LOUIS SILVIE ZAMPERINI OLYMPIAN WWII VETERAN POW 8x10" HAND COLOR TINTED PHOTO

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Up for sale is an awesome 8 x 10" full color photo print of a hand oil tinted photograph featuring Louis Silvie "Louie" Zamperini, WWII Veteran & Olympian Athlete, 1943.This is a high-resolution (320 dpi/ 2,560 x 3,200 pixel) 8" x 10" vintage image, hand oil tinted and photo processed onto Fuji Film Archival Photo Paper. Fuji Film Archival Photo Paper is the highest quality paper and photo processing available. Fuji guarantees it not to fade for up to 70 years!Louis Silvie "Louie" Zamperini, WWII 1943Louis Silvie "Louie" Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II prisoner of war survivor, Christian inspirational speaker, and Olympic distance runner. Zamperini is the subject of two biographies and the 2014 film Unbroken.Early lifeZamperini was born January 26, 1917, in Olean, New York, to Italian immigrants Anthony Zamperini and Louise Dossi. He had an older brother named Pete and two younger sisters, Virginia and Sylvia. The family moved to Torrance, California, in 1919, where Louis attended Torrance High School. Zamperini and his family spoke no English when they moved to California, making him a target for bullies. His father taught him how to box in self-defense. Soon he claimed to be "beating the tar out of every one of them." He added, "but I was so good at it that I started relishing the idea of getting even. I was sort of addicted to it."High schoolTo counteract his knack for getting into trouble, his older brother Pete got Zamperini involved in the school track team where Pete was already a star. Pete took Louis on training runs, flogging him with a switch when he slacked off. At the end of his freshman year, he finished 5th in the All City C-division (small kids) 660-yard (600 m) run.It was the recognition, nobody in school, except for a few of my buddies, knew my name before I started running. Then, as I started winning races, other kids called me by name. Pete told me I had to quit drinking and smoking if I wanted to do well, and that I had to run, run, run. I decided that summer to go all out. Overnight I became fanatical. I wouldn’t even have a milkshake.After a summer of running in 1932, starting with his first cross-country race throughout the last three years of high school, Zamperini was undefeated. He started beating his brother's records. In 1934, Zamperini set a world interscholastic record for the mile, clocking in at 4:21.2 minutes at the preliminary meet to the California state championships. The following week, he won the CIF California State Meet championships with 4:27.8 minutes. That record helped him win a scholarship to the University of Southern California.In 1936, Zamperini decided to try out for the Olympics. In those days, athletes had to pay their way to the Olympic Trials, but since his father worked for the railroad, Louis could get a train ticket for free. A group of Torrance merchants raised enough money for the local hero to live on once he got there. The 1.500 metres was stacked that year with eventual silver medalist Glenn Cunningham, Archie San Romani and Gene Venzke all challenging to get on the team.Zamperini chose to run the 5,000 metres. On one of the hottest days of the year in Randalls Island, New York, the race saw co-favorite Norm Bright and several others collapse during the race. It was reported that 40 people died from the heat in Manhattan alone that week. With a sprint finish at the end, Zamperini finished in a dead-heat tie against American record-holder Don Lash and qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. At 19 years, 178 days, Zamperini is still the youngest American qualifier ever in the 5,000 meters.Olympic careerNeither Zamperini nor Lash were believed to have much chance of winning the 1936 Olympics 5000-meter race against world record holder Lauri Lehtinen. Zamperini later related several anecdotes from his Olympic experience, including gorging himself on the boat trip to Europe: "I was a Depression-era kid who had never even been to a drugstore for a sandwi... read more

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