Dr. Coates Quotes in To End All Wars (2001)

Dr. Coates: [examining newly arrived POWs] Relish your health now, gentlemen: it's the last you'll see of it.

Dr. Coates: [to a freshly-beaten Gordon] Ah. Looks like you didn't bow. Always bow before a guard, Korean or Jap. And *never* look 'em in the eyes when they pass you: that's pure defiance. Always look away. Rules of Bushido.

Lt. Jim Reardon: Bushido?

Dr. Coates: Yeah. Their kind of chivalry. Respect and obligation. If you don't respect them, they feel obligated to beat you. Nothing personal.

Ernest Gordon: Well, it sure as bloody hell feels personal.

Dr. Coates: Yeah, well, it works both ways. They do the same to their own.

Lt. Jim Reardon: Now there's a comfort.

Lt. Jim Reardon: Colonel, I've been watching these Nips. There's never more than a handful of 'em guarding the perimeter at any given time. And they're not watching very closely. It just doesn't make sense to me unless...

McLean: Unless what?

Dr. Coates: Well, unless every prisoner's been caught or died in a thousand miles of hostile jungle. Unless the local villagers are willing to turn in a POW for a bowl of rice. Unless - escape is impossible.