Description
Louis Zamperini, an American distance runner, finished in 8th place at the 1936 Olympics in the 5000 meters. In WWII, he served as a lieutenant in the Army Air Forces. During a search and rescue mission, his plane crashed at sea due to mechanical problems. The crew of 3 drifted on a raft for 47 days before landing on the Japanese-occupied Marshall Islands. Zamperini was interred in four prisoner-of-war camps where he was beaten and tortured due to his status as a famous Olympic runner by prison guard Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe, who was included in Douglas MacArthur’s list of the 40 most wanted Japanese war criminals. After the war, Zamperini became a Christian evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. He was the subject of the book Unbroken, which later became a film.
World War II
The Second World War lasted between 1939 and 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world’s countries. The two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis powers involved more than 30 countries. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict and two nuclear weapons were deployed for the first time. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history resulting in over 80 million fatalities, most were civilians who died due to genocides, starvation, and disease. The U.S. declared war against Japan in 1941 after it attacked Pearl Harbor bringing the U.S. into conflict with all the Axis countries. War crime tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders, in the wake of the Axis defeat.
This Louis Zamperini History Mug is part of the World War II series.
The biographical History Mugs were created to teach and inspire individuals to learn about our diverse and interesting history. The biographies were researched and written by history enthusiast, Robert Compton. He colorized most of the historic photos and images used on the mugs, which were originally black and white or sepia-tone. The images and biographies are imprinted on mugs at his studio in rural Vermont.
- Mugs are food and microwave safe.
- To preserve photographic quality we recommend hand washing.
- Mugs are usually shipped within 3-5 days.
