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Zamperini passed away at his home on Wednesday after battling pneumonia for over a month, Universal Pictures announced. Angelina Jolie said: 'It is a loss impossible to describe' Zamperini competed in the 5,000 meters in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In WWII, he was on an Air Forces bomber that crashed into the ocean and spent 47 days adrfit on a raft before being captured by the Japanese. He was a POW for 2 years and tortured before his release. His story was turned into a best-selling book and Jolie's movie about his life, 'Unbroken', is due out in December.

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World War II hero and former Olympic long-distance runner Louis Zamperini, whose life story was the subject of an upcoming movie directed by Angelina Jolie, has died aged 97. Universal Pictures, which was behind the film 'Unbroken', announced in a statement that the beloved war hero had passed away in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a long struggle with pneumonia. 'Having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini has never broken down from a challenge,' his family said in a statement. 'He recently faced the greatest challenge of his life with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives. Scroll down for video. Close: Louis Zamperini, right, has passed away, aged 97, after a long battle with pneumonia. Angelina Jolie, who has directed a movie about Zamperini's life, said the loss is 'impossible to describe' 'His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days.' Of his passing, Jolie added in a statement: 'It is a loss impossible. to describe. We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for. having known him. We will miss him terribly.' Zamperini. was the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book 'Unbroken: A. World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption,' which was. being turned into a film by Jolie. He was born in 1917 to Italian immigrants and became a world-class distance runner by the time he graduated from Torrance High School in California, setting a world interscholastic record in the mile. Athlete: Zamperini, then a University of Southern California freshman, is pictured at a meet in 1936 - the same year he came 8th in the 5,000 meter run at the Berlin Olympics. He caught attention for his final fast lap. Getting to work: Following his Olympics, Zamperini kept up the running and also worked as a spot welder with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. He is pictured on 20 November 1940. January 26, 1917 Louis Zamperini is born to Italian migrants in Olean, New York. The family moves to California three years later. 1932 He decides to start running at high school and by the time he graduates, he has set a interscholastic world record. 1936 Aged 19, he qualifies for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. He places 8th in the 5,000 meter run - but Hitler requests to meet him after his last lap was the fastest at 56 seconds. 1941 He enlists in the army and the following year he is deployed to a base in Washington before moving to Hamilton Airfield in California. May 27, 1943 While on a rescue mission, his plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean and he is one of just three survivors. They begin drifting on a raft. A week later, they have still not been found by U.S. forces and are declared dead. July 12, 1943 Zamperini and one other survivor (the third had passed away) are found by a Japanese Vessel after 47 days at sea. The men are taken to a POW in Yokohama. 1944 They are transferred to Omori POW camp where he endured torment. September 17, 1945 After Japan surrenders, Zamperini is taken home to a hero's welcome. 1946 He meets Cynthia Applewhite in a bar in March and five months later, they marry. 1949 He attends a sermon by Billy Graham and becomes a born-again Christian and inspirational speaker. 1950 He visits Sugamo Prison in Tokyo where the men who tortured him are being held as war criminals, and he hugs them. 1998 Aged 81, Zamperini heads to Japan for the winter games in Nagano and runs a leg in the torch relay. He tries to meet with his main torturer from his POW days, but the man refuses to see him. 2010 Laura Hillenbrand's book about Zamperini's life, 'Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption' becomes a best seller. 2013 Angelina Jolie signs on to direct the movie based on the book. The film will be released in December 2014. July 2, 2014 Zamperini passes away in Los Angeles after a long battle with pneumonia. He won a scholarship to USC and at age 19, he qualified to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He. finished eighth but caught attention by running the final lap in 56. seconds, which led Adolf Hitler to request a personal meeting with him. In. World War II, he was a bombardier on a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber that. crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a reconnaissance mission. He and the. only other survivor among the crew survived 47 days adrift on a raft in. shark-infested waters before being captured by Japanese forces. He spent. more than two years as a prisoner of war, surviving torture. In September 1945, he returned to California to a hero's welcome. After. the war, in 1946, he married Cynthia Applewhite in a bar and married her in August 1946. They stayed. married until her death in 2001 and had two children, Cissy and Luke. He worked as a Christian inspirational speaker and preached about the power of forgiveness. In an extraordinary show of forgiveness in 1950, he went to Sugamo Prison in Tokyo where Japanese war criminals were being held and hugged the men that had tortured him years earlier. Universal added in its statement that 'Louis. was truly one of a kind'. 'He lived the most remarkable life, not because. of the many unbelievable incidents that marked his near century’s worth. of years, but because of the spirit with which he faced every one of. them,' it said. 'Confronting. challenges that would cause most of us to surrender, Louie always. persevered and always prevailed, and he spent the better part of his. lifetime sharing the message that you could do the same.' The. studio said that they would push on with the release of the film 'with a. renewed sense of responsibility in bringing Louie’s abundant life and. indomitable spirit to the screen'. Jolie previously told the Today show that the project gave her life new meaning. 'I've. been sitting in my room laying there thinking, "What am I supposed to. be doing with my life? I want do something important",' she said. '"I. need some help. I need some guidance. Where is it?" And it was right. outside my window' - she said, referring to Zamperini, who was her. neighbor in Los Angeles. '[It's]. such a huge responsibility to get it right. Because I love him so. much,' she said. 'And because he's helped me so much in my life.' Skins actor Jack O'Connell stars as Louis. Garrett Hedlund and About Time actor Domhnall Gleeson also appear in the film. Fighting for his country: Zamperini is pictured left in March 1941 during his training with U.S. Army Air Corps and right during his induction into the Army by Maj. A. E. Merrill in September 1941 in Los Angeles. Freed: During WWII, Zamperini (third right) and Fred Garrett (left) were seized by Japanese forces and held as POWs for two years. They are pictured arriving back in California in 1945. Garrett's leg was amputated by their torturers. Love of his life: He is pictured after his wedding ceremony to Cynthia Applewhite on 20 May, 1946. They had two children, a son and a daughter, and remained married until her death in 2001. '[The world] can seem hopeless and it can seem very overwhelming,' Jolie added.  'But the resilience and the strength of the human spirit is an extraordinary thing.' In May, Zamperini was named grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. 'When the book was written the writer wanted 15 of my college buddies to interview. That scared me,' he said when the announcement was made. 'But she interviewed 15 of 'em and then she wanted to interview 16 of my war buddies that were in prison with me. 'And now after the book was finished all of my college buddies are dead, all of my war buddies are dead. It's sad to realize that you've lost all your friends. But I think I made up for it. I made a new friend - Angelina Jolie. And the gal really loves me, she hugs me and kisses me, so I can't complain.' Loss: Zamperini is pictured in May in Pasadena after he was named grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade.