Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive

Although Oahu is on constant alert after the Pearl Harbor attack, going into a strict blackout at night, there is little for the men to do besides “sea search,” ocean flying patrols to watch for enemy planes. They patrol around the island, where Louie and Phil discover that several airfields are full of planes and equipment made only from plywood to fool the Japanese, information that “one day […] would be very important” (63).

Louie regularly plays practical jokes on his crewmates, such as placing gum in the plane’s urine relief tube or replacing his gum with laxatives as punishment for people stealing it. Eventually, they fly out to Wake Atoll, an island the Japanese took over and built a base.

The night of December 23, 1942, their 16-hour round trip mission is successful, destroying much of the base despite the Japanese returning fire. All 26 bombers make it back to Oahu, even as Super Man’s bay doors get stuck open and two of its engines quit. The men are lauded as heroes.

Throughout World War II, Louie’s job as a bomber is a notoriously dangerous one. It was estimated that one in every six planes was lost due to accidents, with “almost 36,000 airmen [dying] in nonbattle situations” (70). Problems like mechanical issues with the planes, harsh weather, small runways—especially on the Hawaiian islands, primitive navigation technology, and human error contributed to the dangers of being in the Air Corps. Additionally, when a plane emergency lands on water, the downed crew immediately deals with the dangers of the sea and the sharks within, with the odds of rescue minimal.

The airmen struggle with these dangers as well as the fear of capture by the Japanese and becoming prisoners of war (POWs). When Japan invaded China, they notoriously executed 90,000 POWs as well as an additional 100,000 to 300,000 civilians in brutal ways in the Rape of Nanking—an incident that stoked this fear for men in Louie’s regiment. Hillenbrand discusses how men attempted to battle this fear, including Phil’s good-luck charms and Louie’s attempts at reading the Bible, even though it “made no sense to him” (77).

Instead of funerals for downed airmen and due to their missing bodies, the men would instead open a deceased mate’s footlocker and drink from his liquor in honor of their passing.

On April 17, 1943, Louie and his crew transfer to Funafuti, a departure point for Nauru, on their way to destroy a Japanese base. Because of the island’s phosphate, used for making armaments, and its location just southwest of Hawaii, the small island was a dangerous place for the Japanese to occupy. However, the plans to attack the island from only eight thousand feet create a dangerous situation for the bombers.

During the attack on Nauru, enemy fire from the ground tears up Super Man. The plane sustains 594 holes, despite its successful bombing. As Louie’s crew attempts to return home, Japanese planes, “Zeros,” pursue and attack further. The attack injures men, including Stanley Pillsbury, their turret gunner and engineer. Their waist gunner, Harry Brooks, dies, despite Louis pulling him into the plane and attempting to doctor his wounds. Their hydraulic lines are destroyed, which makes their flight home impossible. However, despite their injuries and damage to the plane, the crew makes it back to Funafuti, where Phil heroically lands the plane without brakes.

Just one night after returning from Nauru, as the men are still recovering, Japanese bombers raid Funafuti. As men run for hiding places and cover, the bomb catches some. They lose limbs, suffer from burst eardrums, and even die from heart attacks. At the end of the raid, a row of B-24s that are loaded with bombs are destroyed, sparking the bombs and fuel reserves and causing it to feel as though “the whole island was blowing up” (89).

After the attack, Louie remarks on the damage and destruction. Although Super Man was spared from a direct hit, it will never fly again. With Brooks dead and three others injured too badly to fly, Phil’s crew is broken up and he returns to Hawaii, where he is transferred to the 42nd squadron of the 11th Bomb Group with six new crewmen, including tail gunner Sergeant Francis “Mac” McNamara.

He is introduced to the B-24 known as Green Hornet, which is barely able to stay airborne and is often used for parts to fix other planes.

On May 27, 1943, Louie awakens and runs his daily mile in 4:12—marking the incredible shape that he is still in.

That day, Louie and his crew head out to find a missing B-24 with Green Hornet for the job. Louie writes in his journal that “we were very reluctant, but Phillips finally gave in for rescue mission” (96). Before he leaves, Louie puts a note with his things, telling the person who finds it to “help yourself to the booze” (96).

The men travel alongside the plane Daisy Mae, piloted by Joe Deasy. However, shortly after takeoff, with the Green Hornet unable to keep up, Daisy Mae races ahead.

Due to cloud cover, Phil drops the plane to a very low eight hundred feet for the flight. Charleton Cuppernell, the co-pilot, also switches seats with Phil and flies the plane. As a result, when one engine quits, the plane is dangerously low to the ground, and Cuppernell, in the pilot’s seat, is unable to perform his usual job of “feathering” the dead engine to minimize drag. A new engineer comes forward to help, but instead feathers the wrong engine, causing a second engine to die. Falling through the sky, the men must prepare for their crash into the ocean.

Phil manages to make it out of the downed plane through the cockpit window, but Louie sinks with the plane, trapped and writhing amongst the wires and debris. As he passes out he thinks, “This is death,” but awakens moments later with the wires “inexplicably” gone (100). He thrashes and struggles then manages to find an open waist window. He throws himself out and inflates his life vest. He is carried to the surface, where he vomits salt water and fuel, but survives.