Unbroken
"Devil At My Heels" is a book I received for Christmas. I couldn't stop reading it -- the true story of Louis Zamperini, a heroic Olympian survivor as a Japanese POW in World War II.
He faced incredible challenges after being shot down on a May 1943 bombing run in the Pacific Theater. He survived 47 days on a raft at sea and more than two years as a Japanese POW. Anyone wanting to see a real account of life as a prisoner of war will benefit. Louis Zamperini died recently at the age of 97.
The incredible story is made into a movie titled "Unbroken" and I went to see it ASAP. (Never been to a theater for years.) Why did it take so long (over 70 years ago)?
The USA Today, Dec. 24 edition features a story on this film -- the nationalists in Japan are denouncing the movie about an American airman brutalized in Japanese prison camps during World War II as propaganda -- boycotting the film. Why are they afraid of the truth -- people in Japan need to see how the POWs really were treated.
According to the U.S. Defense Department, nearly 40 percent of the Americans taken prisoner by the Japanese died in captivity. That compares with 1 percent of Americans who died in German POW camps. Zamperini and other POWs were beaten and starved at prison camps in Japan.
As a member of the Veterans Council of Northwest Arkansas, I feel the need to tell the plight of our POWs from all wars and conflicts. Lets hope our group will approve, say, three or four granite benches on the site of the former VFW Post 9063.
The VFW post home was razed recently due to constant flooding of the building. The site is adjacent to the Veterans Wall of Honor memorial. The theme for one of the granite benches could be information on POWs from all conflicts -- emblazed on the bench backrests. Our POWs should be honored, especially those that never came home.
Leonard Eisert
Bella Vista
Editorial on 01/21/2015