Leading a group of veteran soldiers, retired Major General Shih Heng-feng rang the bell of peace at the Dadan monument, marking the Nationalist army's victory over the People's Liberation Army six decades ago on Dadan Island off the coast of China's Fujian Province. The veteran soldiers, all in their 80s, returned to the scene of the decisive battlefield on the island, located less than 5 kilometers from the Chinese Communist-controlled Xiamen, and about 12 kilometers southwest of Taiwan-held Lesser Kinmen. Shih commanded the 300 soldiers stationed on the 0.97 square-kilometer islet when the PLA launched a sudden strike on July 26, 1950. Shih's battalion suffered great casualties in prevailing against the 700 invaders. The battle, seriously frustrating to the PLA, was seen as a prelude to the coming battles in Kinmen. Ringing the bell made of a bombshell, Shih said he was grateful to be able to revisit Dadan and Kinmen in his old age to pay tribute to his old comrades who lost their lives during the conflict. 'Although it was a relatively small battle, it was critical because we frustrated the Chinese Communists' attempt to overtake Kinmen and to slaughter Taiwan,' Shih said. Remembering the war-torn years, one old soldier named Hsueh Yuan said he was happy that he could now ring the bell of peace rather than setting off an alarm siren signaling war. He hoped that gunshots would forever cease on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. 