Oral History Interview with C. L. Pryor, December 5, 1987 Page: 39
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one that learned how to use it as he did, as he
showed us. So on the railroad, I used a pick every
day, day after day after day after day. Nobody ever
changed off with me because I'd pick up much more
dirt than anybody else, so I kept on that pick.
But when we worked on these drainage ditches,
then, in Thailand, I'd pick it up, and this other
guy would shovel it out. So shortly after midday, we
had completed our task, and this little Japanese
two-star soldier.. .when we finished, we just sat
down in the shade of a little bush there. It was the
only shade available, and so we just sat there at
yasumi--that means to rest in Japanese--and here
comes a little two-star private. "Shigoto! Speedo!
That means, "Fast!" "No yasumi! No yasumi!" And we
said, "Shimai," which means, "We finished our work."
"No shimai! No shimai!" So I showed him where we
started and where we ended. Then he stood this other
ol' boy. . . even in prison camp this other boy weighed
about 180 pounds. He was a big ol' fleshy sort of
soldier. He was a staff sergeant in this Army unit
that had joined us there in Bicycle Camp in Batavia,
Java.
Jones: This is an American?39
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Jones, Waller F. & Pryor, Charley L. Oral History Interview with C. L. Pryor, December 5, 1987, book, December 5, 1987; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1584976/m1/41/?q=%221920-02%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Oral History Program.