11/03/2026 from Daily Jokes
#22838
I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner at “The Golden Dragon,” a popular Chinese restaurant downtown. The food was excellent, but the service was even better. My waiter, a cheerful man named Lee, was incredibly attentive and seemed eager to chat.
As he poured my tea, I noticed a small, vintage pin on his lapel. Curious, I asked him about it. He smiled warmly and began to share a fascinating, albeit slightly confusing, piece of his personal history.
“You know,” Lee said, leaning in conspiratorially, “I actually lived in Japan during the war. I was a Kamikaze pilot!”
I blinked, trying to process the historical impossibility of a Chinese national being a Japanese suicide pilot. “Really?” I asked, skeptical but polite. “What was your code name?”
He puffed out his chest proudly. “Chow Mein.”
I stared at him. The gears in my head started turning. I knew enough history to know that Kamikaze missions were one-way trips. I looked him up and down—he was clearly alive, healthy, and currently refilling my water glass.
“Wait a minute,” I said, holding up a hand. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Kamikaze pilots sacrifice their own lives? They crashed into targets and… well, they didn’t come back.”
Lee nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes! Absolutely! It was a very dangerous job. Very high casualty rate.”
“Then how are you here?” I asked, completely bewildered. “How did you survive?”
Lee grinned, tapped his nose, and delivered the punchline with perfect, deadpan clarity:
“Yes, but I was Chicken Chow Mein!”
