Proud to have helped
I read with deep interest the letter by Kaifeng Dai (Letters, June 14, 2007, page 8) on the seminar called “The Black Squadron in Hsinchu — A Salute to the Brave.”
My interest is deep because I myself was part of a major US effort with the 7th Fleet of the US and in the air off the coast of Taiwan. Our Squadron of WV-2 Radar Reconnaissance Aircraft flew hundreds of missions to detect Chinese aircraft coming off the China coast and then directing your pilots to shoot them down. This was during the 1950s and 1960s, when Big and Little Quemoy [Kinmen] and Matsu were being bombed relentlessly by China.
Our missions were flown out of Japan (Naval Air Station Atsugi); Naha, Okinawa and Subic Bay, Philippines (Cubi Point).
Fortunately, we lost no aircraft during those missions, but the North Koreans shot down a WV-2 aircraft in the mid 1960s and all 28 crewmen were lost.
Most Americans, and other people for that matter, do not know of these missions, which employed electronic countermeasures, surveillance and radar reconnaissance similar to your Black Bats and Black Cats.
I flew with VW-3; our squadron was based out of Agana, Guam, and detached to the three bases mentioned above.
I would love to watch the documentary by Ting Wen-chin (丁雯靜) about Taiwan’s Bats Squadron.
Our squadron emblems included both the Bat and the Liberty Bell. Our squadrons have semiannual reunions, the next being held tomorrow through Sunday at Rantoul Air Force Base in Illinois.
For a history of our squadrons and their Cold War activities visit www.willievictor.com.
I treasure my Taiwan flag and am proud to have assisted in the defense of your country.
Kenneth Morin
Skandia, Michigan
Who wants our votes?
I voted for Democratic Senator John Kerry in the last US election and supported Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries this year.
I was upset Democratic Senator Barack Obama had sent a letter to the American Chamber of Commerce in China in support of cross-strait mutual trust (published on www.libertytimes.com.tw last Wednesday). I also do not like Republican Senator John McCain’s decision to pick Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Neither Obama nor McCain seem to take Taiwan seriously right now.
I searched both candidates’ Web sites, and only found the congratulation letters they had sent to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on March 22.
According to the US census in 2000, 1 percent of the US population was born in Taiwan. (Similar information cannot be found in the US census in 2006).
In an election this close, Taiwanese Americans need to exercise their voting rights.
The candidate that wants to win the Taiwanese-American vote must first identify and condemn President Ma for breaking his campaign promise and aggressively changing the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait.
The candidate must also support the idea that the future of Taiwan can only be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese through a referendum.
Neither McCain nor Obama can demand that China play by international rules and respect human rights.
But they should not treat the Taiwan issue as an inconvenient truth.
Whoever can admit that the international community has traded Taiwan for economic benefits will get the Taiwanese-American vote.
Chen Meng-mei
Taipei
We don’t need Hanyu Pinyin
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