Forced to make a “confession” to his Khmer Roughe captors, an imprisoned sailor has a little fun with the names of his “co-conspirators.”

[**For context: In August of 1978, Kerry Hamill, a New Zealander, and some friends were sailing around the world when they tried crossing the Gulf of Thailand. They were caught in bad weather, and sought shelter near an island. At this point, a Khmer Rouge patrol boat fired upon them, killing his friend Stuart, a Canadian, and captured the rest.**] >Kerry and John were locked up in S-21 and accused of being CIA spies. There’s little doubt that they were tortured into making their confessions and young Kerry gave up to his torturers the names of all the traitors in his network. Most remarkably, he managed to make a mockery of their macabre parody without their knowing. His handling officers, colonels, captains, and majors were all named after his friends in New Zealand. Names Kerry snitched to the Khmer Rouge included Colonel Sanders, Sergeant Pepper, and Major Ruse. His CIA instructor was called “S. Starr,” a nod to his mother, Esther. >Despite being deep inside the dark and terrifying jail of the black-clad Khmer Rouge, despite the torture, the handsome sailor kept his sense of the absurd intact. ______________________ **Source:** Cruvellier, T., and Alex Gilly. “Chapter 15.” *The Master of Confessions: The Making of a Khmer Rouge Torturer*. Ecco, 2014. 110. Print. ______________________ **Further Reading:** [ខ្មែរក្រហម (Khmer Rouge)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge)