November 9-16 were the dates for this year’s “Remembrance Week” event which takes place annually to honour the former Taiwan prisoners of war and the veterans who suffered so much for our freedom. It is organized by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society, and was co-hosted this year by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei.
There were three major events held this year in conjunction with the regular week-long program that the POW Society provides for its overseas guests. The first was the dedication of the Taihoku Camp # 6 POW Memorial on Friday afternoon, November 11th at 2 pm, then the dedication ceremony for the new Taiwan POW Memorial Wall and Sculpture which was erected earlier this year in the POW Memorial Park, at 10:00 am on Sunday November 13th, and finally the annual Remembrance Day Service which followed at 11:00 am. The Taihoku Camp # 6 POW Memorial is located on the site of the new Ministry of National Defense Headquarters complex on Pei-an Road in Tachih and a report on the dedication ceremony is featured in another article.
On Sunday the 13th, more than 140 participants and friends gathered for the Remembrance Day events which were held in the POW Memorial Park on the site of the former Kinkaseki POW Camp in the village of Jinguashi near Jiufen. After more than a year in planning and construction, the second phase of the Taiwan POW Memorial Park was completed this past summer with its magnificent POW Memorial Wall and Sculpture, plus some additional new landscaping. Due to the inclement weather the dedication ceremony had to be held inside a tent rather than in the plaza in front of the wall as planned by the organizers, but even with the rain, it seemed that spirits were not dampened.
After some opening remarks by the Society director, Mr. Chen, Kuo-Chun, Director of the New Taipei City Gov't. Tourism Bureau told how pleased the government was to have co-operated with the Society and the architect in building such a beautiful memorial for those who suffered here in WWII. The representatives of the four allied countries that had the most POWs in Taiwan - the UK, USA, the Netherlands and Australia each gave a brief message and also read greetings and congratulations from their home governments. This was a great honour for the Society and the New Taipei City Gov't. to know of the appreciation and respect held for what we have jointly done together here in Taiwan.
POW widow Pearl Fowler read the poem "The Taiwan POW Park", former Gnr. Ken Pett of the 80th Anti-Tank Reg't. R.A. spoke of behalf of himself and his mates who were in the camps about what these memorials mean to them, and Major Henry Silcock read "The Voice From the Wall". Following this the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held and the Rev. Dr. Herbert Barker offered a prayer of dedication and blessing for the park and the new memorials. Next the POW Sculpture was unveiled by the Society Director and Ken Pett, and finally the FEPOW Prayer was read by everyone to close the ceremony.
The Remembrance Service although somewhat affected by the rain, was also moving and meaningful as usual. Scott Fraser, Director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and this year's co-host, spoke on behalf of the Commonwealth and Allied countries and this was followed by a message from Gen. Tseng, Jing-Ling, ROC Minister of Veterans Affairs. Our special POW guest and several family members then read poems and tributes before Rev. Barker gave the message of remembrance.
The rain eased off a bit - as it always seems to do for the laying of the wreaths and the Act of Remembrance which followed. Last Post and Reveille were played and two minutes of silence observed - an all too brief time to meditate on the suffering and sacrifice of our veterans - and those still fighting today to bring peace to a troubled world! The service closed with the playing of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.
The Veterans march to the memorial with their wreath. Veterans Affairs Minister Tseng salutes the Veterans
Lunch and a time of fellowship were held afterward in the nearby community centre and everyone seemed to enjoy the day and its events very much. We are deeply grateful to the New Taipei City Gov't., the ROC Veterans Affairs Commission, the four Trade Offices and our many friends and supporters who joined us and who took part in a most memorable Remembrance Day event. We'll be back again next year and the new memorial park and its monuments will be here forever to remember those to whom we owe a debt that can never be repaid.