A 19-year-old private trying to get his patriotism on in Japan during the Fourth of July got a brutal awakening when the bar he was drinking at suddenly… gave him a bill.
So he apparently did what any rational person would do — he allegedly stole the bar’s safe.
Stars and Stripes reports that the soldier based at Torii Station “ate and drank at the bar and got into an argument after receiving the bill.” Hirotoshi Iha, the Okinawa Police Station deputy chief, told Stars and Stripes that the soldier “said the bill was way too expensive,” so he allegedly took the safe and fled, but was later found with it elsewhere in the neighborhood.
The soldier admitted to taking the safe, per Stars and Stripes — which had the equivalent of around $230 inside — and was released from police custody. Police referred a theft charge to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office.
U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa did not immediately respond to request for comment from Task & Purpose.
It’s unclear how the soldier was able to get access to the safe, but in his defense, he probably hasn’t had a lot of experience drinking in the states, being only 19.
Who among us wasn’t beside ourselves upon learning for the first time just how expensive drinking actually is? But let this be a lesson to privates everywhere: Freedom isn’t free. You’ll have to settle your bar tab eventually.