The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is planning to mark the 90th anniversary of the Nationalist Army by to releasing a calendar featuring 108 photographs of more than 257 battles that the Republic of China (ROC) Army has participated in.
The calendar, to be called “Honor and Continuation,” features photos dating to when the army was founded on the banks of the Huangpu River (黃埔) in China in 1924, as well as its roles in the Eastern Campaign, the Northern Campaign, the first and second civil wars with the Chinese Communist Party and the second Sino-Japanese War.
The ministry said it hopes that the calendar will educate the public about the pivotal role the army has played in the nation’s history, adding that each month will highlight one key battle.
Photo: CNA
Political Warfare Department Director-General Wang Ming-wo (王明我) said that some of the pictures were taken from the private collections of veterans’ families, while others came from sources such as the US National Archives and Records Administration, the Central News Agency, the Armed Forces Museum, the ministry’s History and Political Editing Division, the Martyr’s Temple management and the ministry’s Youth Daily News.
Citing the month of November as an example, Wang said that the main picture for that month shows joint ROC-US forces raiding an Imperial Japanese military base in the Pacific Ocean that is supplemented by three aerial photographs taken during the raid and obtained from the US National Archives.
The calendar also includes pictures of the modern ROC Army showing soldiers helping in disaster relief efforts.
Wang said that the relief work photos were included to illustrate how the army guards Taiwan even during peacetime.
By publishing the calendar, the ministry is hoping to convey the importance of the army’s history and pass military knowledge on to younger generations, he said.
The ministry said that although the calenders will cost NT$90,000 to print, they will be distributed for free. However, copyright restrictions on some of the photographs mean that a digital version of the calendar cannot be offered online, it added.
The first 1,000 copies of the calendars are to be reserved for the family members of deceased veterans, high-ranking officers, members of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee and government officials.
Representative groups of foreign militaries are also to receive a copy, the ministry said.
In addition, 5,000 copies are to be distributed to all ROC Army units that are company-level or higher so that soldiers and officers can become more familiar with Taiwan’s military history, the ministry said.
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