Torrance, CA

Torrance is in Southern California, and it is about 20 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles.  It has its own beach (Torrance Beach), and the Del Amo Mall used to be the longest mall in the United States (1982).  Every year in May, there is an Armed Forces Day parade that goes down Torrance Blvd, and in January, the city enters a float for the Rose Bowl parade that is seen all over the world!

Torrance's sister city is Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, and each city sends high school and college students as exchange students.

Also, there is a wonderful community college called El Camino College.


Some famous people from Torrance are:
Michelle Kwan (Olympic figure skater)
Chuck Norris (martial artist and actor)
Quentin Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill)
Louis Zamperini (HERO)

Louis Zamperini went to Torrance High School in 1932.  He was a juvenile delinquent, so his older brother told him to join the track team to help him channel his energy into something positive instead of a detriment.  He was so good that he ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics (even met Hitler since Hitler was astonished by Zamperini's quickness), and at the end of the Olympics, he climbed a flagpole and stole Hitler's personal flag. He facetiously said, "I am the leader of the world!" after stealing Hitler's flag.

He also fought during WWII, and his airplane was shot down into the ocean.  He floated in the ocean for 47 days, then, he was captured by the Japanese and held as a Prisoner of War for 2 years.  He was tortured and beaten, but he was able to survive until the end of the war.  His story was made into a movie directed by Angelina Jolie called Unbroken.  Sadly, Mr. Zamperini died on July 2, 2014 right before the movie was released.  He was 97 years old. He is the hero of Torrance, CA, and the Torrance High School football field and the Torrance airport are both named after him (Zamperini Field and Zamperini Airport).