Military History | 八二三戰史館 — The Wall of 587 Names

Thirty years after the shelling started, the military built a hall to hold the account of it. 八二三戰史館 opened in 1988 in 中正公園 at 金湖鎮, on Kinmen's east side: green tiles, red columns, white granite, about 372 square metres. Names are carved into the two stone panels flanking the main door, 587 ROC service dead from the battle, gold characters on grey. Parked outside are an F-86 Sabre, a 155 mm gun, an M24 light tank and an LVT amphibious carrier, the vehicle that did the actual work of keeping the island fed.

Twelve galleries laid out a fixed sequence: the international situation before 23 August 1958, the forty-four days of the intense phase, resupply, and the years of 單打雙不打 that followed. It was a state's account of itself, with the emphases the ROC military chose in 1988. 金門國家公園 took the building over in 2001.

What has changed since is worth noticing. The hall closed for renovation in June 2024 and reopened on 11 July 2025 with a domed 天空劇場, and the national park described the new displays as bringing in front-line soldiers, residents, widows and war correspondents. Its reopening event was a talk on Taiwanese conscripts and officers' widows titled 「八二三之後，那些被留下來的人」, those who were left behind. Kinmen's own civilians, who were shelled for two decades and lived under military administration for thirty-six years, and the 充員兵 conscripts sent over from Taiwan, were thin on the walls of the 1988 version.

俞大維先生紀念館 stands opposite and 榕園 adjoins. The name panels are unchanged. Admission is free, and the hall closes on 農曆除夕.

📸 Cover: the museum front, with the two inscribed name panels either side of the door and the F-86 at right. Photo by 翁維德 (Wei-Te Wong), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.