東條英機的假牙

现在是 1946 年 5 月 3 日。 远东国际军事法庭正在东京的一间法庭宣读正式的战争罪起诉书；在这些 "东京审判 "中，一组法学家将听取针对被控战犯的证据。 除了印度的拉达比诺德-帕尔法官认为审判程序是 "盟国对战败国日本的傲慢报复的形式化 "之外，对被告的判决将是权威性的。 七人将因 A 级战争罪被判处死刑，另外十六人将被终身监禁，还有两人将被短期监禁。

东条英机也在听证之列。 由于约翰-威尔珀斯中尉的行动，在前首相开枪自杀后，很快就找到了一名医生。 然而，这位医生拒绝治疗东条英机，于是思维敏捷的威尔珀斯不得不寻找另一位医生来救治东条英机。 东条英机在医院康复后，一直被单独关押在东京菅生监狱，24 小时有人看守。

现在，当东条英机坐在待审席上时，一名希望以精神失常为由进行辩护的日本平民被告站了出来，在他的后脑勺上打了两巴掌。 首相觉得这很有趣，尽管诉讼程序很不吉利，他还是开怀大笑。

还有一个离奇的幽默很快就会上演，而东条却完全不知道。 战犯戴着假牙，在狱中他将需要一副新的假牙。 美国将非常乐意满足他的要求。 但东条英机并不知道，"记住珍珠港 "这几个字将用摩斯密码钻进假牙，从而确保东条英机的第二次世界大战永远不会真正结束--尤其是在夜深人静的时候，当他独自躺在巢鴨监狱的禁闭室里，用舌头舔着新假牙，琢磨着光滑的瓷面上那些奇怪的凸起和凹痕时。

It is May 3, 1946. Formal war crimes indictments are being read at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in a Tokyo courtroom; these “Tokyo Trials” will see a team of jurists hearing evidence against the accused war criminals. With the exception of Judge Radhabinod Pal of India, who considers the proceedings “formalized vengeance sought with arrogance by the Allied Powers upon a defeated Japan,” the verdicts against the accused will be authoritative. Seven men will be sentenced to death for Class A war crimes, sixteen others will be imprisoned for life, and two others will be imprisoned for shorter periods of time.

Hideki Tojo is among those hearing the indictments. Thanks to the actions of Lieutenant John Wilpers, a doctor was quickly located after the former prime minister shot himself. However, this physician refused to treat Tojo, so the quick-thinking Wilpers was forced to find yet another doctor to save Tojo. After recovering in the hospital, Tojo has been living in solitary confinement in Tokyo’s Sugamo Prison, under round-the-clock armed guard.

Now, as Tojo sits in the docket, a deranged Japanese civilian defendant hoping to plead insanity steps forward and slaps him twice on the back of the head. The prime minister finds this funny and smiles openly, despite the ominous nature of the proceedings.

There is another bizarre bit of humor that will shortly come into play—of which Tojo will be completely unaware. The war criminal wears false teeth, and during his time in prison he will come to require a new set of dentures. The United States will be only too happy to oblige. But unbeknownst to Tojo, the words “Remember Pearl Harbor” will be drilled into the false teeth in Morse code, ensuring that the Second World War will never really be over for Hideki Tojo—especially not late at night, when he lies alone in solitary confinement at Sugamo Sugamo Prison, running his tongue along his new dentures, wondering about the curious bumps and divots studding the otherwise smooth porcelain surfaces.