They Found The Egg

I had an ulcer in this eye, and it didn't help it any one of the guards struck me repeatedly in that eye, that didn't help either. And the maddening thing about those beatings were that there was always a guard behind you, right behind you, with a rifle and bayonet and you couldn't dodge the blow, you couldn't dodge the blow on, on, when there was a rifle and bayonet right behind you. You couldn't dodge the blow.

Interviewer: Why were you beaten?

I stole an egg. One egg. Just one egg.

Interviewer: How did you steal the egg?

Well, there was a little, a little hen house about, just about the size of this room, out on the docks, this is in Japan, in Japan, in Japan. And there was seven hens there. We coffered them everyday when we went past. And for some strange, inexplicable reason we, we paused, well we were ordered to, to halt, and, and the guards were having some kind of a conference, and I slipped inside the door and there was one egg in a nest and I picked up that egg. And, of course, I was searched like everybody else, and they found the egg. And, and there was two or three guards named Satosan, but this one was nicknamed "The Shadow." And he, he ordered me to stand to attention, "Kiwotsuke keirei." That means, "Stand to attention and salute," "Kiwotsuke and keirei." "Stand to attention and salute." And then you were ordered to stand, stand rigidly at attention while he struck you repeatedly, repeatedly, and, and I remember, I remember a couple of our men shouting at me, "Fall down, for heaven's sake, fall down! He'll stop hitting you when you fall down." And I was just so stubborn I wouldn't fall down.
I hated to think that I would ever fall down in, in front of a Jap. But I didn't fall down, but I took extra beating in account of that.