Everyone Italian in America
LOUIE ZAMPERINI “NEW” ITALIAN AMERICAN HERO
First of all let me be the first to propose the Co-Grand Marshals for next year’s New York City Columbus Day Parade 2012 …..
Of course 25 year old Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Salvatore Giunta ( who should have been chosen this year ) …..
…… along with 93 year old Louie Zamperini. No need to explain again why Sgt. Giunta but allow me to introduce Louie Zamperini.
Louie Zamperini is being Hailed everywhere. After 93 years of life.
In fact he has always been famous to an extent since his high school days during the 1930s in Torrance, California but ….
.... most of all because of a book about his life just published titled “Unbroken” being lauded far and wide. Fabulous reviews in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and everywhere else you turn. It would seem guaranteed to be a Best Seller this Christmas Season.
It says a lot about Zamperini his heroic resiliency, fame, fortune, and the power of media.
For Italian Americans based on this foundation Louie Zamperini represents something far more. A Symbol of the best Italian Americans have to offer. The question remains will the Italian American community embrace him as a legendary Italian American. A hero beyond his own life. A role model for generations. So far it has not except for a nod from the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
OR will this be just one more failure for a Community without real leadership or vision. Let alone imagination. It remains to be seen. Certainly Zamperini is not shy about his life or his adventures.
Even at 93 Louie Zamperini makes appearances around the nation as a motivational speaker from his home in southern California.
The most useful way to sum up Zamperini’s appeal and value as an Italian American hero a legend is his personal resiliency and courage along with his physical talents and leadership skills which have expressed themselves throughout his life.
Most of all in his athletic talents as an Olympic runner who could have but did not become the first human to run a 4 minute mile. World War II interfered with, ended that Dream while opening another remarkable chapter of his life. A truly incredible story of survival against all the Odds.
Even more Zamperini’s life as expressed through his experiences in World War II place him all told in a rarified atmosphere. It would be difficult if not impossible to find an Italian American with a more compelling lifetime story. One he is still writing at the age of 93 active, alert and undaunted by age.
I had intended to make this a long post in praise of Louie Zamperini but the new book about his life “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand and a fascinating 60 Minutes profile from 2009 do a far better job than I might. At least relieve me of the need to try.
Will Sgt. Giunta and Louie Zamperini lead the march up Fifth Avenue on Columbus Day 2012 ? They should. What a unique pair they would make. One very young the other very old. Both true Italian American heroes. Both deserve the honor more than any other two Italian Americans alive today.
Even more what their selection will speak in glorious terms about the reality and the promise of the Italian American community eclipsing the typically mundane role models held up that too often characterizes Italian American “celebrity.”
We’ll see.
You can find the book "Unbroken" at Amazon and everywhere ….
http://tinyurl.com/3ahws8r
And here is the 60 Minutes profile in 4 YouTube segments ….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjN9cu-TDc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1a_FxikeT0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bTI6bA2Fs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qa9PWBM1EM&feature=related
Of course 25 year old Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Salvatore Giunta ( who should have been chosen this year ) …..
…… along with 93 year old Louie Zamperini. No need to explain again why Sgt. Giunta but allow me to introduce Louie Zamperini.
Louie Zamperini is being Hailed everywhere. After 93 years of life.
In fact he has always been famous to an extent since his high school days during the 1930s in Torrance, California but ….
.... most of all because of a book about his life just published titled “Unbroken” being lauded far and wide. Fabulous reviews in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and everywhere else you turn. It would seem guaranteed to be a Best Seller this Christmas Season.
It says a lot about Zamperini his heroic resiliency, fame, fortune, and the power of media.
For Italian Americans based on this foundation Louie Zamperini represents something far more. A Symbol of the best Italian Americans have to offer. The question remains will the Italian American community embrace him as a legendary Italian American. A hero beyond his own life. A role model for generations. So far it has not except for a nod from the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
OR will this be just one more failure for a Community without real leadership or vision. Let alone imagination. It remains to be seen. Certainly Zamperini is not shy about his life or his adventures.
Even at 93 Louie Zamperini makes appearances around the nation as a motivational speaker from his home in southern California.
The most useful way to sum up Zamperini’s appeal and value as an Italian American hero a legend is his personal resiliency and courage along with his physical talents and leadership skills which have expressed themselves throughout his life.
Most of all in his athletic talents as an Olympic runner who could have but did not become the first human to run a 4 minute mile. World War II interfered with, ended that Dream while opening another remarkable chapter of his life. A truly incredible story of survival against all the Odds.
Even more Zamperini’s life as expressed through his experiences in World War II place him all told in a rarified atmosphere. It would be difficult if not impossible to find an Italian American with a more compelling lifetime story. One he is still writing at the age of 93 active, alert and undaunted by age.
I had intended to make this a long post in praise of Louie Zamperini but the new book about his life “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand and a fascinating 60 Minutes profile from 2009 do a far better job than I might. At least relieve me of the need to try.
Will Sgt. Giunta and Louie Zamperini lead the march up Fifth Avenue on Columbus Day 2012 ? They should. What a unique pair they would make. One very young the other very old. Both true Italian American heroes. Both deserve the honor more than any other two Italian Americans alive today.
Even more what their selection will speak in glorious terms about the reality and the promise of the Italian American community eclipsing the typically mundane role models held up that too often characterizes Italian American “celebrity.”
We’ll see.
You can find the book "Unbroken" at Amazon and everywhere ….
http://tinyurl.com/3ahws8r
And here is the 60 Minutes profile in 4 YouTube segments ….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjN9cu-TDc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1a_FxikeT0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bTI6bA2Fs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qa9PWBM1EM&feature=related
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