Posted on 01/20/2015
2 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, 26 DAYS and 11 HOURS. That was the amount of time that I spent in a Japanese prison. Wow, I finally got it out after 24 years, I finally got it out. This is my journey to death and back. I hope that this story will inspire you to never give up. No matter what, to NEVER GIVE UP. I have waited 24 years to tell my story. No longer ashamed. No longer ashamed.
Okinawa, Japan, the Year was 1993
I hear the whistling. I hear the sound of the electric baton. God, please not me again tonight. Last night was too much. I can still taste and smell Hitler's urine as he and Stalin along with Punk ass stuck my head in the toilet. After fighting with the three of them for what seem like hours they finally got the best of me. As Stalin and Punk ass were holding me, Hitler thought it was a good idea to piss in the toilet and soak my face in it. Ok, let's get this over with already. Two hours later and Punk ass is still whistling. It's a mental game at this point. They like to see you suffer mentally first before the physical abuse starts. I got a little surprise for their asses if it is me again tonight. I have poured water mixed with my urine all over the floor so if and when they do come in to get me, I will have the jump on them. Sure, eventually they will over power me and beat the living shit out of me but I will get some good punches in and enjoy the brief satisfaction of knowing that they got a taste of their own medicine. Shit! Showtime, it's me again tonight. I jump out of bed as soon as I hear the key go into the lock. As Stalin comes running in first, he slips along with the other two and I begin my attack. I hit Stalin with a good right left combination. Lights out. I don't remember what happened next. I do remember waking up with.... WAIT! Let me back up for a second.
Hitler, Stalin and Punk Ass were the nicknames that we gave to the Japanese Prison Guards. You see, for 2 years, 3 months, 26 days and 11 hours, I was held in a Japanese Prison. Yes, I said Japanese prison. FOR WHAT IS THE QUESTION RIGHT? I will get to that later. Back to my story, so as I come to, Hitler and Punk ass were holding me while Stalin punched, kicked and hit me with the electric baton. Afterward, he thought it was a pretty good idea to piss and spit on me for giving him a brief taste of his own medicine. As I lay here going in and out of consciousness, I asked God, "How did I get here?". Better yet, "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?". I don't know how long I laid on that floor bleeding and smelling like piss, but I eventually mustered up enough energy to get up and wash myself up as best I could. Damn! I just remembered I had a shower today, so it will be another 2 days before I will get another one. We were only allowed 3 showers a week. So, as I was washing up Punk ass comes down and tells me I will be going back to solitary confinement for assaulting him and his two goons. Great. Another 30 days in the hole that won't count. Let me tell you how the Japanese prison system works. Their prison system is STRICTLY for punishment. It is not for rehabilitation. They have one of the lowest crime rates in the World for a reason because prison is HARD LABOR. They don't have repeat offenders. So with me receiving another 30 days in the hole, that means that my time stops. The time you spend in the hole or solitary confinement doesn't count toward your sentence. I was given a 1 year and 9 month sentence. But, by this being my 3rd, 30 day sentence in solitary confinement, that 1 year, 9 months has now turned into 2 years. Solitary Confinement is where the real games begin. Your day begins with them awaking you at 4am promptly simply to sit in the middle of the floor upright Indian style facing a wall for 12 hours. There is no furniture just a mat. You only get 2 bathroom breaks a day, two showers a week and two great meals of fish heads and white rice a day. And if you are lucky a buttered roll. Or, if you are unlucky you will get soup and white rice mixed with their special sauce of urine. Needless to say there were many days that I didn't eat. When I went in I weighed 275 pounds. I came out weighing 155 pounds. I had a 6 pack though!
Ok, let's start from the beginning. I, along with a couple of my Marine Corps buddies were heading back to base from a night club in Okinawa, Japan. We took a honcho (taxi cab) back to base. My buddy in the front was in charge of paying the cab driver, as we all had to chip in and we each gave him the money to do so. My other buddies and I went across the street to our favorite restaurant to order food before we walked up the hill back to base. I could overhear my buddy and the cab driver beginning to argue about something, so I looked over to see my buddy beginning to run up the hill. Instinctively, my buddies and I began to run up the hill as well. "Dude, why are you running?", we began to ask, as we kept running up the hill. As we got to the top of the hill the honcho had already called the police and told them, that he was just robbed. The Japanese Police, whom guard the gates at night, immediately stopped us as we got to the top of the hill. The cab driver, along with several other Japanese Police arrived at the top of the hill. My buddy began to explain to the police what happened. He began to explain to them that the cab driver tried to cheat him out of his money. He stated that it cost about a 1000 yen for the cab, which is about 10 American dollars for the cab fare. After paying with a 20 dollar bill, the cab driver only gave him $1 back, thus cheating him out of roughly $9. My buddy got so upset that the cab driver tried to cheat him, that he snatched his money back, along with the cab drivers' money and began to run up the hill toward base. As he explained to the police what happened, the honcho said, "No! He took my money too on purpose!" The Japanese Police said that they were going to take all four of us down to the station for questioning. I said, "No, the honcho already told you that we didn't do anything but run and that we gave our friend our money to pay him.". Also, we knew that under the Sofa Status Agreement that the Japanese authorities could hold us for up to 28 days without notifying the American authorities that they have us. It was thoroughly explained to us as we moved through orientation, that you should never go with the Japanese authorities and that you should always follow protocol and wait for the American authorities or representatives to show up. I told the police that they had to call the American authorities and that I would not just go with them. That's when one of the officers attempted to grab me and I pushed his hand away. He attempted to grab me again and according to the Japanese Police, I swung at him. But, the next thing I knew I was waking up in the Japanese Jail after being hit in the back of the head with a baton.
To be continued.....
Copyright January 2015 Sheldon Redditt
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