 1946 state that he weighed 67 pounds, and in later interviews, he would say that he was told that his weight was 30 kilos, 66 pounds. But in at least three interviews given just after repatriation, he was quoted as saying that he had weighed 87 pounds, and in a signed affidavit made immediately after the war, he was quoted as saying that he weighed 79½ pounds. In one interview just after the war, he also said he weighed 79 pounds. Phil’s postwar affidavit stated that he weighed about 150 at the time of the crash and 80 at capture. In the CBS interview, Phil stated that he and Louie weighed the same—about 80 pounds—at capture.

14 First meal: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

15 Interviewed about journey: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

16 Told that they were in Marshalls: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, POW diary; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview. It is unclear which atoll they were told they were on. In one 1945 interview, a 1946 affidavit, and a 1988 interview, Louie stated that they were told that it was Maloelap, but in many other interviews, as well as in the POW diary that he began shortly after his capture, he stated that they were told they were on Wotje. Phil also stated that it was Wotje.

17 Forty-eight bullet holes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

18 They are our friends: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

19 “After you leave here”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

20 Sick on freighter: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

21 Conditions on Kwajalein: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini and Russell Allen Phillips, affidavits, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

22 NINE MARINES: Tripp Wiles, Forgotten Raiders of ’42: The Fate of the Marines Left Behind on Makin (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007), photo caption.

23 All I see: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

PART IV

Chapter 18: A Dead Body Breathing

1 Hardtack, tea: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

2 Meeting native: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

3 Forced to sleep by waste hole: Ibid.

4 Diarrhea: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

5 Boiling water thrown in face: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

6 Louie hears singing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 Phil’s ordeal: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.

8 Carving name in wall: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

9 “What’s going to happen?”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

10 Guards’ cruelty: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

11 “I was literally”: Raymond Halloran, email interview, March 3, 2008.

12 Louie’s interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

13 Women sexually enslaved: Chang, pp. 52–53.

14 “a ruptured octopus”: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

15 Phil’s interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.

16 Kawamura: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA. Louie would later be unsure if the name was Kawamura or Kawamuda, but the former is almost certainly correct, as it is a common name.

17 Sub men attack: Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

18 Medical experimentation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

19 Japanese experiment on captives: Tanaka, pp. 135–65; Gary K. Reynolds, U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan, Congressional Research Service, December 17, 2002, pp. 19–21.

20 Dengue fever: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

21 Second round of interrogation: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

22 Condemned, then saved from execution: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

Chapter 19: Two Hundred Silent Men

1 Attacked on ship: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

2 Sailor knocking on Louie’s head, beaten in car: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

3 Louie allowed to bathe: Ibid.

4 Meeting Sasaki, “We meet again”: Ibid.

5 “unarmed combatants”: William R. Gill and Davis P. Newton, “A Compilation of Biographical Source Documents Concerning Major William Herald Walker, U.S. Army Air Force (1919–1945), a Prisoner of War in Japan During World War II,” 1999, p. 15.

6 Life in Ofuna: Yuzuru Sanematsu, “A Record of the Aftermath of Ofuna POW Camp,” Shukan Yomiuri, August 1974, translated from Japanese; William R. Gill and Davis P. Newton, “A Compilation of Biographical Source Documents Concerning Major William Herald Walker, U.S. Army Air Force (1919–1945), a Prisoner of War in Japan During World War II,” 1999; “Ofuna: Dolder Rescue Team Report,” September 22, 1945, http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/tokyo/ofuna/ofuna.html (accessed September 20, 2009); Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jean Balch, letter to legal section, prosecution division, SCAP, January 18, 1948; Gamble, p. 321; Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from Case Docket No. 218: Nakakichi Asoma et al. (vol. II, part 2 of 2 sections, exhibits, 1945–1949), RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Record of the Trial File, 1945–49, NACP; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Gregory Boyington, Baa Baa Black Sheep (New York: Bantam, 1977), pp. 251–53; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issues 1–2, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; “Main Subject Is on Ofuna POW Camp, February 1946–July 1947” and “Main Subject Is on Ofuna POW Camp, September 1945–May 1947,” RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Miscellaneous Subject File, NACP; information on Ofuna from the following files on Kunichi Sasaki and James Kunichi Sasaki in RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration and Prosecution Divisions (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP: Kunichi Sasaki et al., 1945–1948, Investigation and Interrogation Reports; Nakakichi Asoma et al., trial, exhibits, appeal, and clemency files, NACP; Nakakichi Asoma, 1945–1952, POW 201 File, 1945–1952, Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948, NACP; Yuichi Hatto, Aa, Omori Shuyojo (Tokyo: Kyoshin Shuppan, 2004), translated from Japanese.

7 “My job”: Glenn McConnell, telephone interview, June 8, 2007.

8 “were of such intensity”: Affidavit, Glenn McConnell, from files on Sueharu Kitamura, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP.

9 “Iron must be beaten”: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

10 “No strong soldiers”: Ibid.

11 “transfer of oppression”: Chang, p. 217; Tanaka, p. 204.

12 Japanese view of Westerners, “Anglo-Saxon devils”: Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.

13 Japanese view of capture: Yuichi Hatto, Aa, Omori Shuyojo (Tokyo: Kyoshin Shuppan, 2004), translated from Japanese; Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.

14 “Have regard for”: Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.

15 “the night of a thousand suicides”: “Cowra Outbreak, 1944,” Fact Sheet 198, National Archives of Australia, http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs198.aspx (accessed September 23, 2009); Harry Gordon, Voyage from Shame: The Cowra Breakout and Afterwards (Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, 1994). While the Cowra incident is sometimes described simply as an escape attempt, the event’s authoritative historian, Harry Gordon, describes it as a “mass suicide bid.” While some Japanese POWs remained in camp and committed suicide or were killed by other POWs, those who made the breakout run, including hundreds who ran directly at camp machine guns, were trying to force the Australians to kill them. According to one survivor, they carried weapons to “show hostility … so they would surely be shot at” and carried implements to use to kill themselves if the Australians didn’t kill them. Some who successfully escaped later killed themselves to avoid recapture.

16 Frederick Douglass: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Cheswold: Prestwick House, 2004), p. 33.

17 Kitamura: Files on Sueharu Kitamura, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP.

18 Hirose saves POW from beating: Affidavit, Frederick Dewitt Turnbull, from Case Docket No. 216: Katsuo Kohara (Vol. I, Record of Trial–Vol. II, Exhibits) 1945–1949, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP.

19 Child’s sympathy for POWs: Lewis Bush, Clutch of Circumstance (Tokyo: Okuyama, 1956), p. 184.

20 “The general opinion”: Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale.

21 Sympathetic guard assaulted: Boyington, p. 257.

22 Food: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Boyington, pp. 270–71; Gamble, p. 328; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

23 “We were dying”: Jean Balch, “Yorktown Aviator: My Experience as Prisoner of War,” www.ussyorktown.com/yorktown/pow.htm (accessed July 1, 2004).

24 Beriberi: Alfred A. Weinstein, Barbed Wire Surgeon (New York: Lancer Books, 1965), p. 83; Tom Henling Wade, Prisoner of the Japanese (Kenthurst, Australia: Kangaroo, 1994), p. 44; Gamble, p. 324.

25 Tarawa: Gavan Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific (New York: William Morrow, 1994), p. 278.

26 Ballale: Peter Stone, Hostages to Freedom (Yarram, Australia: Oceans Enterprises, 2006).

27 Wake massacre: Daws, p. 279; Major Mark E. Hubbs, “Massacre on Wake Island,” Yorktown Sailor, http://www.yorktownsailor.com/yorktown/massacre.html (accessed October 18, 2009).

28 “kill-all” rule and “At such time”: Entry from the Journal of the Taiwan POW Camp H.Q. in Taihoku, Aug. 1, 1944, Document 2701, certified as Exhibit O in Document 2687; Numerical Evidentiary Documents Assembled as Evidence by the Prosecution for Use as Evidence Before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 1945–1947 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1690, roll 346, frame 540), RAOOH, WWII, RG 331, NACP.

29 “If there is any fear” (May 1944 order): V. Dennis Wrynn, “American Prisoners of War: Massacre at Palawan,” World War II, November 1997.

Chapter 20: Farting for Hirohito

1 Farting guard: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Maher: Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from Case Docket No. 218: Nakakichi Asoma et al. (vol. II, part 2 of 2 sections, exhibits), 1945–1949), RG 331: RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Record of the Trial File, 1945–49; Robert Martindale, The 13th Mission (Austin: Eakin, 1998), pp. 109–10.

3 Fitzgerald: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

4 Harris: Edgar D. Whitcomb, Escape from Corregidor (New York: Paperback Library, 1967), pp. 106–59, 284; Katey Meares, email interviews, March 14, 17, 18, 27, 2008.

5 Photographic memory: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

6 Sasaki’s behavior: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Gamble, p. 323; the following records of Kunichi Sasaki and James Kunichi Sasaki, from the NACP, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Admumstration Division and Prosecution Division: Kunichi Sasaki, Isamu Sato, Kazuo Akane, 1945–1948, Investigation and Interrogation Reports; Nakakichi Asoma et al., trial, exhibits, appeal, and clemency files; Nakakichi Asoma et al., 1945–1952, POW 201 File, 1945–1952, Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948.

7 Gaga: Glenn McConnell, telephone interview, June 8, 2007; Boyington, pp. 255–56.

8 “to rest their tortured brains”: Boyington, p. 256.

9 Phil doing calisthenics: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.

10 “I’ll never fly again”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

11 Maher tells captive to steal: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

12 Morse code: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005.

13 Louie tells of mother’s cooking: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Boyington, p. 271; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

14 Guard nicknames: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jean Balch, letter to Legal Section, Prosecution Division, SCAP, January 18, 1948; Boyington, p. 258.

15 Speaking offensively to guards: Boyington, pp. 267–68.

16 Convincing guard that sundial worked at night: Boyington, pp. 264–65.

17 Farting at Hirohito: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Gamble, p. 325.

18 POW diary: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

19 Guards say they shot Lincoln and torpedoed D.C.: Constance Humphrey, “A Taste of Food from Skies,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 29, 1946.

20 Papers stolen during interrogation: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

21 Fall 1943: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 1, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith.

22 Officials stealing food: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Boyington, pp. 290–91.

23 “To give you an idea”: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

24 Smoking: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

25 Collapsing at baseball, editor comes to camp: Ibid.

26 Race against a Japanese runner: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

27 Asking Sasaki to help, Mead and Duva: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

28 Minsaas dies: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 2, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005.

29 “We … believed”: Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005.

30 Christiansen gives coat: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

31 Garrett: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Fred Garrett, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.

32 Tinker: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

33 Mental clarity of Tinker, Harris: Ibid.

34 Louie’s second race: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

35 “made me a professional”: Ibid.

36 Phil taken away: Russell Allen Phillips, affidavit, John D. Murphy Collection, HIA, Stanford, Calif.

37 Zentsuji said to be good camp: Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

38 Phil sent to Ashio: Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.

39 Ashio: Roger Mansell, “Ashio POW Camp,” Center for Research, Allied POWs Under the Japanese, http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/tokyo/Ashio/ashio_main.html, Palo Alto, Calif. (accessed September 19, 2009).

40 Phil’s letter burned: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, April 1944; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.

Chapter 21: Belief

1 Sylvia crying: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

2 Zamperinis coping: Ibid.; Peter Zamperini, telephone interviews, October 15, 17, 19, 22, 2004; Peter Zamperini, letter to Louis Zamperini, June 3, 1943.

3 Louise writes to General Hale: Louise Zamperini, diary notes, July 13, 1943; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

4 Louie’s trunk arrives: Louise Zamperini, diary notes, October 6, 1943.

5 Gifts for Louie: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

6 Christmas card for Louie: From papers of Louis Zamperini.

7 “The entire island”: Eastern Mandates (Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History Publications, 1993), p. 14.

8 Wood slat: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

9 Papers on Kwajalein: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005.

10 “I was happy”: Ibid.

11 Condolence letter: Henry Rahaley, letter to Reverend and Mrs. Phillips, June 16, 1943.

12 Oak-leaf clusters: Reverend Russell Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, July 28, 1943.

13 Reverend Phillips’s plaque: Reverend Russell Phillips, letter to Martha Heustis, March 17, 1944.

14 “I think I have”: Reverend Russell Phillips, letter to Martha Heustis, August 4, 1943.

15 Smitty’s letter to Cecy: George Smith, letter to Cecy Perry, June 19, 1943.

16 Cecy moves to D.C., visits fortune-teller: Terry Hoffman, telephone interview, March 6, 2007.

17 “This year sure”: Delia Robinson, letter to Louise Zamperini, June 23, 1944.

18 “We thought surely”: Mrs. A. J. Deane, letter to Louise Zamperini, June 27, 1944.

19 Death notice: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

20 “None of us”: Ibid.

21 Plan to find Louie: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004.

Chapter 22: Plots Afoot

1 Escape plot: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Rations cut: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

3 Louie stealing food, starching shirts: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

4 Barbering job: Ibid.

5 Official says POWs will be killed: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

6 Stealing map from Mummy: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 Getting info about Saipan: Ibid.

8 Sasaki’s sudden change: Ibid.

9 Murder on Tinian: Eric Lash, “Historic Island of Tinian,” Environmental Services, October 2008, vol. 1, 2nd edition; Major General Donald Cook, “20th Air Force Today,” 20th Air Force Association Newsletter, Fall 1998.

10 Infestation, leeches, “You should be happy”: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

11 Fitzgerald sees stealing: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

12 Putrid fish, Quack beating: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

13 Murder of Gaga: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

14 Louie thinking of home: Ibid.

15 Plan to escape by boat: Ibid.

16 Doolittle raid: Kennedy Hickman, “World War II: The Doolittle Raid,” About.com, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/aerialcampaigns/p/doolittleraid.htm (accessed October 15, 2009).

17 Kindness of civilians: Boyington, pp. 304–05.

18 Murder of Chinese civilians: Chang, p. 216; Kennedy Hickman, “World War II: The Doolittle Raid,” About.com, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/aerialcampaigns/p/doolittleraid.htm (accessed October 15, 2009).

19 Average Japanese soldier five foot three: “Battle of the Pacific: How Japs Fight,” Time, February 15, 1943; Tar Shioya, “The Conflict Behind the Battle Lines,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 24, 1995.

20 Civilians attack POWs: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005; K. P. Burke, Proof Through the Night: A B-29 Pilot Captive in Japan—the Earnest Pickett Story (Salem, Ore.: Opal Creek, 2001), p. 88; Fiske Hanley II, Accused American War Criminal (Austin: Eakin, 1997), pp. 68–69.

21 Preparations for escape, “a fearful joy”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

22 Suspension of plan: Ibid.

23 Newspaper theft, Harris beating: Ibid.; files on Sueharu Kitamura, RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), NACP; Glenn McConnell, telephone interview, June 8, 2007; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Gamble, p. 328.

24 Sasaki’s advice: Affidavit, Louis Zamperini, in file of Nakakichi Asoma, 1945–1952, RG 331: RAOOH, WWII, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?), Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948, NACP.

Chapter 23: Monster

1 Appearance of Omori: Bush, p. 150.

2 POW likens Omori to the moon: Wade, p. 83.

3 No birds: Ray “Hap” Halloran and Chester Marshall, Hap’s War (Menlo Park, Calif.: Hallmark, n.d.).

4 Watanabe’s appearance: Weinstein, p. 228; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

5 Liken to paws: Draggan Mihailovich, email interview, August 3, 2007.

6 Louie meeting Watanabe: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 This man: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

8 Building fire: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

9 Watanabe’s history: Martindale, pp. 92–93; Wade, pp. 103–04; Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004; James, p. 278; Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP; “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker.

10 Japanese sign but don’t ratify Geneva Convention: Tanaka, p. 73.

11 Slavery: Martindale, p. 90; Wade, pp. 97–99, 129; Bush, pp. 152–53; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 3, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith.

12 Lifting thirty tons a day: Wade, p. 99.

13 Men paid ten yen per month: Martindale, p. 111.

14 Those who don’t work receive half rations: Bush, p. 160.

15 Food at Omori: Martindale, p. 120; Bush, p. 159.

16 Nicknames: Ernest O. Norquist, Our Paradise: A GI’s War Diary (Hancock, Wisc.: Pearl-Win, 1989), p. 293; Bush, p. 205.

17 Watanabe’s first days: Wade, pp. 103–05; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Bush, pp. 176–79.

18 Hatto thinks Watanabe mad: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

19 “He suddenly saw”: Tom Wade, telephone interview, September 17, 2005.

20 “He did enjoy hurting”: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

21 Watanabe’s behavior: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP; Martindale, pp. 95–110, 130, 144–55; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Norquist, pp. 277–79, 283–84; Wade, pp. 103–08; Weinstein, pp. 228–33, 247, 256; Derek (Nobby) Clarke, No Cook’s Tour (Hereford, Eng.: Authors OnLine, 2005), pp. 114–16; Donald Knox, Death March: The Survivors of Bataan (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983), p. 377; James, pp. 277–83.

22 Watanabe’s fame: James, p. 278; Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

23 “punishment camp”: Martindale, pp. 104–05.

24 “the most vicious guard”: Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

25 “He was absolutely”: Knox, p. 379.

26 Beating POW, then becoming placid: Weinstein, p. 230.

27 Forcing men to be his friends: Martindale, pp. 149–50; Clarke, p. 116; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

28 Watanabe despised by guards: Bush, p. 200; Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

29 “tense, sitting-on-the-edge-of-a-volcano”: Clarke, p. 116.

Chapter 24: Hunted

1 Louie enters main body of Omori: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Lessons on avoiding the Bird: Norquist, pp. 278–79; Wade, p. 124; Bush, p. 187; Weinstein, pp. 228–33; Clarke, pp. 114–16; J. Watt Hinson, email interview, July 26, 2004.

3 The Bird’s office: Martindale, p. 78.

4 Louie not registered with Red Cross: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

5 Attacked every day: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

6 “number one prisoner”: CBS Television, “48 Hours: Race to Freedom,” 1998.

7 “After the first few days in camp”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

8 The Bird forces officers to work: Clarke, p. 114; Martindale, p. 97; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Weinstein, p. 249.

9 Cleaning benjos: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Martindale, pp. 99–100; Lewis Bush, p. 186; Clarke, p. 114.

10 “The motto”: Martindale, p. 100.

11 Sabotage, stealing: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005; Martindale, pp. 127–28, 156–72; Wade, pp. 97–99, 129; Bush, p. 161; Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005; Weinstein, pp. 243–45; Gloria Ross, “A Singular Man,” Airman, January 1982; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

12 “University of Thievery”: Martindale, pp. 168–69.

13 Stealing ingredients for cake: Ibid., p. 128.

14 Louie gets sugar for Tinker: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

15 Only two deaths after school created: Martindale, p. 169.

16 Louie beaten: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

17 Sakaba watches beating: Ibid.

18 The Bird holding power over superiors: Norquist, p. 279; Wade, p. 120; Weinstein, p. 255.

19 Watanabe’s impunity: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

20 Kind guards: Bush, p. 200; Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004; Boyington, pp. 302–03; Martindale, p. 195; Norquist, p. 288; Gamble, p. 336; Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale.

21 Red Cross inspection: Martindale, p. 123; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

22 Louie’s defiance: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

23 Postman Calls: E. Bartlett Kerr, Surrender and Survival: The Experience of American POWs in the Pacific, 1941–1945 (New York: William Morrow, 1985), pp. 189–90; “The Zero Hour,” Glasgow.com, http://www.glasglow.com/e2/th/The_Zero_Hour.html (accessed September 25, 2009).

24 Radio message: E. H. Stephan, postcard to Zamperini family, October 18, 1944.

25 Louie knew nothing of broadcast: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

26 Message in Trona: E. H. Stephan, postcard to Zamperini family, October 18, 1944, stamp on card.

Chapter 25: B-29

1 Louie taking wheelbarrow to Tokyo: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 State of Tokyo: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005; Bush, pp. 213, 222–23; Weinstein, p. 248.

3 Graffiti: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

4 B-29: “Boeing B-29 Superfortress,” Military Factory, http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=82 (accessed October 15, 2009).

5 Steakley’s flight: E. Bartlett Kerr, Flames over Tokyo: The U.S. Army Air Forces’ Incendiary Campaign Against Japan, 1941–1945 (New York: Donald I. Fine, 1991), p. 92.

6 Earlier B-29 raids on mainland Japan: Ibid., pp. 57–60, 64–68.

7 B-29 flying over Omori: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Tom Wade, telephone interview, September 17, 2005; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Martindale, pp. 166–67; Wade, pp. 138–39; Clarke, p. 147; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

8 “It was not their Messiah”: Martindale, p. 176.

9 Smuggling newspapers: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

10 Distortions in Japanese press: Weinstein, p. 242.

11 Plane downed with rice ball: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

12 “Lone enemy B-29 visits Tokyo area”: Norquist, p. 287.

13 FLED IN CONSTERNATION: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

14 “Niju ku!”: Wade, p. 139.

15 The Bird beats Louie with belt: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

16 The Bird forces Maher to burn letters: Affidavit, Francis Harry Frankcom, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

17 Radio Tokyo visit: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Martindale, pp. 129–30; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

18 Writing radio address: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

19 Lynn Moody: Lynn Moody Hoffman, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 14, 1998.

20 DeMille interviews Zamperinis: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004; “Sixth War Bond Drive,” November 19, 1944, interview transcript.

21 Harvey’s wounding: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

22 Moody hears new broadcast: Lynn Moody Hoffman, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 14, 1998.

23 Text of address: From papers of Louis Zamperini.

24 Visit with caller from San Marino: Handwritten notes from papers of Louis Zamperini.

25 “I was thinking”: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

26 Telegram concerning broadcast: telegram, provost marshal general to Louise Zamperini, undated, from the papers of Louis Zamperini.

27 Uncle hears broadcast: “Louis Zamperini Radio Talk Heard by Uncle,” Des Moines Register, December 12, 1944.

28 Detail about guns: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

29 “Payt! He’s alive!”: Payton Jordan, telephone interview, August 16, 2004.

Chapter 26: Madness

1 Radio Tokyo men return: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Text of new message: From papers of Louis Zamperini.

3 Reason Louie spared from execution: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, notes from 1950 meeting with Kwajalein officer; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

4 Producers encourage Louie: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

5 “Okay”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

6 November 24, 1944, raid: Martindale, p. 177; Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 4, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; “Tokyo in Flames After Crippling Superfort Blow,” Ogden Standard Examiner, November 25, 1944; Kerr, Flames, pp. 97–101.

7 “It was a cold”: Johan Arthur Johansen, email interview, March 26, 2005.

8 Hatto sees parachuting man: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004.

9 Sirens: Norquist, pp. 288, 291.

10 November 27 and 29–30 bombings: Ibid., p. 291.

11 Louie watches air battle: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

12 “Hikoki dame”: Ibid.

13 “You win war”: Bush, p. 207.

14 The Bird beats Martindale: Martindale, pp. 180–81.

15 The Bird leaves, then returns for fire drill: Ibid., pp. 152–53; Wade, pp. 140–41.

16 The Bird herds officers into Tokyo: Martindale, pp. 144–45; Wade, p. 141; Affidavit, Francis Harry Frankcom, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

17 The Bird makes men stand at attention: Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 4, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith.

18 “death lunge”: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

19 Louie’s nightmares about the Bird: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

20 Zentsuji: Don Wall, Singapore and Beyond: The Story of the Men of the 2/20 Battalion, Told by the Survivors (Cowra, Australia: James N. Keady, 1985), pp. 307–09; Affidavit, Major Melvin Miller, from files of “The Mad Quack” (1st Lt.), POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

21 Phillipses hear of broadcast: “Lt. Allan Phillips May Be Prisoner in Tokyo,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

22 Major from the adjutant general’s office calls: “Lt. Allen Phillips Alive as Prisoner of the Japs; Missing Year and a Half,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.

23 Cecy races home: Terry Hoffman, telephone interview, March 6, 2007.

24 “Words really cannot”: Reverend Russell Phillips, letter to Martha Heustis, January 5, 1945.

25 Phillipses asked to keep news secret: Kelsey Phillips, letter to Louise Zamperini, December 15, 1944.

26 Kelsey sad for other mothers: Ibid.

27 “Even though we”: Sadie Glassman, letter to Zamperinis, November 18, 1944.

28 “It is difficult”: Kelsey Phillips, letter to Louise Zamperini, December 15, 1944.

29 Red Cross packages delivered: Norquist, pp. 282, 290.

30 Official admits to giving packages to Japanese: Martindale, p. 134.

31 “We could see them throwing away”: Wade, p. 138.

32 The Bird steals forty-eight packages: Wade, p. 138; Affidavits, Francis Harry Frankcom and Fort Hammond Callahan, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

33 Apples and oranges distributed, taken back: Martindale, p. 187.

34 Louie gets Red Cross package: Louis Zamperini, POW diary.

35 Mansfield: Martindale, pp. 122–23; Norquist, pp. 287–88; Wade, pp. 137–38; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

36 Cinderella: Martindale, pp. 189–92; Wade, pp. 143–44; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 4, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; Clarke, pp. 151–54.

37 Christmas at Zentsuji: Wall, p. 308.

38 Tokugawa comes to Omori: Bush, pp. 183, 198–99; Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004; Report of Lieutenant Lewis Bush, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

39 The Bird promoted: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, August 28, 2004; James, p. 280.

40 Men put feces on Bird’s rice cakes: Martindale, pp. 191–92.

41 Louie learns Bird leaving: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

Chapter 27: Falling Down

1 Life in camp improves: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Martindale, pp. 194–95; Affidavit, Francis Harry Frankcom, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

2 Mail found in the Bird’s office: Affidavit, Francis Harry Frankcom, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

3 “Trust you’re all”: Louis Zamperini, letter to family, January 6, 1945.

4 “Tell Pete”: Louis Zamperini, letter to family, January or February 1945.

5 Ofuna arrivals: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

6 Condition of Harris: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 Harris’s beatings: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

8 Doctor thinks Harris dying, Louie gives him Red Cross box: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, POW diary, January 15, 1945, entry.

9 Palawan massacre: Hampton Sides, Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission (New York: Anchor Books, 2002), pp. 7–17; Kerr, Surrender, pp. 212–15; V. Dennis Wrynn, “American Prisoners of War: Massacre at Palawan,” World War II, November 1997.

10 February 16–17 air raid: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Martindale, p. 198; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 4, 1990, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith; Frank Tremaine, “Tokyo in Flames After Record Bombing Attack,” Brainerd (Minn.) Daily Dispatch, February 16, 1945; “Navy Planes Rip Tokyo,” Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln), February 16, 1945; “Devastating War to Tokyo,” Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln), February 16, 1945.

11 American Hellcat pursues Japanese fighter: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

12 February 24 air raid: “1,600 Planes Bomb Jap Capital as All-Out Drive Launched on Iwo,” Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, Ohio), February 25, 1945; Kerr, Flames, pp. 138–44.

13 Transfer of POWs: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

14 Journey through Tokyo: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

15 Shadow factories: Martindale, p. 214; Kerr, Flames, p. 153.

16 Arrival at Naoetsu: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Wade, pp. 146–47.

17 “It was as if a giant frosted cake”: Wade, p. 144.

18 Louie collapses: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

Chapter 28: Enslaved

1 Bird beaming: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

2 Description of Naoetsu: Wade, pp. 148–49, 152–53; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Alan B. Lyon, Japanese War Crimes: Trials of the Naoetsu Camp Guards (Loftus, Australia: Australian Military History Publications, 2000), pp. 25–34; John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir; “List of Death Naoetu [sic] POW Camp, 1942–44,” Taheiyo ni Kaleru Hashi: Horyo Shuyojono Higeikei wo Keoete (Japan-Australia Society, 1996), translated from Japanese.

3 Zamperini Invitational: “United Nations Olympics Talked—New Golden Era in Track Seen When Peace Comes,” Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, March 5, 1945.

4 Glickman crying: CBS Television, “48 Hours: Race to Freedom,” 1998.

5 Louie sick: “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

6 Food, guards smoking: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Wade, p. 151; Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

7 “a roaring Hitlerian animal”: Wade, p. 159.

8 Officers picked by the Bird: Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

9 “just for drill”: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

10 Slave labor: Wade, pp. 151–52; John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

11 Men falling into snow crevasses: Wall, p. 303.

12 Melting snow, pig’s appearance: Wade, pp. 156, 149.

13 Potato-field work: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Wade, p. 157; Affidavit, Louis Zamperini, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

14 B-29 seen: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Wade, p. 157; Wall, p. 298.

15 Roosevelt’s death: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Wall, p. 298.

16 Barge duty: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir; Wade, pp. 160–63.

17 Bathing options: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005; John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir.

18 Wade shaves head: Wade, p. 161.

19 Man injured on barge: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

20 Salt stealing: John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir.

21 Rice stealing: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

22 Marvin teaching Bad Eye: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

23 Leg injured: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, POW diary.

24 Louie’s fever spikes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

25 Louie tailors clothes: Ibid.

26 Pig duty: Ibid.; Wade, p. 149; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

Chapter 29: Two Hundred and Twenty Punches

1 May 5, 1945, B-29 raid: Wall, p. 299; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004.

2 Four hundred POWs arrive: John A. Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

3 “You must be sober!”: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

4 The Bird at Mitsushima: Weinstein, pp. 287–94; Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

5 Murder plots at Mitsushima: Weinstein, pp. 287–94.

6 “whimpering,” “almost hysterically”: Ibid.

7 Beating after theft of fish: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Wade, pp. 163–64; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience, 1946; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

8 Some 220 punches: Wade, p. 163.

9 “the Lone Ranger”: Wall, p. 300.

10 “all lit up”: Ibid.

11 Man dies after work: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

12 The Bird breaks man’s jaw: Affidavit, Arthur Klein, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

13 POWs ask for meat, dog killed: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

14 Rations to be cut in winter: Wade, p. 165.

15 “hanging on from day to day”: Wall, p. 300.

16 “Frisco dive in ’45”: Knox, p. 417.

17 beriberi in civilians: Wade, p. 158.

18 men stop stealing: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

19 Women with sharpened sticks, children with wooden guns: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

20 Batu Lintang: Ooi Keat Gin, ed., Japanese Empire in the Tropics: Selected Documents and Reports of the Japanese Period in Sarawak, Northwest Borneo, 1941–1945 (Athens: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1998), vol. 2, pp. 612, 648.

21 Written death orders in camp offices: Ibid., p. 648.

22 Omori POWs told of death plan: Martindale, p. 223; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Affidavit, Arthur Laurence Maher, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vol. 1, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

23 Preparations for killing: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005; Wade, p. 167; Daws, pp. 324–25; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

24 Rokuroshi: George Steiger, “Captain George Steiger: A POW Diary,” http://www.fsteiger.com/gsteipow.html (accessed October 2, 2009); K. C. Emerson, Guest of the Emperor (Sanibel Island: 1977), pp. 77–79; Donald T. Giles, Jr., ed., Captive of the Rising Sun: The POW Memoirs of Rear Admiral Donald T. Giles (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994), pp. 146–54.

25 This is the place: Giles, p. 154.

26 Naoetsu POWs to be taken into the mountains: Wade, p. 166; Wall, p. 300.

27 Civilian gives death date: John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir.

Chapter 30: The Boiling City

1 B-29s coming over every night: Wall, p. 300.

2 The Bird tormenting men after raids: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

3 Face slapping: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

4 Louie clubbed on ankle: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

5 Port closed, shipping hit: Wall, p. 300; “Jap Shipping, Planes Hard Hit in July,” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, August 1, 1945.

6 Louie begs the Bird for work: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

7 “Goat die, you die”: Ibid.

8 Marvin steals rope: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

9 Goat dies: Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience.

10 The Bird forces Louie to hold beam: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Wade, p. 166; Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005; Louis Zamperini, 1946 notes on captive experience; Affidavit, Louis Zamperini, from files on Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

11 Thirty-seven minutes: Wade, p. 166.

12 B-29 flyover on August 1: “Record Raid Hits Four Jap Cities,” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, August 1, 1945.

13 Biggest World War II raid by tonnage: Kerr, Flames, pp. 269–70. 296 Nagaoka civilians think napalm is rain: “Nagaoka Air Raid, August 1, 1945,” http://www.echigonagaoka.com/index.html (accessed October 5, 2009).

14 The Bird beats men on August 1: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

15 Skyline glowing: Wall, p. 300.

16 Leaflets, Japanese government forbids people from keeping, sharing leaflets: Josette H. Williams, “The Information War in the Pacific, 1945: Paths to Peace,” Central Intelligence Agency Center for the Study of Intelligence, May 8, 2007, https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol46no3/article07.html (accessed April 29, 2010).

17 Louie sicker: Louis Zamperini, POW diary; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

18 Boot licking: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Affidavit, Louis Zamperini, from files of Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP; Louis Zamperini, POW diary; “42nd Bombardment Squadron: Addendum to Squadron History,” September 11, 1945, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

19 Push-ups over latrine: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

20 Bird threatens to drown Louie: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

21 Murder plot: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

22 The Bird sees man sneering: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

23 Hiroshima: Paul Tibbets, interview by Studs Terkel, 2002, http://dalesdesigns.net/interview.htm (accessed September 14, 2007); Matthew Davis, “The Men Who Bombed Hiroshima,” BBC News, August 4, 2007; “Paul Tibbets,” AcePilots.com, www.acepilots.com/asaaf_tibbets.html (accessed September 13, 2007).

24 Ferron Cummins feels effect of bomb: Knox, p. 435.

Chapter 31: The Naked Stampede

1 Civilians’ hands in fists: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

2 Guard says Hiroshima hit by cholera: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

3 Civilian says one bomb destroyed city: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

4 “electronic bomb”: Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

5 Omori commander speaks to POWs: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

6 Men discuss self-defense: Tom Wade, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

7 The Bird in mountains: Wade, p. 166; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004.

8 Louie’s illness, weight loss: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; Louis Zamperini, POW diary; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

9 Louie struck by Ogawa: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

10 Japanese walk out: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

11 Japanese at radio: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

12 Marvin’s talk with Bad Eye: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

13 Rumors: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005; John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Wall, pp. 300, 304; “Letters Recall End of Captivity,” Idaho Press-Tribune, undated article from Idaho Press-Tribune archives; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004.

14 Naoetsu to be bombed: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

15 Marvin’s thoughts: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

16 Work crews dismissed: Wall, p. 304.

17 Louie vomiting, gets letters: Louis Zamperini, POW diary.

18 Town illuminated, POWs take shades down: Wall, p. 304.

19 “Look like skeleton”: Louis Zamperini, POW diary.

20 The Bird reappears: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

21 Rokuroshi: Emerson, pp. 80–84; Giles, pp. 154–57; Robert S. La Forte, Ronald E. Marcello, and Richard L. Himmel, eds., With Only the Will to Live: Accounts of Americans in Japanese Prison Camps, 1941–1945 (Wilmington, Del.: SR Books, 1994), pp. 260–61; George Steiger, “Captain George Steiger: A POW Diary,” http://www.fsteiger.com/gsteipow.html (accessed October 2, 2009).

22 Men told war over: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

23 “The war has come”: John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004.

24 Commander asks POWs to fight “Red Menace”: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004; John Cook, “Japan: C Force,” unpublished memoir. One published account of the speech gives a different version of events, stating that according to Cook, it was Fitzgerald who asked that the POWs of other nations join America in fighting the Soviets. But in Cook’s memoir, as well as his interview with this author, he stated that it was the Japanese commander, not Fitzgerald, who wanted POWs to join Japan in the fight against the Soviets. “The Camp Commander, through the Interpreter,” Cook wrote, “informed the POWs that the War with Japan was over and he appealed to them to join with Japan to fight the Red Menace. (Russia.)” This account makes far more sense, as America was not fighting the Soviet Union, then its ally, but Japan was, having seen its Kuril Islands seized by the Soviets two days before. According to POW Johan Arthur Johansen, the commander at Omori also asked the POWs to join Japan in fighting the Russians.

25 Flyover, reaction: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004; Robert Rasmussen, “A Momentous Message of Hope,” National Aviation Museum Foundation Magazine, vol. 8, no. 1, Spring 1987; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

26 Clift: Robert Rasmussen, “A Momentous Message of Hope,” National Aviation Museum Foundation Magazine, vol. 8, no. 1, Spring 1987.

27 OUR TBFS HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE: Ibid.

28 Chocolate, cigarettes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005; Wade, p. 169.

29 Pants drop from plane: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

30 The Bird leaves: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

Chapter 32: Cascades of Pink Peaches

1 End of war at Rokuroshi: Emerson, pp. 80–84; Giles, pp. 154–57; La Forte, pp. 260–61; George Steiger, “Captain George Steiger: A POW Diary,” http://www.fsteiger.com/gsteipow.html (accessed October 2, 2009).

2 Little food, no tobacco: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Wall, p. 302.

3 Fitzgerald demands food: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

4 Cow, pigs brought: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

5 Fitzgerald’s dispatch, fight with commander: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

6 Fighters fly over: Ibid.; Wade, p. 169; Wall, p. 302; “Letters Recall End of Captivity,” Idaho Press-Tribune, undated article from Idaho Press-Tribune archives.

7 “Wonderful?”: “Letters Recall End of Captivity,” Idaho Press-Tribune, undated article from Idaho Press-Tribune archives.

8 Commander gives in: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

9 Supplies drop, men gorge themselves: John Cook, email interview, October 30, 2004; John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.; Wade, p. 170; Wall, pp. 302, 304; Robert Rasmussen, “A Momentous Message of Hope,” National Aviation Museum Foundation Magazine, vol. 8, no. 1, Spring 1987; “Letters Recall End of Captivity,” Idaho Press-Tribune, undated article from Press-Tribune archives; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

10 BOMBED HERE IN MAY 45: Wall, p. 302.

11 Louie sleeps in parachute: Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

12 “ ’Tis about 6 p.m., and I’m lying here”: “Letters Recall End of Captivity,” Idaho Press-Tribune, undated article from Press-Tribune archives.

13 Kinney’s flyover: Byron Kinney, telephone interview, April 23, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Byron Kinney, A Mission of Mercy Touches Two Lives (Chicago: United Letter Service, 1995).

14 Harris taken to surrender ceremony: Whitcomb, p. 285.

15 Some 132,000 Allied POWs: Tanaka, p. 70; Brian MacArthur, Surviving the Sword: Prisoners of the Japanese in the Far East, 1942–45 (New York: Random House, 2005), p. xxvi.

16 Nearly 36,000 Allied POWs die: Tanaka, p. 70.

17 More than 37 percent versus 1 percent: Charles A. Stenger, PhD, telephone interview with author, October 17, 2009; Charles A. Stenger, PhD, American Prisoners of War in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam: Statistical Data, Veterans Administration Central Office, June 30, 1979, p. 20.

18 More than 215,000 other POWs: Tanaka, p. 2.

19 Death marches: Kerr, Surrender, p. 60.

20 Burma-Siam Railway: Children of Far East Prisoners of War, “SE Asia Under Japanese Occupation,” http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/asia_thailand1.html (accessed March 18, 2010).

21 Medical experiments: Tanaka, pp. 135–65; Gary K. Reynolds, U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan, Congressional Research Service, December 17, 2002, pp. 17–19.

22 Cannibalism: James, p. 259; Tanaka, pp. 111–34; “Claim Japs Practiced Cannibalism,” Hammond Times, September 16, 1945; “Jap Soldiers Eat Flesh of U.S. Prisoners, Australia Discloses,” Abilene Reporter-News, September 10, 1945.

23 Sandakan: Tanaka, pp. 11–43.

24 Tinian massacre: Eric Lash, “Historic Island of Tinian,” Environmental Services, October 2008, vol. 1, 2nd edition; Major General Donald Cook, “20th Air Force Today,” 20th Air Force Association Newsletter, Fall 1998.

25 Ballale: Peter Stone, Hostages to Freedom (Yarram, Australia: Oceans Enterprises, 2006).

26 Wake: Major Mark E. Hubbs, “Massacre on Wake Island,” Yorktown Sailor, http://www.yorktownsailor.com/yorktown/massacre.html (accessed October 18, 2009); Daws, p. 279.

27 Tarawa: Daws, p. 278.

28 Palawan: Sides, pp. 7–17; Kerr, Surrender, pp. 212–15; V. Dennis Wrynn, “American Prisoners of War: Massacre at Palawan,” World War II, November 1997.

29 POWs giving supplies to civilians, guards: Kerr, Surrender, p. 273.

30 Kono hides in office: Wade, p. 169.

31 Kono’s flight, capture, trial: Hiroaki Kono records from the NACP: Hiroaki Kono et al., 1946–1947, File Unit from RG 331: RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Manila Branch (1945–11/1949) Series: Orders and Summaries, compiled 1946–1947; Narumi Oota et al., 1945–1949, File Unit from RG 331: RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Prosecution Division (1945–1949) Series: USA Versus Japanese War Criminals Case File, compiled 1945–1949; Hiroaki Kono, 1948–1953, File Unit from RG 84: Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State, 1788–ca. 1991, Department of State. U.S. Embassy, Japan. (04/28/1952–) (Most Recent) SCAP, Legal Section (10/02/1945–04/28/1952?) (Predecessor) Series: Japanese War Crimes Case Files, compiled 1946–1961.

32 Guard thrown from galley: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

33 NO MORE—THANKS: Robert Rasmussen, “A Momentous Message of Hope,” National Aviation Museum Foundation Magazine, vol. 8, no. 1, Spring 1987.

34 one thousand planes, 4,500 tons of supplies: Daws, p. 340.

35 Cocoa hits office: Martindale, p. 233; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

36 Louie washes shirt: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

37 Industrial machines in private houses: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

38 Tinker buys record: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

39 fifteen hundred Red Cross boxes in storehouse: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

40 Men find brothel: Wade, p. 170.

41 Marvin on bicycle and in bath: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

42 Occupying forces don’t arrive: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

43 Fitzgerald hits official: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.

44 POWs walk to train: Wall, p. 304; Wade, p. 170; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

45 Fitzgerald stays: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.

46 Japanese saluting: Wall, p. 304.

Chapter 33: Mother’s Day

1 POWs on train: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005; Wade, p. 171; Knox, p. 452; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 “First there were trees”: Knox, p. 451.

3 “Welcome back, boys”: Wade, p. 171.

4 “Before me in immaculate khaki uniform”: Ibid.

5 Women like goddesses: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 21, 2005.

6 Trumbull encounters Louie: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “Zamperini Gives Sidelights of His Dramatic Trip Back,” October 1, 1945, NPN, from papers of Louis Zamperini; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

7 “Zamperini’s dead”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

8 “If I knew”: Robert Trumbull, “Zamperini, Olympic Miler, Is Safe After Epic Ordeal,” NYT, September 9, 1945.

9 Hoarding K rations: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

10 Rosynek watches men deplane: Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 21, 2005.

11 POW told his wife married his uncle: “Sends Love Message to Soldier Husband,” Council Bluffs Nonpareil, September 11, 1945.

12 Louie interviewed: Frank Rosynek, written interview, December 8, 2007.

13 “Well, I’ll be damned”: Jack Krey, telephone interview, August 18, 2005.

14 11th Bomb Group, 42nd squadron men lost: Cleveland, pp. 484–85.

15 Only four of sixteen men from barracks alive: Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.

16 four hundred athletes killed: “400 Stars Give Lives in Service,” Oakland Tribune, December 30, 1944; Walt Dobbins, “I May Be Wrong,” Lincoln (Neb.) Journal, January 6, 1944.

17 Louie not allowed food, clothes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

18 Louie assessed by physicians: “Lou Zamperini Has Won Final Race on Track,” Olean (N.Y.) Times-Herald, September 13, 1945.

19 “It’s finished”: “Zamperini Drifted 1,200 Miles on Raft,” Stars and Stripes, September 14, 1945.

20 “Darling, we will”: Sylvia Zamperini, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 31, 1945.

21 Pete learns Louie free: “Lou Zamperini’s Release Thrills Brother at NTC,” Hoist (U.S. Naval Training Center, San Diego), September 14, 1945.

22 Preparing for homecoming, family quotations: “Zamperini’s Mother Sheds Tears of Joy,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

23 Freeing Rokuroshi: George Steiger, “Captain George Steiger: A POW Diary,” http://www.fsteiger.com/gsteipow.html (accessed October 2, 2009); Emerson, pp. 86–87; Giles, pp. 155–65; Kerr, Surrender, pp. 288–89.

24 History of American flag: Giles, pp. 156–57.

25 Kelsey Phillips learns Allen is free: “Lt. Allen Phillips Back in Care of U.S. Army, Mother Informed,” Terre Haute Star, September, 1945.

26 “That day”: Ibid.

27 Louie remains in Okinawa: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

28 Hospital parties: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

29 Louie startling USC recruiter: Ibid.

30 Typhoon: Ibid.

31 Louie flies in B-24: Ibid.; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

32 Overloaded B-24 crashes: Martindale, p. 243.

33 “This is Kwajalein”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

34 One tree left on island: Ibid.

35 Hospitalization mandatory: Bernard M. Cohen and Maurice Z. Cooper, A Follow-up Study of World War II Prisoners of War (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1955), p. 40.

36 Garrett and Louie stay together: Ibid.

37 Louie loses beloved shirt: Ibid.

38 Louie and Garrett wrestle on beach: Ibid.

39 “I just thought I was empty”: Ibid.

40 Wade goes home: Wade, p. 179; Tom Wade, letter to Louis Zamperini, August 20, 1946.

41 Phil’s homecoming: Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir; telegram and photographs from Phillips scrapbook.

42 Pete and Louie meet: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

43 Louie flown home: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN; Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004.

44 “Cara mamma mia”: “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

PART V

Chapter 34: The Shimmering Girl

1 “This, this little home”: “Lou Zamperini Back in L.A.,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN.

2 Homecoming: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

3 Louie hears record: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

4 Nightmare about the Bird: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

5 Wade named Watanabe: Wade, p. 176.

6 MacArthur arrest list: “MacArthur’s Round Up of Criminals,” Argus (Melbourne), September 25, 1945; “Tojo Shoots Self to Avoid Arrest; MacArthur Orders 39 Other Criminals Arrested,” Port Arthur News, September 11, 1945.

7 Tojo suicide attempt: “Think Tojo Had Planned Suicide,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, September 11, 1945; “Blood of Men He Sought to Destroy May Save Life of Man Ordering Pearl Harbor Attack,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, September 11, 1945; Robert Martindale, telephone interview, January 2, 2005.

8 Watanabe flees: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

9 Watanabe hears name listed with Tojo, resolves to disappear: Ibid.

10 Manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

11 Fake letter: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

12 Watanabe said he’d rather die than be captured: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

13 Wave of suicides: Philip R. Piccigallo, The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945–1951 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979), p. 45.

14 Affidavits: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331,0020NACP.

15 Two thousand letters: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 5, 1946.

16 Ringing phone, ninety-five speeches: Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

17 “It was like he got hit”: Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004.

18 Louie drives to forest: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

19 Los Angeles Times dinner, drinking: Ibid.

20 Zamperini Invitational Mile: “Hero Takes Mile Without Running,” Kingsport (Tenn.) News, March 4, 1946.

21 Louie meets Cynthia: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letters to Cynthia Applewhite, April 15 and May 9, 1946; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

22 “I want to see you again”: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

23 Cynthia dating Macs, first date: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

24 Cynthia’s history: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

25 Drinking gin at sixteen: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 8, 1946.

26 Louie throws toilet paper down hotel wall: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

27 Louie proposes: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 9, 1946.

28 Engagement concerns Applewhites: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 13, 1946; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

29 Cynthia ignorant of POW experiences: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

30 Easy on rice, barley: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 2, 1946.

31 Louie gets drunk on date: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

32 Louie warns Cynthia: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

33 “We have got to set”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 15, 1946.

34 “If you love me enough”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

35 Louie prepares for wedding: Louis Zamperini, letters to Cynthia Applewhite, April 5, 9, 27 and May 8, 1946.

36 Cynthia wants a home: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 23, 1946.

37 Sleeping on floors: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 10, 1946.

38 Concerns about Applewhites: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Louis Zamperini, letter to Eric Applewhite, April 1946; Eric Applewhite, letter to Louis Zamperini, April 16, 1946.

39 Louie trains: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 13, 1946; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946.

40 Cynthia’s deal with parents: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, April 25, 1946; Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

41 Ric’s fears: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008.

42 Louie, Cynthia argue: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

43 Cynthia calls home, Louie drinks: Ibid.

Chapter 35: Coming Undone

1 Garrett upset over rice: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Toll of captivity: Norman S. White, MD, letter to the editor, Hospital and Community Psychiatry, November 1983; Bernard M. Cohen and Maurice Z. Cooper, A Follow-up Study of World War II Prisoners of War (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1955); D. Robson et al., “Consequences of Captivity: Health Effects of Far East Imprisonment in World War II,” JM: An International Journal of Medicine, vol. 102, no. 2, 2009, pp. 87–96; Robert Ursano, MD, and James Rundell, MD, “The Prisoner of War,” War Psychiatry (Washington, D.C.: Office of the Surgeon General, 1995), pp. 431–56.

3 Nightmares, sleeping on floors, ducking, hallucinations: Knox, pp. 461, 463, 478–79.

4 McMullen speaking Japanese: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

5 Weinstein’s urges to scavenge in garbage cans: Weinstein, p. 316.

6 Weinstein housing complex: “Georgia: No Shenanigans,” Time, January 2, 1950.

7 Halloran’s experience: Raymond Halloran, email interview, March 3, 2008.

8 Former POW spitting at Asians: Burke, p. 184.

9 Former POWs try to attack hospital staffer: Knox, p. 465.

10 McMullen after Japan: Milton McMullen, telephone interview, February 16, 2005.

11 “a seething, purifying”: Jean Améry, At the Mind’s Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor of Auschwitz and Its Realities (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), p. 40.

12 “You must look”: Louis Zamperini, letter to Cynthia Applewhite, May 4, 1946.

13 Louie’s torment, resumption of running: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

14 Louie injured: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, letter to Edwin Wilber, May 1946; John P. Stripling, “Striptees,” Torrance Herald, November 28, 1946.

15 Louie’s nightmares, drinking, decline, resolution to kill the Bird: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

Chapter 36: The Body on the Mountain

1 Manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

2 Officer’s visit: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

3 Watanabe’s flight and quotes in this section: Ibid.

4 Conviction rates: John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York: Norton, 1999), p. 447.

5 Ofuna convictions: “Jap Officers to Be Hanged for POW Brutality,” San Mateo (Calif.) Times, October 13, 1948; William R. Gill and Davis P. Newton, “A Compilation of Biographical Source Documents Concerning Major William Herald Walker, U.S. Army Air Force (1919–1945), a Prisoner of War in Japan During World War II,” 1999; “8th Army Commission Court Gives Sentence to POW Torturers,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, February 29, 1948.

6 Naoetsu convictions: Lyon, pp. 49–51.

7 Sasaki’s capture, trial, imprisonment: Kunichi Sasaki and James Kunichi Sasaki records from RG 331, RAOOH, WWII, 1907–1966, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division and Prosecution Division, NACP: Kunichi Sasaki, Isamu Sato, Kazuo Akane, 1945–1948, Investigation and Interrogation Reports; Nakakichi Asoma et al., trial, exhibits, appeal, and clemency files; Nakakichi Asoma et al., 1945–1952, POW 201 File, 1945–1952, Charges and Specifications, 1945–1948.

8 Kano: Martindale, pp. 230, 240; Gamble, p. 339; Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano, Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale; Yukichi Kano, SCAP, Legal Section, Administration Division (10/02/1945–04/28/1952), File Unit from RG 331: RAOOH, WWII 1907–1966, Series POW 201 File, 1945–1952, NACP.

9 Kato accused of kicking a man nearly to death: Martindale, p. 141.

10 “Cross my heart”: Yukichi Kano, “Statement of Yukichi Kano, Tokio P.O.W. Camp H.Q. (Omori),” undated, from papers of Robert Martindale.

11 “I thought I”: Yukichi Kano, letter to Robert Martindale, December 23, 1955.

12 Watanabe in hiding: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

13 Intensified manhunt: Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

14 Watanabe goes to Tokyo: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

15 “You have plenty of room”: Ibid.

16 Watanabe approached for arranged marriage: Ibid.

17 “if she liked books”: Ibid.

18 “a burden which would make her unhappy”: Ibid.

19 Watanabe becomes cowherd: Ibid.

20 Bodies found on Mitsumine: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker; Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Sgt.), vols. 1–3, 1945–1952, POW 201 File 1945–1947, SCAP, Legal Section, Administrative Division, RAOOH, RG 331, NACP.

21 Shizuka taken to body: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

22 Watanabe’s death announced: Ibid.

Chapter 37: Twisted Ropes

1 Louie plans to go back to Japan: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

2 Louie’s decline, troubled marriage: Ric Applewhite, telephone interview, March 12, 2008; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Payton Jordan, telephone interviews, August 13, 16, 2004; Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 22, 2004; Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

3 “nails every one of us”: Améry, p. 68.

4 Shizuka sees dead son: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

Chapter 38: A Beckoning Whistle

1 Relatives think dead man is Mutsuhiro: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

2 Shizuka believes Mutsuhiro is alive, Mutsuhiro promises to return: Ibid.

3 Authorities question identity of body, tail family: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker; Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

4 Meeting at restaurant: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

5 Shizuka refers to deaths at Mitsumine: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, report, from papers of Frank Tinker.

6 Rumors: Martindale, p. 248; Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005; Johan Arthur Johansen, Krigsseileren, issue 1, 1991, translated from Norwegian by Nina B. Smith.

7 if I am alive: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

8 Billy Graham history: Cliff Barrows, Graham musical director, telephone interview, February 22, 2007; Billy Graham, Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (HarperSanFrancisco and Zondervan, 1997), pp. 92–158.

9 Los Angeles campaign: Graham, pp. 143–158; “Billy Graham Acclaimed: Crusade Continues as Over 300,000 Attend,” Van Nuys (Calif.) News, November 17, 1949; “Old Fashioned Revival Hits Los Angeles,” Gettysburg (Pa.) Times, November 2, 1949.

10 Movie contract: Virginia MacPherson, “Preacher Laughs Off Film Offers to Make Him Star,” San Mateo (Calif.) Times, November 12, 1949.

11 Louie and Cynthia meet neighbor: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

12 Cynthia goes to Graham: Ibid.; Cliff Barrows, Graham musical director, telephone interview, February 22, 2007.

13 Dinner at Sylvia’s: Sylvia Flammer, telephone interviews, October 25, 27, 2004.

14 Cynthia talks Louie into seeing Graham: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

15 Graham exhausted, doesn’t recognize daughter: Graham, pp. 156–57.

16 Train whistle: Billy Graham, “The Only Sermon Jesus Ever Wrote,” Los Angeles, October 22, 1949, audio recording, BGEA.

17 Louie’s impression of Graham: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

18 Graham’s sermon, Louie’s reaction: Billy Graham, “The Only Sermon Jesus Ever Wrote,” Los Angeles, October 22, 1949, BGEA; Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

19 Cynthia gets Louie to return to Graham: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

20 Graham’s second sermon, Louie’s reaction: Ibid.; Billy Graham, “Why God Allows Communism to Flourish and Why God Allows Christians to Suffer,” Los Angeles, October 23, 1949, BGEA.

21 Louie’s last flashback: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.

22 Louie and Cynthia return home: Ibid.

23 Louie at park, new view of his life: Ibid.

Chapter 39: Daybreak

1 Louie goes to Sugamo: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

2 Shizuka goes to see son: “From Chief of Hyogo Prefectural Police Force,” November 21, 1950, police report.

3 “Mutsuhiro,” Shizuka had said: Ibid.

4 Shizuka’s shrine: Frank Tinker, telephone interview, February 20, 2005.

5 Louie at Sugamo: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

Epilogue

1 Victory Boys Camp: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

2 Louie’s postwar life: John Hall, “Lou and Pete,” Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1977; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Morris Schulatsky, “Olympic Miler at 19, Skateboards at 70,” undated article from papers of Peter Zamperini, NPN; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Cynthia Zamperini Garris, telephone interview, December 13, 2008.

3 “When I get old”: National Geographic Channel, “Riddles of the Dead: Execution Island,” October 13, 2002.

4 “When God wants”: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, December 12, 2006.

5 Not angry for forty years: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

6 Falls down stairs, stays in hospital: Ibid.; Cynthia Zamperini Garris, telephone interview, December 13, 2008.

7 “I never knew anyone”: Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 17, 2004.

8 Phil’s postwar years: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004; Monroe and Phoebe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005.

9 Phil’s irritation: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004.

10 This Is Your Life: Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA.

11 “Dad must have”: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004.

12 “a little grin underneath”: Ibid.

13 Life, death of Harris: Katey Meares, email interviews, March 14, 17, 18, 27, 2008; Whitcomb, pp. 286–87; Edwin H. Simmons, Frozen Chosin: U.S. Marines at the Changjin Reservoir (Darby, Pa.: Diane Publishing), p. 94; “Jamestown Man Gets Navy Cross,” Newport Daily News, December 6, 1951; “Marine Officer Missing in Korea,” Newport Mercury and Weekly News, December 29, 1950.

14 Pete’s life, death, Cynthia’s death: Peter Zamperini, telephone interviews, October 15, 17, 19, 22, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

15 Louie learns the Bird is alive: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

16 Watanabe’s return: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

17 Pressure to resolve war-crimes issue: Piccigallo, p. 47; Daws, p. 373; Awaya Kentaro, “The Tokyo Tribunal, War Responsibility and the Japanese People,” Shukan Kinboyi, December 23, 2005, translated by Timothy Amos; Ernie Hill, “Japan’s Revival,” Oakland Tribune, March 17, 1953.

18 “Christmas amnesty”: “Amnesty for 17 Top Jap War Suspects,” Lowell (Mass.) Sun, December 24, 1948; Dower, p. 454.

19 Kishi: Michael Schaller, “America’s Favorite War Criminal: Kishi Nobusuke and the Transformation of U.S.-Japan Relations,” This Is Yomiuri, August 1995.

20 Many defendants believed to be guilty: “Amnesty for 17 Top Jap War Suspects,” Lowell (Mass.) Sun, December 24, 1948.

21 Last man tried: Tom Lambert, “Last Trial Held on War Crimes by U.S. Tribunal,” Stars and Stripes, October 20, 1949; “All Known Japanese War Criminals Brought to Trial,” Independent (Long Beach, Calif.), October 20, 1949.

22 Sentences reduced: “War Criminal Is Due Parole,” Lubbock Evening Journal, March 7, 1950.

23 Treaty of Peace and reparations: Gary Reynolds, U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan, Congressional Research Service, December 17, 2002, pp. 3–9, 9–10.

24 Order for apprehension revoked: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

25 War criminals paroled, amnesty declared: Daws, p. 373; “U.S. Pardons Last 83 Japan War Criminals,” Stars and Stripes, December 31, 1958.

26 Watanabe blames war, not self: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, “I Do Not Want to Be Punished by America,” Bingei Shunjyu, April 1956, translated from Japanese.

27 “I was just in a great joy”: Ibid.

28 Watanabe’s postexile life: Lyon, p. 63; Martindale, p. 250.

29 Visited America, rumors that the Bird is alive: Draggan Mihailovich, email interview, August 3, 2007; Martindale, p. 249.

30 Daily Mail interviews with the Bird, Wade: Peter Hadfield and Clare Henderson, “Deathcamp Monster Finally Says I’m Sorry,” Daily Mail (London), August 20, 1995.

31 Naoetsu park movement: Yoshi Kondo, email interview, February 14, 2009; Shoichi Ishizuka, “About Naoetsu POW Camp,” Gaiko Forum, June 2006.

32 Mihailovich seeks the Bird, interview: Draggan Mihailovich, email interview, August 3, 2007; CBS Television, “48 Hours: Race to Freedom,” 1998.

33 Louie writes to the Bird: Louis Zamperini, letter to Mutsuhiro Watanabe, May 19, 1997; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.

34 The Bird refuses to see Louie: Draggan Mihailovich, email interview, August 3, 2007.

35 Watanabe dies: Yuichi Hatto, written interview, July 16, 2004.

36 Louie runs with torch: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Chris Boyd, “Legendary Zamperini Carries the ‘Eternal Flame,’ ” Palos Verdes Peninsula News, March 5, 1998; R. J. Kelly, “Olympic Torch Relay Rekindles Ex-POWs Flame of Forgiveness,” Stars and Stripes, January 30, 1998; “Zamperini: War Survival Was a Matter of Miracles,” Stars and Stripes, January 26, 1998.