The Peace Memorial Park

The Peace Memorial Park is located on Beigan [北竿], Matsu’s second largest island. Here you can find a slew of tanks, combat vehicles, cannons, and other weaponry while enjoying the view from Daaoshan [大澳山].

Below is an M48A3 Tank. The M48 was developed by US armed forces to fight Russian T-34/85s during the Korean War. The M48A3 was an upgrade of original models in that it extended its range by replacing the gasoline engine with a diesel engine.

The M41 Light Tank was developed at the end of World War II. Starting in the 1950s, Taiwan had been a major recipient M41s. In 1990 the Army replaced their M41s with M41Ds.

The M108 Self-Propelled Howitzer served in the US armed forces in the late 1950s and briefly in the early stages of the Vietnam War. The more powerful M109 155-millimeter Self-Propelled Howitzer was developed from the chassis of the M108. The ROC armed forces had a few M108s in the 1970s but has gradually retired them from service in favor of the M109 series.

Developed in the 1940s as an anti-aircraft weapon, the M55 Four-barrel 50 Anti-Air Machine Gun is composed of four M2 12.7-millimeter machine guns. Inadequate against modern aircraft, the ROC armed forces replaced this model in the 1990s with T82 double-tube 20-millimeter machine guns.

The site also hosts an indoor weapons exhibit.

I can think of no better place to post the following picture… the park (and just about everywhere else we went) was covered with these beautiful yellow wild flowers.