Unbroken

I've been on vacation and finally had time to catch up on a few books I've wanted to read for some time. One of those books was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. A colleague loaned it to me recently and I wanted to be able to return it after our vacation. 

In case you haven't read it, but would like to, I won't share everything that happens.  I was moved so deeply by all the insurmountable scenarios Louis Zamperini (main character) overcame in his life. I cannot fathom being lost at sea, shot at by enemy aircraft, laying in a ditch as bombs were dropped all around me on an island, surviving on a raft adrift at sea for almost two months and then facing unbelievable types of torture and degradation as a POW. So many men and women in uniform sacrificed so much for our country and our freedoms.  

This book was specifically about World War II so of course some particular battles come to mind: Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Midway, Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Saipan.  But other battles were just as important along the way. Some times it was a small island in the middle of the Pacific that could serve as a runway or refueling spot. Other times it was a small village takeover edging Americans and Alllied forces ever closer to pushing the atrocities of Hitler's regime to a standstill. Each step along the way was important.  In Zamperini's case, he had just survived an amazing air battle and a bombing on Funafeti. His plane was practically destroyed. He and others were tasked to go find a missing plane that was suspected to have gone down. It was on this reconnaissance mission that his plane crashed and not in battle. 

As I read this book, I couldn't help but think of my grandfather. Knowing my Pappaw was a Marine in this war has always made me want to learn more about it. One of the things he mentioned in his stories was eating the best steak of his life in Hawaii with his Lieutenant. He was driving him around the island that day and he said, "Hey Fats-  (evidently one of his nicknames- but he was far from fat!) get cleaned up and we will go get a steak."

Mr. Zamperini talked about getting one of the best steaks of his life at a PY Chong's in Honolulu. I found myself wondering if Pappaw went there. Pappaw also talked about the amazing pineapple. He loved walking up and cutting one down and eating it right there on the spot. 

Mr. Zamperini suffered unbelievable atrocities and I am thankful Pappaw wasn't captured. But Pappaw was at Iwo Jima. He was on a boat and came in behind the first wave of infantry.  He helped build an airstrip, unarm landmines and defend the beach against Japanese. 

He talked about Mt. Suribachi and how they had a gun that came out from inside the mountain. It took them a while to figure that out because they'd open a hole, roll it out and shoot down US servicemen. They'd roll it back inside before anyone could figure out what happened. He also watched as the soldiers placed the American flag on the top of Mt. Suribachi- the iconic photo we've all seen many times. 

He told me about spending nights in a foxhole he dug out defending the beach and how they'd get so excited to have fruit cocktail in a can with their meal. His friend helped with food rations and would give him an extra one and that was a real treat. 

He was at Iwo Jima for almost a month. They sent his group back to Hawaii. Then they went to Nagasaki. He was there within 8-9 days of the bomb being dropped. He wouldn't say much about it to us. He told my mom that he saw bodies or the outline of them still on the concrete where they'd been vaporized. He saw many people that were severely injured. 

It made me think of Mr. Zamperini's description of going back through Japan when the ear was over and seeing so much destroyed, burned out or charred. He also mentioned seeing small children drilling like infantry and large machines in people's homes making items for the war. The people of Japan had been programmed to believe in the Imperial Empire and retreat or surrender wasn't an option. 

Pappaw spent 9.5 months in "Occupied Japan" after the war, cleaning up from the bombs, dismantling landmines and helping build shelters. He then came home and found a job, married my Mammaw and had a family.  He stayed in touch with many of the men he served with in the war. They got together every other year or so in different places. They wrote and called. My mom talked to te only two still living when Pappaw passed away almost two years ago. Their bond was sealed forever by the experiences they had shared. 

He rarely discussed the war and never did so with bombastic pleasure. He was always quiet and thoughtful, almost reverent in his discussion. He never brought it up but would occasionally answer questions in his last few years with us. He volunteered for the service and was a humble man. 

I asked him one time if he ever shot anyone. He said he fired his gun, but never knew that he shot anyone. He had prayed he didn't. But he said they certainly would've shot him. He saw people die in front of him. He saw the horrific destruction after the bombs. He was forever changed and impacted by that time. But he, like Zamperini, remained unbroken in spirit. 

Their stories need to be told. Our sons and daughters need to learn from this "greatest generation" and embrace our heritage and move us forward with a renewed sense of purpose and passion serving first God and then country. 

I am grateful to authors like Laura Hillenbrand for investing their time and talents into researching and telling these stories. May we never forget them or their sacrifice!