Exploring the central principles of resilience through the portrayal of PoW Louis Zamperini in ‘Unbroken’

Resilience is a theme we have probably all been thinking about over the last year as we have been delivering in extreme circumstances with the additional pressures of home schooling and without the relief of being able to see family and friends.

I’ve been thinking about writing a piece on resilience since Covid hit and whilst I have given it a lot of thought, the inspiration to write would not come to me.  Until last night. 

If you follow my blog, you will know that inspiration for my musings often comes from film or television and the source of my motivation today is a result of the film ‘unbroken’. This true story of World War II veteran, Louis Zamperini, provided a raw demonstration of resilience which has moved me to write this piece.

The film shared the true story of a young airman who survived 47 days in the ocean after the bomber he was flying, crash landed and left him and two others stranded at sea. Only two of them survived the ordeal when they were captured by the crew of a Japanese war ship and taken to a prisoner of war camp.

Zamperini had been an Olympic athlete and, having not read the reviews, I had been expecting an uplifting film, focused on his triumphs and achievements.  Instead, this was a film about one man’s courage and his fight to survive through the darkest of days.

This extreme example has enabled me to sum up the central principles of resilience which I have observed in others and have been crystalised for me through the telling of this story. We are lucky that many of us will never have to face such an extreme test but many have over the history of time and here are some fundamental principles that can help us to get through challenging times.

1. If you can take it, you can make it – Louis had a mantra that was instilled in him by his brother.  This mantra gave him focus and strength to endure through the most difficult of circumstances.  We know that negative self-talk is defeating so at all times, especially those which we find most testing, we need to repeat a positive mantra in order to overcome and keep going.
   
2. One day at a time – when you are faced with a major challenge and no end in sight, you need to hunker down and face one day at a time. Louis was in the very worst of conditions, where thinking about how long he might be trapped in those conditions would only make the ordeal impossible to face. Instead, he concentrated on what was immediately in front of him and lived in that exact moment with the central belief that ‘this too will pass’.
   
3. Values & purpose – being true to his values and purpose in life, gave Louis strength to face his tormentors.  There was a point where he was offered the chance to escape the horrors of the prison camp but what they were asking him to do went against his values and so he refused.  His character shone through, and whilst it angered the prison commander, it made him truly ‘unbreakable’.  As long as you know what you stand for and keep the reason for your being at the centre of your work, you will have a driving force that keep you going, no matter how difficult you find it sometimes.

Does this article resonate with you? Do you have a story to share about resilience? Let us know in the comments below.

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Image by Pavlofox from Pixabay

Humanity, courage and integrity: how Winters inspires values-based leadership in HBO’s Band of Brothers

From the very first episode of Band of Brothers, I have wanted to write about the leadership theme within the series and this need has grown ever stronger as the series has progressed.

In Episode 1, ‘Curahee’, we meet Captain Sobel, Commander of Easy Company whose drive for excellence makes the group of paratroopers stand out from the crowd.  The way Sobel achieves this though is through misuse of power rather than respect.  The soldiers of Easy Company think he hates them because of the way he pushes and tests them to do better all the time.

It’s also clear that the Captain is useless in the field, putting the lives of the men at risk and trying to cover up for that by exerting his authority.

An early scene shows Winters’ values, courage and integrity as he is unfairly disciplined by Sobel and rather than accept a punishment when he has done nothing wrong, he requests trial by court martial which leads to the platoon demonstrating strong support for him and really is Sobel’s downfall.

As the series progresses, we see a contrasting leadership style in Winters who starts the series as platoon leader and finishes as a Major which is demonstration of his skills.  It is the values of Winters and how they inform his actions that have inspired me to write this post. 

What you can see in Winters is that he cares about the men he is responsible for, so much that he is willing to put his own life on the line.  From the beginning, he demonstrates great courage and as a result, they trust and follow him.

In Episode 2, ‘Day of Days’, Winters charges ahead and tells them to only follow on his command.  In Episode 7, ‘The Breaking Point’, he can see that the Officer in charge – Officer Dyke – is being completely ineffective and putting lives at risk so he starts to run towards them to take over only to be reminded of his post at which point he promptly orders someone else to go and takeover.

The ultimate example for me was in Episode 8, ‘The Last Patrol’, one of the later episodes when he effectively disobeys orders to prevent needless deaths.  At this point in the series, they are extremely close to defeating the Germans and ending the war.  The night before, they had been asked to send a patrol to capture German soldiers that they know have based themselves in a building the other side of a river in the French town of Hagenau. 

A patrol is chosen and they complete the mission with just one life lost.  Because they achieved a good outcome, Lieutenant Colonel Sink commands that another patrol be scheduled for a second night.  All are dismayed and Winters cannot see anything further to be gained from sending a patrol for a second night.  They have taken prisoners from the first mission and capturing more would not give them any additional intelligence.  When Winters brings the men together, he gives instruction of the mission in line with his orders. He then goes on to tell them to get a full night’s sleep and report to him in the morning that they went on patrol but were unable to take any prisoners.  This to me is evidence that he cares about the men and values their lives.  So much that he is willing to risk his own career by disobeying what they all thought were unnecessary orders. 

Many of the men at Hagenau had been on the frontline, in battle, many times and Winters believed it was a high price for them to lose their lives so close to the end of the war when there was nothing to be gained from the mission.  To me, this act showed courage and integrity, saving the lives of his men.

Whilst I’m sure there may have been some artistic license used in making this series, the characters portrayed are from true life and provide narrative around the drama.  Richard ‘Dick’ Winters was recognised many times through awards for his contribution.  Despite this, Winters remained humble about his military service.  At the end of the series, Winters quotes a passage from Sergeant Myron “Mike” Ranney: “I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, ‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said ‘No…but I served in a company of heroes’.”

Whilst I read extensively about human rights and the effects of war, I was unsure about whether this series would be for me.  What I discovered was an inspirational story of humanity, courage and leadership which I felt compelled to share with others.

END NOTE: This blog post marks Remembrance Day 2020 and is published in memory of all those who gave their lives so that we can be free.

This year, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the Royal British Legion is relying on digital donations to support their annual Poppy Appeal which supports members of the armed forces and their families. If you have something to spare, please donate here.

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