In 1949, the Nationalist Covernment had lost the civil war against the Chinese Communists and retreated to Taiwan with about 600,000 soldiers. My father was one of them. Originally, the soldiers believe they would soon be returning to their homeland. But the years passed, and they would have to wait until 1987, when the government finally lifted the ban on private visits to China. These vicissitudes have put the war veterans in an awkward position--China no longer feel like home, yet establishing a family and putting down roots in Taiwan have proved to be challenging. It was my father's memory of his mother's silver hairpin that led me into his world and the life stories of the old veterans.