Fuxinggang Metro Station - Soldiers Arranging Wires | Guandu Metro Station “Carnival of the Animals” × Fuxinggang Metro Station “Big Contributions from Small Soldiers”

Soldiers Arranging Wires

Discipline is the lifeline of an army. In a highly-disciplined platoon, uniformity and order are essential parts of preventing soldiers from making mistakes. Above the hall of a station, these soldiers are sorting out entangled wires, so they won’t cause poor signal reception or hamper power transmission. The soldiers ensure that all passengers can “go out happily and return home safely.”

Ordnance Corps

The responsibilities of the Ordnance Corps include maintenance of general and army equipment, manufacturing and repairing military items, factory operations, and ammunitions management. Specific tasks include:

Maintenance and repairs: The maintenance, repair, inspection, and calibration of general equipment and army equipment (with separate divisions for general equipment, army-specific equipment and missiles).
Manufacturing and repairing military items: Assembly, sub-assembly, repairing and manufacturing of equipment and components.
Factory operations: Factory staff training, engineering controls, factory management, and components supply.
Ammunitions management: The supply, identification, manufacturing, and repair of ammunition as well as unexploded ordnance management.

Extended Reading

“Combat relies on command; command relies on communications.”

On August 23, 1958, Kinmen suddenly found itself under a barrage of violent artillery fire. Everything entered a state of chaos and confusion. To keep external communications open, signalers and messengers of the armed forces were called in for emergency combat preparation. “Signalers and messengers die quickly in battle. Signalers repair telephone wires destroyed in the onslaught of bombardment. Messengers pass on information among the chain of command. Many signalers and messengers were killed in the 823 Bombardment,” remembered Huang Shu-hua, an artilleryman of the August 23 battle.

“This picture was taken on September 11, 1958, on the 20th day of the battle. Emergency repairs were needed, and we took a photo before heading out. We had no idea whether we would see one another again after going our separate ways,” recalled Chen Qing with a smile fraught with complicated emotions. He served as a signaler at Kinmen and has now retired back home in his old age.

Under the barrage of artillery attacks, the signalers had to carry out repairs while ducking enemy fire. From the moment the first shot rang out, the wired and wireless communications of the battalion were cut off. Inside the bunker, the troops had no way of telling what was happening outside beside the constant reverberations. At 22:00, they finally received orders for repair operations. The signalers quickly geared up and put on their helmets, going straight into the line of fire to fix the communication wires. The cables were blown into thousands of pieces and scattered all over the ground. Under such a critical situation, the signalers fully focused on their mission, forgetting that they had not eaten the entire evening. It was only when they ran out of supplies that they returned to their bunker and battalion to replenish their gear. Their sole focus was to restore communications as quickly as possible. This level of determination enabled Kinmen to make it through the 823 Bombardment. The shelling gradually diminished in intensity until it only rained down on odd-numbered days of the month.

When asked about their stint in Kinmen, these veterans said: “We wish there was peace in the world. No more wars!”