Monday was International Nurses Day, a day that is not dedicated exclusively to professional nurses. Seventy years ago, a group of people who were not nurses — some of whom could not even write their own names — cared for soldiers on the front line. Their contributions were heroic, tragic and touching.
They were the 10 nurses who died alongside Republic of China (ROC) soldiers in the Battle of the Yijiangshan Islands (一江山島) in 1955, during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, when the People’s Republic of China attacked and captured the islands. The loss of the Yijiangshans forced the ROC to abandon the Dachen Islands (大陳島) to the communists.
In May 1954, 18 medical personnel from Taipei volunteered to form the Dachen Frontline Guerrilla Area Medical Service Team led by Liu Yi-fu (劉毅夫), military journalist of the Chinese-language Central Daily News, to travel to the Dachens to provide medical services.
In addition to setting up outpatient clinics and mobile medical services, Liu and surgeon Keng Tien-tung (耿殿棟) of the Taipei Medical Association urged Commander Liu Lien-yi (劉廉一) to mobilize more than 60 female family members of the guerrilla forces on the islands for a two-week medical training course.
Due to the limited education of the trainees, Keng did not talk about theory in class, but instead focused on practical demonstrations and exercises. The students made rapid progress. After the training, 10 of them were sent to serve on the Yijiangshans.
They were brave, saying that they were not afraid to risk their life, because at the end of the day, they were there to serve. The following year, the PRC attacked the Yijiangshans with a force several times that of the ROC, and the “semi-nurses,” who had never received official education, died heroically for their country.
During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958, a group of female soldiers similarly dedicated their lives to the country. They cared for the wounded and wrote letters for them, purchased items for others and conducted psychological warfare. Many earth-shattering events were accomplished by people who had hardly had a chance to go to school.
The female soldiers who served in the ROC military made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Their heroic deeds should not be forgotten — they should be forever remembered and serve as role models for future generations.
President William Lai (賴清德) announced that he would allocate NT$27.5 billion (US$903 million) to help relieve a nursing shortage. If China launches an armed invasion of Taiwan, or a major natural disaster occurs, the importance of nurses will become even more apparent.
For International Nurses Day, I would like to pay tribute to all healthcare workers, and at the same time call on the government to educate the public on basic and general nursing care. The more prepared, the fewer casualties.
Yang Hau-min is a civil servant.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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