Be sure to mark the week of November 15–22 2006 on your calendars and in your date books, and plan to be with us for this great annual event, especially the Remembrance Day service at the Prisoner of War Memorial Park at Kinkaseki (Jinguashi in Taibei County near Jiufen, Ruifang and Jilong) on Sunday the 19th. (There will be no banquet this time.)
If you are interested in attending, and for more information, please contact the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society by mail or e-mail. Hope to see you in November!
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society (Director - Michael Hurst, M.B.E.)
P.O. Box 665, Yonghe, Taibei County, Taiwan 234, R.O.C.
Fax: 886 2 8660-8439 E-mail: society at powtaiwan dot org
Web site: www.powtaiwan.org
For more background, see Forumosa thread
(I will post more information as and when I get it)
Once again it is that time of year when we pause to reflect on the sufferings and sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors and airmen through so many wars. November 11th is Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth countries, and I hope that you will take a moment to pause at the 11th hour on the 11th day of November to remember those who gave so much for the freedom that so many of us take for granted today. It is also the time for our annual POW Remembrance Day service in honour of all veterans and also the former Allied prisoners of war who were interned and suffered in the Japanese POW camps on Taiwan during WWII.
The main activity this year is the Remembrance Day Service in the POW Memorial Park at Chinguashi on Sunday November 19th. There will be no POW Banquet on the Saturday evening as sadly we have no former POWs returning to Taiwan this year.
In addition to the Remembrance Day Service, we will hold the unveiling and dedication of a new bronze sculpture which will represent the “Eternal Flame of Peace and Remembrance”, similar to the type of eternal flame that burns at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, or in front of the Houses of Parliament in Canada – and many other places around the world. The flame sculpture will be situated on the dome in the center of the Prisoner of War Memorial Park. The dedication ceremony begins at 10:30am followed by the Remembrance Day Service at 11:00 am. After the ceremonies guests and friends are invited to join together for a time of fellowship over a picnic lunch.
Chartered buses will take participants and guests to the Remembrance Service at Chinguashi (near Jiufen). The cost is NT$300 and reservations are required for the bus which will depart from the east entrance of the Grand Hyatt Hotel - sharp at 8:45am. Reservations can be made by calling Peter Yu at the Australian Commerce and Industry Office – Tel. (02) 8725-4131 or email to: peter dot yu at dfat dot gov dot au The deadline for reservations is 5 pm on Wednesday November 15th.
It is highly recommended that the bus transportation provided be used, as there is no parking for private vehicles at the site, and we cannot be responsible for anyone getting lost on the way or being late for the services, if going by private vehicle.
For further information you may contact me or Peter Yu. Reservations are to be made with Peter only. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support over the past year and I welcome you to join us for this year’s Remembrance Day activities. I assure you that you will not be disappointed and your support will mean so much to our veterans. Please kindly pass this information on to any others who you know that may be interested.
The deadline for booking a place on the bus to Kinkaseki (Jinguashi) is tomorrow (Wednesday) 5 pm! Otherwise you have to turn up on Sunday morning and beg for a seat.
A reminder to anyone who is going: The site is up on the mountains on the north coast. It is several degrees colder than down on the plains and rather exposed to the north wind and rain coming blowing in from the sea, so wrap up warm and take an umbrella!