THESE ARE SOME VINTAGE
PHOTOGRAPHS OF MY FATHER-IN-LAW, TSENG-YEN (ALLEN) KWEI (1919-2008), DURING HIS
SERVICE IN THE NAVY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
KWEI TSENG-YEN WAS BORN ON FEBRUARY 8, 1919, IN
GUANGZHOU, CHINA.
WHEN THE JAPANESE IMPERIALISTS INVADED CHINA IN 1937
TSENG-YEN JOINED THE CHINESE NAVY.
THIS PHOTO SHOWS HIM AS A YOUNG CADET
ANOTHER EARLY PHOTO FROM THE 1930s
DUE TO THE JAPANESE INVASION OF GUANGDONG,
THE MILITARY ACADEMIES WERE EVACUATED INLAND.
CADETS MARCHED FOR DAYS UNDER HARSH CONDITIONS.
FOOD WAS SPARSE AND SOME CONSIDERED RUNNING AWAY.
PATRIOTIC POSTER OF PRESIDENT CHIANG KAI-SHEK
AT THE TIME OF THE JAPANESE IMPERIALISTS' INVASION OF CHINA
COMRADES FROM THE OLD DAYS (JUNE 1939).
MY FATHER IN LAW IS PICTURED IN THE LOWER RIGHT
CORNER AS YOU LOOK AT THE IMAGE.
IN 1949, FORCES LOYAL TO THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
RETREATED TO THE
ISLAND PROVINCE OF TAIWAN. TSENG-YEN NEVER THOUGHT
THAT HE WOULD REMAIN IN TAIWAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE DECADES.
THIS PHOTO SHOWS HIM (RIGHT) WITH PRESIDENT CHIANG KAI-SHEK.
ABOARD HIS SHIP IN THE 1950s.
IN THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR KEEPING AN EYE
ON THE COMMUNIST ENEMY. HE PARTICIPATED IN
THE OFFSHORE ISLAND CRISES OF THE 1950s. HE ALSO
ATTENDED THE US NAVAL WAR COLLEGE.
CAPTAIN KWEI AND HIS CREW IN 1953.
INSPECTION OF THE CREW CIRCA LATE 1950s.
WITH THE SOME OF THE CREW IN THE 1950s.
CAPTAIN KWEI COMMANDED THIS DESTROYER ESCORT
FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS IN THE 1950s.
AFTER 30 YEARS OF LOYAL SERVICE TO THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA,
TSENG-YEN KWEI RETIRED FROM THE NAVY
AS A REAR ADMIRAL .
AS HE EXPLAINED IN 2002, "I WAS BROKE WHEN I JOINED THE NAVY
AND I WAS BROKE WHEN I LEFT IT." FOLLOWING
HIS NAVAL CAREER, HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF A COMMERCIAL
SHIP. THE IMAGE ABOVE SHOWS HIM WITH HIS DAUGHTER,
CHENG-MAY (MY WIFE), IN 2002 IN TAIPEI, TAIWAN, ROC.
AT THE TIME OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHOT AT ONE OF HIS FAVORITE
RESTAURANTS, HE WAS ENJOYING HIS RETIREMENT.
REAR ADMIRAL KWEI PASSED
AWAY ON AUGUST 6, 2008. HE IS MISSED VERY, VERY MUCH. LIKE ALL OF THE ALLIED
VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II
AND ALL CHINESE PATRIOTS,
TSENG-YEN KWEI WAS A GENUINE HERO!
President Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall At Night
(Located in beautiful Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
