Anniversary of costly battle commemorated

More than 100 people, including some from Taiwan, marked the 76th anniversary of the Tai' erzhuang Battle at Zaozhuang, Shandong province, on April 8 to commemorate unidentified soldiers killed in the battle.

Wu Xiaodong, a 68-year-old from Jingyang county in Shannxi province, presented a paper with four words — Min Zu Zhi Guang (the light of the nation) — written in calligraphy to the Museum for the Tai'erzhuang Battle.

The calligraphy was done by Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Lien Chan in 2007 for Wu’s father, Wu Dehou, who survived the battle.

Lien learned Wu Dehou's story from media reports and showed respect to him, said Wei Youqi, who interviewed the soldier and published his story in his book, Stories of Soldiers in the War against Japanese Aggression.

"Lien Chan wrote the four words and asked a Taiwan businessman to hand them to Wu Dehou," Wei said.

Wu Dehou headed a group of 57 soldiers who fought for seven days during the Tai’erzhuang Battle. Only three of the soldiers survived, Wei said.

Wu Dehou died in 2007 at the age of 97, according to Wei.

"This is the first time for me to be in Zaozhuang. I hope cross-Straits friendship can be enhanced," Wu Xiaodong said.

The month-long Battle of Tai' erzhuang in 1938 was China's first major victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). Tens of thousands of soldiers died in the battle.