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Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Membership Badge
臺灣從軍記念會員章
Item number: M339
Year: AD 1937-1945
Material: Silver
Size: 32.2 x 25.2 x 1.9 mm
Weight: 12.05 g
Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2024
This is a “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Membership Badge” issued in AD 1937 under Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, following the escalation of Sino-Japanese relations into full-scale war.
This silver badge follows the oval shape typical of commemorative medals issued in Japan during the same period. At the centre of the obverse side, the characters “Military Service” (從軍) are engraved in an artistic script, surrounded by a nine-layered paulownia motif and the character “Tai” (台) at the top, modelled after the emblem of the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office. The reverse side features a pin, with the inscriptions “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Association” (臺灣從軍記念會) on the right and “Membership Badge” (會員徽章) on the left. At the top, the phrase “China Incident” (支那事變) is engraved.
In AD 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which escalated into full-scale war between China and Japan, the two sides soon clashed in the intense Battle of Shanghai on August 13. As Japanese forces became bogged down in fierce fighting in Shanghai, the Japanese Army General Staff issued an emergency mobilisation order in September of the same year to the “Taiwan Army,” stationed in colonial Taiwan. The order deployed several units to the Shanghai front, including the 1st Taiwan Infantry Regiment and its reserve unit, the 2nd Taiwan Infantry Regiment and its reserve unit, the Taiwan Mountain Artillery Regiment and its reserve unit, as well as the 1st and 2nd Taiwan Medical Corps.
The “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Association,” which issued this badge, was likely composed of the Japanese family members of soldiers deployed to the Chinese battlefield from the so-called “Taiwan Army.” This unit, despite its name, consisted entirely of Japanese personnel stationed in colonial Taiwan. At that time, Japan had not yet implemented a volunteer or conscription system for Taiwanese residents. However, many Taiwanese individuals participated in Japan’s war efforts in China as auxiliary personnel and labourers (gunpu, military porters).