My Uncle, A Taiwanese Soldier in the Japanese Army
Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo ( Chinese ) Before my grandmother passed away, she would often sit alone, lost in thought. On October 25, 1970, in her final moments, she faintly murmured, “ Find… find Kun-Yi… ” Kuo Kun-Yi was my older uncle. During Pacific War, he was forced by the Japanese military to sign a so-called “ Volunteer Form ” and was conscripted into the army. He was sent from Cijin, Kaohsiung , by ship to Southeast Asia , and from that point on, no further news was ever received. Only a group photograph sent by the military remained, becoming my grandmother’s sole consolation for the rest of her life. Today, I have used AI to restore my uncle Kun-Yi’s youthful image (Fig 1). Fig 1: Kuo Kun-Yi — “voluntarily” enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army (circa 1942) Life is a Continuum of Karma: I often heard my grandmother say during prayers, “ Kuo Kun-Yi passed away at 19 …” Since 1923 plus 19 equals 1942, yet the records I later found state that “ Kuo Kun-Yi died in ba...