Volunteer Chen Shangyuan visits Huang Tanghua, a veteran of WWII, July 9, 2015. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Chen Rong, a veteran of World War II, does not fear death.
"We fear being forgotten and misunderstood," he told a volunteer interviewer.
Chen is one of the 108 veterans whose experiences about fighting Japanese troops more than 70 years ago have been included in a book put together by a group of volunteers.
Chen Shangyuan, an employee of PetroChina and the leader of the volunteer group, said "they did this to salute the veterans and let young people know the war history".
Between April and August 2015, the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), Chen and other volunteers spent around 100 days recording the stories of veterans in East China's Fujian province.
With information collected from social network platforms, the media and other sources, Chen located more than 100 former military men in the province, and visited each of them, often chatting with them for hours, and taking photos of them.
"It is a race against time to write down the stories of the veterans," Chen said.
They were, on average, in their 90s, and more than 30 of them have passed away since he began the interviews.
Zheng Yongsui died aged 99 only one month after the volunteers visited him. In the funeral hall, the veteran's family printed the article Chen wrote about him after he visited the veteran, and displayed it as a eulogy.
"I felt sad for the veteran. It's just a story I shared in my personal social network account. But the veteran's family thought it was a published work and used it as a eulogy. I hope I could write a better one," Chen said.
"That shows how badly the veterans need recognition from the society."
"They feel respected when they see today's young people are still interested in their stories," Chen added.
After publishing the book, the volunteers invited veterans to tell their stories in person at schools, bookstores and libraries in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, in the past year.
A three-minute documentary based on materials from the interviews was also produced to honor the former military men.
On top of recording their war experiences, the volunteers also helped the veterans apply for medals in the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the war.
"On one hand, most of the veterans who live in the countryside did not know the news (of government honoring the veterans of the WWII). On the other hand, the government, which was eager to give these medals to the veterans, did not know their situations," Chen said.
"We served as a bridge linking the two sides and successfully helped most of the veterans get the medals," Chen said.
Zheng Zifeng was a college student two years ago. He joined the volunteer group to interview some of the veterans.
"In the past, all the knowledge I had about the war came from textbooks and TV series. Visiting the veterans gives me a direct insight into this period of history. I came to realize how precious the peace is," Zheng said.
Chen's 16-year-old daughter asked to accompany her father on his visits to veterans. Once, the girl left 300 yuan ($43) when leaving the home of a veteran called Ye Gaowei.
Later, the veteran contacted Chen, telling him that "among all the money and stuff he has received, he values the 300 yuan from his daughter the most as the money comes from the new generation of the country."
