And remember this: our men must always feel they are still commanded by us and not by the Japanese.So long as they have that idea to cling to, they""ll be soldiers and not slaves." Shears knows better through experience: "I hope they can remain soldiers, Colonel.As for me, I""m just a slave, a living slave."Both commanders blindly follow their own rigid military codes, soon coming to an impasse.The next morning, Saito orders "the English prisoners" to finish the bridge by a rigid deadline - the 12th day of May, working under the direction of a Japanese engineer." Although horoughly humiliated, Shane obliges peacefully to avoid trouble.Homesteaders who meet at the Starrett""s home later hat evening share stories of how Ryker has threatened all of them with "war parties." It is Christmas Eve.Prayers from friends in Bedford Falls are heard for a man named George Bailey: "I owe everything to George Bailey.Cross believed that he still needed to acquire a much-needed drug dosage of his "program medication" to keep his mind and body enhanced, without degrading.