Cissy Zamperini: When was Cynthia Applewhite Born?

Cynthia Applewhite is the wife of Louis Zamperini, an internationally respected and affecting speaker on forgiveness. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, one of Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling novels, introduced Zamperini’s life. In 2014, Angelina Jolie directed a film based on his life called Unbroken, which was followed by a sequel in 2015.

Cynthia Applewhite, a harsh person who was facing sadness, gave Louis the means to recover himself with the help of preacher Billy Graham.

Cynthia Applewhite was born on what date?

Clayton, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA, January 20, 1926

Cynthia Applewhite met Louis Zamperini in what way?

One day on Miami Beach, while relaxing with a drink, Louis saw Cynthia first. He quickly realised that she would have been an ideal companion for me. He soon expressed his feelings for her, and they were planning their wedding in around fourteen days.

Applewhite, Cynthia

Cynthia Applewhite and her significant other Louis; Image courtesy of the Billy Graham Library.
Louis Zamperini and Cynthia Applewhite Marriage
Cynthia and Zamperini married on May 25, 1946.

Their wedding ceremony was rushed, which no sure caused consternation among Cynthia’s family members. It was on their wedding night when Cynthia informed her family about their marriage.

Life seemed normal for Louis and Cynthia at first, but his wounded as a POW haunted him throughout. He was just 30 years old and unemployed after quitting the military. He was staying at the mother’s house of one of his close friends. Later, Louis was involved in a few projects that let him gather some money, which helped him lease a little apartment in Los Angeles.

Louis used to have frequent horrible nightmares as a result of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which prompted him to utilise illegal drugs. Cynthia became pregnant with their most remarkable child, Cissy, in the spring of 1948. Louis was overjoyed, but it also made him more depressed since he needed to be a much better person.

Louis choked pregnant Cynthia one evening, thinking it was Mutsuhiro Watanabe, also known as bird (the Japanese jail camp authority). Things escalated when Cynthia discovered that Louis was aggressively shaking their daughter. She’d had enough and wanted to get away.

Because Cynthia was nearby, Louis’ life had taken a turn for the better. She persuades Louis to meet Billy, the preacher, after attending a speech by a fairly unknown evangelist about then named Billy Graham. If she hadn’t done that, we would never have heard the great narrative of forgiveness and empathy, and Louie would not have been a very popular person. Billy Graham’s performance let him realise his mistakes and enabled him to forgive those who had harmed him throughout WWII.