Utah native served with main character in ‘Unbroken’

OREM — When the movie “Unbroken” opens Christmas Day, one Utah family will be among those most eager to see it.

Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner, World War II bombardier and prisoner of war, is the central character of the film based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand and directed by Angelina Jolie.

They flew in different planes with different crews, but Zamperini and Draper resident Jesse Stay shared victories, losses and friendship in World War II.

Stay joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941 and served as a pilot in the South Pacific during World War II.

When Zamperini arrived in Hawaii at the start of the war, he was housed in officers' barracks with 14 other men — including Stay.

Zamperini was a bombardier. He and Stay flew bombing and mining missions out of Hawaii together.

“They would take over islands one at a time and would hop cross the Pacific until they finally got to Japan,” said Greg Stay, Jesse’s son.

Zamperini’s plane went down in 1943.

“That’s when their stories separated for the war,” Greg Stay said. “Louis spent the rest of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. Dad continued to island hop in until they got to Japan.”

Tim Stay, also one of Jesse Stay’s sons, said his father participated in the search and rescue mission for Zamperini’s plane, but they didn’t find it.

Zamperini and his pilot survived 47 days in a lifeboat at sea before drifting to an island in the Marshall Islands, where they were captured by the Japanese. Zamperini and his pilot were tortured in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps.

They were unbroken, but Jesse Stay's sons say their father was the only one from that squadron to came home unscathed.

"It's amazing to think of how they stepped up and did the job with a lot of fear and trepidation, but they did it," Tim Stay said.

Jesse Stay flew 50 search and rescue missions and 40 combat missions, according to Tim Stay.

The war stories they heard from their dad as kids often included Zamperini.

“He thought very highly of Louis Zamperini,” Tim Stay said, "and talked about him being an Olympic runner, and him stealing a Nazi flag and being chased by the SS.”

The SS originated as the elite guard of the Nazi Party. Later, SS units were fanatical soldiers and concentration camp guards.

Years after the war, Jesse Stay received a call from Laura Hillenbrand, the author of "Seabiscuit." Hillenbrand wanted to interview him about Zamperini. A number of Jesse Stay’s stories and notes are in the book.

“He was a great man and accomplished a lot in his life,” Greg Stay said of his father.

Back at home, Jesse Stay received two Distinguishing Flying Crosses, founded the Air Force ROTC at BYU and trained over 1,000 cadets. He remained in the Air Force until 1968 and was awarded the Congressional Legion of Merit for his service as the director of defense information for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. He retired as a colonel.

Jesse Stay served several ecclesiastical duties in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including mission president, counselor in the Los Angeles Temple presidency and as stake patriarch for the LDS Church. He also raised seven children with his wife, Helen.

“He was a very humble person and never bragged about it,” said son Randy Stay. He shared stories, but “they were to inspire patriotism, inspire humor or inspire love.”

Greg Stay took his parents to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., before his father died in 2008. At first, Jesse Stay did not want to go. But while he was at the memorial, strangers thanked him for what he had done in the war, Greg Stay said.

“At the end, he was moved. He said, ‘I appreciate that. This was a good thing,’” Greg Stay said.

Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc

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