Survived 47 Days On A Raft, Two Years In Japanese Prison Camps After His Airplane Went Down In WWII

The man chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade has sadly Gone West before being able to ride in the parade.

Louis Zamperini had been a bombardier during WWII when his airplane went down in the Pacific Ocean. Zamperini survived on a life raft for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese and spending the rest of the war in prison camps, where he was often tortured.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that before the war, Zamparini had been a track star. He competed in the 5,000 meter run in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. While he did not finish with a medal, he won notice by finishing the final lap in just 56 seconds.

His life story was the subject of a best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand titled "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption". It had been adapted into a screenplay directed by Angelina Jolie. The film is scheduled for release in December.

Zamparini passed away at the age of 97 and was reportedly surrounded by his family when he died.

(U.S. Army Photo)

FMI: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Zamperini