My Father's Tank

This is a tale of a father's legendary life, and of the wars he fought.

His life was like a war chariot, always moving, always fighting. At last, the chariot could go no farther and came to a stop. His life was a polished portrait of the Republic, a history of its development. He was an ordinary soldier. I don't know how to define the theme of this book about my father, but through this work I will reflect seriously on questions like these: the War of Liberation, the Korean War, and the development of the Great Northern Wilderness. My father's generation founded and built the Republic. They devoted their lives to its creation and growth, working quietly and without recognition. Some have already passed away; others are about to follow.

These veteran soldiers of the Republic had been inspired by countless revolutionary slogans and beautiful ideals, such as “Apartments upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones.” In countless battles and campaigns, they shed their blood to defend their homes and country, staining this land red.

When the country entered its period of reconstruction, they went to the Great Northern Wilderness and used the same hands that had once held guns to build a beautiful home of their own. Later came one movement after another, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. These veterans who had defended their homes and country became targets of revolution and victims of persecution. Yet they never gave up their ideals. They lived without regret and never complained. What kind of spirit is that?

It is the spirit of the veteran.

To borrow a famous line from MacArthur: Old soldiers never die; they just slowly fade away.