| Robert | Allard | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Everett | Almond | Reading's navigator. |
| Jean | Amery | Holocaust survivor. |
| Otto | Anderson | Green Hornet gunner. |
| Cynthia | Applewhite | Louie's wife. |
| Mr. | Applewhite | Cynthia's father. |
| Mrs. | Applewhite | Cynthia's mother. |
| Hap | Arnold | American general of the Army and Air forces. |
| Jean | Balch | One of the POWs. |
| Roger | Bannister | British middle-distance athlete. |
| | Belle | Pratte's bomber. |
| Fonnie | Black Ladd | Marine. |
| Toots | Bowersox | Cheerleader. |
| "Pappy" | Boyington | Ofuna survivor. |
| Jack | Brady | One of the POWs. |
| Norman | Bright | Old school teacher. |
| Georgie | Bright Kunkel | Norman Bright's sister. |
| Harry | Brooks | Radioman and waist gunner. |
| Jeannette | Burtscher | Harry Brook's fiancé. |
| Lewis | Bush | British photographer, writer. |
| Joe | Byrne | One of the POWs. |
| James | Carringer Jr. | Bombardier. |
| John | Casey | Runner. |
| Iris | Chang | Historian. |
| Nikajima | Chikuhei | Japanese politician. |
| Thorbjorn | Christiansen | Norwegian sailor. |
| Winston | Churchill | Former British Prime minister. |
| Derek | Clarke | One of the POWs. |
| Matt | Clift | Australian POW. |
| Martin | Cohn | Ordnance officer on Oahu. |
| Dallas | Cook | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Jonathan | Coxwell | Pilot. |
| Iris | Cummings | American aviator. |
| Ferron | Cummins | Japanese prisoner. |
| Glenn | Cunningham | Greatest miler in American history. |
| Charleton Hugh | Cuppernell | Moznette's replacement. |
| Clarence | Curpening | Pilot. |
| Richard | Davis | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Olivia | de Havilland | American-British-French actress. |
| Leslie | Dean | Crewman. |
| Joe | Deasy | Fighter pilot. |
| Tom | Dekard | Lash's teammate. |
| Cecil B. | DeMille | Film director. |
| Marlene | Dietrich | German-American actress and singer. |
| Jimmy | Doolittle | American general and aviation pioneer. |
| Gildo | Dossi | Louie's uncle. |
| Clarence | Douglas | Engineer. |
| Frederick | Douglass | American social reformer. |
| Ernest | Duva | One of the kitchen laborers. |
| Amelia | Earhart | American aviator. |
| Henry | Eriksson | Swedish Olympic athlete. |
| John | Falconer | Survivor of Bataan Death March. |
| Chuck | Fenske | Wisconsin track and field's player. |
| John | Fitzgerald | American politician. |
| Harvey | Flammer | Firefighter. Sylvia's husband. |
| Errol | Flynn | Australian-born American author. |
| Anne | Frank | Holocaust diarist. |
| Edith | Frank | Anne Frank's mother. |
| Mitsuo | Fuchida | Fighter pilot. |
| Wolfgang | Furstner | German Wehrmacht captain. |
| Fred | Garrett | Pilot. |
| Lou | Gehrig | American baseball first basement. |
| Joseph | Gifford | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Frank | Glassman | Radioman and belly gunner. |
| Joseph | Goebbells | Hitler's minister of Propaganda. |
| Billy | Graham | Evangelist. |
| Zane | Grey | American actor. |
| Peter | Hadfield | Reporter. |
| Willis | Hale | Commander of the 7th Air Forces. |
| Raymond | Halloran | Navigator. Aka: Hap. |
| Brutus | Hamilton | American coach and athletic administrator. |
| Bill | Harris | One of Japanese's captives. |
| Field | Harris | Marine general. William's father. |
| William | Harris | Marine officer. |
| William | Hasty | One of Louie's acquaintances. |
| Tatsumi | Hata | A cook. Aka: Curley. |
| Yuichi | Hatto | Camp assistant. |
| Ray | Hawkins | American naval aviator and flying ace of World War ll. |
| Mosajiro | Hirayabashi | Beaten a countless prisoners. Aka: Shithead. |
| | Hirohito | Former emperor of Japan. |
| | Hirose | Japanese guard. |
| Adolf | Hitler | Leader of the Nazi Party. |
| Gunner | Hockert | One of Lahtinen's teammates. |
| Masahuru | Homma | Lt. general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War ll. |
| J. Edgar | Hoover | FBI director. |
| Peter | Hryskanich | One of Louie's acquaintances. |
| Howard | Hughes | American business magnate. |
| Kakuzo | Iida | Camp commander. Aka: Mummy. |
| Shoichi | Ishizuka | Veteran who had been held as a POW by the Americans. |
| John | Jacobs | Piloted the left wing of the plane. |
| John Arthur | Johansen | One of the Japanese's captives. |
| Payton | Jordan | Louie's best friend. |
| Yukichi | Kano | Camp interpreter. |
| Tetsutaro | Kato | Japanese official. |
| | Kawamura | Japanese general. |
| Byron | Kenney | Pilot. |
| John | Kerns | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Nobusuki | Kishi | Former prime minister of Japan. |
| Sucharu | Kitamura | Medical officer. Aka: Quack |
| Donald | Knox | Historian. |
| Hiroaka | Kono | Watanabe's henchman. |
| Jack | Krey | Second Lieutenant who packed Louie's belongings. |
| Fiorello | La Guardia | Former mayor of New York City. |
| Lauri | Lahtinen | Finnish long-distance runner. |
| Ray | Lambert | Tail gunner. |
| Don | Lash | American long-distance runner. |
| Poon | Lim | Chinese sailor. |
| Abraham | Lincoln | 16th U.S. President. |
| Bob | Llewellyn | American photographer. |
| Jack | Lovelock | One of Lahtinen's teammates. |
| Frank | Lubin | American basketball player. |
| James | LuValle | American athlete. |
| Douglas | MacArthur | American general. |
| Arthur | Maher | Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy. |
| Willie | Maker | Sailor. |
| Stanley | Maneivve | One of Louie's acquaintances. |
| | Mansfield | Insane kleptomaniac. |
| Bob | Martindale | American lieutenant. |
| Ken | Marvin | Marine. Louie's friend. |
| William | Matheny | 307th Bomb Group Commander. |
| Alden | Mattison | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Glenn | McConnell | 89th lieutenant governor of South Carolina. |
| Milton | McMullen | American captives. |
| Francis | McNamara | Tail gunner. Aka: Mac. |
| Al | Mead | One of the kitchen laborers. |
| Draggan | Mihailovich | Producer for CBS television. |
| Anton | Minsaas | Navigator. |
| Robert | Mitchel | Navigator and nose gunner. |
| Tom | Mix | Star of many early Western movies. |
| Lynn | Moody | Worked at the Office of War Information. |
| George | Moznette Jr. | Allen's co-pilot. |
| Hiroetsu | Narushima | Japanese guard. |
| Donald | Nelson | A lieutenant. |
| Chester | Nimitz | Fleet Admiral of the U.S. Navy. |
| Ernest | Norquist | One of the POWs. |
| | Oguri | Civilian guard. |
| Saburo | Ohta | Mutsuhiro Watanabe's alias. |
| Richard | Olbert | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Laurence | Olivier | English actor and director. |
| Jesse | Owens | American track and field player. |
| Charlie | Paddock | Olympic champion sprinter. |
| William | Pallesen | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Cecile | Perry | Russell Allen's fiancé. Aka: Cecy. |
| Reverend | Phillips | Russell Allen's father. |
| Russell Allen | Phillips | Pilot. Louie's friend. Aka: Phil; Allen. |
| Stanley | Pillsburg | Turret gunner. |
| Charlie | Pratte | Pilot. |
| G. W. | Pringle | One of the POWs. |
| Jimmy | Rafferty | American best miler. |
| Howard K. | Ramey | U.S. Army Air Forces general during World War ll |
| Harry | Read | Louie's friend. |
| Eddie | Rickenbacker | World War l ace pilot. |
| Donald | Roberton | One of the marines captured by the Japanese. |
| Delia | Robinson | Otto Anderson's sister. |
| Lt. | Robinson | Pilot. |
| Eleanor | Roosevelt | Former First Lady of U.S. |
| Franklin D. | Roosevelt | 32nd U.S. President. |
| Frank | Rosynek | Staff sergeant of the 11th Bomb Group. |
| Babe | Ruth | American baseball player. |
| Kaname | Sakaba | Camp commander. |
| Ilmari | Salminen | One of Lahtinen's teammates. |
| Kunichi James | Sasaki | Louie's friend. |
| Osamu | Satano | Japanese Army officer. |
| Herman | Scearce | Deasy's radioman. |
| Bob | Seaman | American football coach. |
| Ed | Shields | Former track and field record holder. |
| Bob | Simon | CBS correspondent for the story. |
| George | Smith | Rookie pilot. Aka: Smitty. |
| Jesse | Stay | Pilot. |
| Ralph | Steakley | Pilot. |
| Charles | Stenger | American POWs of World War ll |
| E. H. | Stephan | Worked on the radio station in Claremont, South Africa. |
| Lorren | Stoddard | One of Louie's acquaintances. |
| Robert | Strong | Piloted the right wing tip of the plane. |
| Samuel T. | Coleridge | English poet, theologist. |
| Paul | Tibbets | Veteran bomber pilot. |
| Frank | Tinker | Bomber pilot. |
| Hideko | Tojo | Prime minister of Japan and war architect. |
| Yoshitomo | Tokugawa | Great-grandson of the last shogun. |
| Jack | Torrance | Shot putter. |
| Robert | Trumbull | Journalist. |
| Chesley | Unruh | Runner. |
| Marion | Unruh | U.S. Army Air Forces captain. |
| Hubert | Van Peenan | POWs physician. |
| Tom | Wade | One of the POWs. |
| Edward | Walsh Jr. | Radar operator. |
| Mrs. | Watanabe | Mutsuhiro Watanabe's wife. |
| Mutsuhiro | Watanabe | Japanese corporal. Aka: The Bird; Mu-cchan. |
| Alfred | Weinstein | One of POWs physicians. |
| Edgar | Whitcomb | Former governor of Indiana. |
| Richard | Whitfield | One of POWs physicians. |
| Esther | Williams | American swimmer. |
| J. O. | Young | One of the POWs. |
| Louie Silvie | Zamperini | Son of an Italian immigrant. Aka: Toots. |
| Anna | | Eleanor's daughter. |
| Anthony | | Louie's father. |
| Askin | | A dog. |
| Chopper | | Cat. |
| Chris | | Allen's son. |
| Doris | | Pete's wife. |
| Edna | | Harry Brook's mother. |
| Elden | | One of Louie's friends. |
| Gaga | | A duck. |
| Geston | | One of Louie's friends. |
| Harvey | | One of Louie's friends. |
| Henry | | One of Louie's friends. |
| Hugh | | Louie's schoolmate. |
| Karen | | Allen's daughter. |
| Katey | | Bill Harris's daughter. |
| Kelsey | | Allen's mother. |
| Little Cynthia | | Louie and Cynthia's daughter. Aka: Cissy. |
| Louise | | Louie's mother. |
| Luke | | Cissy's brother. |
| Mable | | Leslie's mother. |
| Mac | | Cynthia's suitor. |
| Marge | | Payton Jordan's wife. |
| Margie | | Louie's aunt. |
| Martha | | Kelsey's daughter. |
| Michiko | | Watanabe's sister. |
| Paint | | Obliging horse. |
| Pete | | Louie's older brother. |
| Ric | | Cynthia's brother. |
| Sadie | | Frank Glassman's mother. |
| Shizuka | | Mutsuhiro's mother. |
| Sylvia | | One of Louie's sister. |
| Tony | | Tom's wonder horse. |
| Virginia | | One of Louie's sister. |
| Yank | | One of the POWs. |
| Yo | | Watanabe's friend. |
