Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/21
By: Tai Ya-chen and Elizabeth Hsu 

London, Sept. 20 (CNA) British Army veteran Gerald Fitzpatrick was buried in Leeds on Thursday with military honors but the honor guard detail comprised four officers of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the flag draping his coffin was also that of the ROC.

Fitzpatrick, who was deployed to Asia in the 1940s, had requested before his death on Aug. 27 at the age of 99 that his coffin be draped with the ROC flag as a symbol of his gratitude to the ROC troops who rescued him and 7,000 other British soldiers during the Battle of Yenangyaung in Burma during World War II.

In keeping with his wishes, the ROC flag covered his coffin at the funeral service at a church in Leeds and was later folded and given to his wife at the cemetery.

The attending honor guard comprised four ROC military officers who are currently studying in the United Kingdom, although they were not in uniform at the funeral.
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