The Torrance Tornado (Louis's Early Life & Running)
The California city where Louis Zamperini grew up as a mischievous, troublemaking youth before finding focus in track and field. (Chapter 1)
What is Torrance?
The name of the B-24 Liberator bomber that crashed into the Pacific Ocean on a search-and-rescue mission on May 27, 1943. (Chapter 11)
What is Green Hornet?
The brutal Japanese prison camp commander nicknamed "The Bird" who singled out Louis for relentless psychological and physical torture.
(Chapter 23)
Who is Mutsuhiro Watanabe?
The pilot of the Green Hornet and Louis's close friend who survived both the plane crash and the entire 47-day raft ordeal alongside him. (Chapter 6)
Who is Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips?
After returning home, Louis struggled with severe PTSD, night terrors, and alcoholism, which pushed his marriage to the brink of this. (Chapter 34)
What is divorce?
At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Louis set a record for his lightning-fast final lap in the 5,000-meter event, drawing praise from this dictator. (Chapter 4)
Who is Adolf Hitler?
Louis and Mac survived on the raft in part by catching and eating raw birds, small fish, and these dangerous aquatic predators. (Chapter 14)
What are sharks?
The secret, unregistered POW camp near Tokyo where Louis was taken for interrogation, beatings, and medical experimentation. (Chapter 19)
What is Ofuna?
The Japanese student and USC acquaintance of Louis who was later exposed as a Japanese spy operating in Southern California before the war. (Chapter 5)
Who is Kunichi James Sasaki?
The famous evangelist whose 1949 Los Angeles crusade meeting inspired Louis to forgive his captors and overcome his inner trauma. (Chapter 37)
Who is Billy Graham?
Louis’s older brother, who recognized his running potential, coached him, and turned his life away from juvenile delinquency. (Chapter 2)
Who is Pete Zamperini?
The total number of days Louis Zamperini and Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips survived adrift on the raft before being captured by the Japanese. (Chapter 17)
What is 47 days?
To humiliate and break Louis, "The Bird" forced him to lift and hold a heavy wooden beam over his head, which Louis held for over this length of time before collapsing. (Chapter 29)
What is 37 minutes?
The name of the original B-24 Liberator bomber crewed by Louis and his team, which survived severe battle damage during the raid on Nauru. (Chapter 6)
What is Super Man?
Louis's wife, who persuaded him to attend the revival meeting that ultimately transformed his post-war life.
(Chapter 34)
Who is Cynthia Applewhite?
Before entering the military, Louis was a collegiate track star attending this Southern California university.
(Chapter 5)
What is the University of Southern California (USC)?
The airman who panicked early on the raft, ate all the emergency chocolate rations, but later died at sea while redeeming himself during a shark attack.
(Chapter 13)
Who is Francis "Mac" McNamara?
The Japanese military code of honor that treated surrendering soldiers as dishonorable, justifying the cruel treatment of POWs. (Chapter 18)
What is Bushido?
The US officer and fellow POW at Ofuna who organized a secret intelligence network inside the camp and helped map out air force targets. (Chapter 21)
Who is John Fitzgerald?
In 1998, at the age of 81, Louis returned to Japan to carry the Olympic torch during the Winter Games held in this city. (Chapter: Epilogue)
What is Nagano?
In high school, Louis set a national high school record for running this distance in 4:21.2, a record that stood for nearly 20 years. (Chapter 3)
What is the mile?
While trapped in a severe storm on the raft, Louis made a vow to God that if he survived, he would devote his life to this. (Chapter 17)
What is Christian service / religious devotion?
The remote prison camp near the Sea of Japan where Louis was transferred after "The Bird" was reassigned, only to find the commander had been transferred there as well. (Chapter 27)
What is Naoetsu?
The heroic US Marine commander and fellow prisoner who attempted to escape multiple times, led subtle camp resistance, and was brutally beaten to death shortly before the war ended. (Chapter 21)
Who is William "Bill" Harris?
The non-profit camp Louis established in California to help troubled youth through outdoor adventure and discipline. (Chapter 38)
What is the Victory Boys Camp?