Louis Zamperini | 1917 - 2014

Louis Zamperini, a bombardier in the Army Air Force, peers out of the hatch nose of a bomber. Zamperini survived 47 days adrift on a raft in the Pacific Ocean before being captured by Japanese soldiers. (Jack Rice / Associated Press)

July 3, 2014 9:01 AM PT

Louis Zamperini, a USC track star who became an inspirational speaker after surviving two years in a Japanese prisoner camp during World War II, died Wednesday. He was 97.

Brig. Gen. Isaiah Davics pins a pair of silver bombardier wings on Lt. Louis Zamperini in 1942. Zamperini was presumed dead when his aircraft crashed in the Pacific Ocean. (File photo / Associated Press)

Zamperini, then a captain, right, and Capt. Fred Garrett arrive at Hamilton Air Field in Novato, Calif., in 1945 after their release from a Japanese “punishment camp.” (PCS / Associated Press)

While competing in track and field at USC, Zamperini breaks the mile record with a time of 4:16.3 to win the Pacific Coast Conference Track and Field meet in 1939. (Paul Wagner / Associated Press)

Former Olympians John Naber helps Zamperini sign copies of his bestselling books at his home in 2011. Zamperini’s remarkable life story is the subject of “Unbroken,” the film based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book of the same name. Zamperini has also published a memoir, “Devil at My Heels.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The former track-and-field Olympian stands next to five Olympic torches he helped carry in five past Olympic Games. Zamperini stayed active throughout his life, giving up skiing only after he turned 91. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)