Sun Jingkun makes a military salute in his uniform with the July 1 Medal, July 2021. [Photo by Du Wei]

Sun Jingkun, 98 years old, with a 74-year standing in the Communist Party of China (CPC), lies in the special care ward of Dandong Central Hospital, Liaoning Province. From time to time he calls out a few words as communication with his daughter Sun Meili.

A ray of sunlight shines through the window on the two photos hanging on the wall, in which Sun Jingkun gives a military salute, dressed in his old military uniform dotted with medals.

A soldier who gave up opportunities to visit his home for the sake of the war

Sun Jingkun was born in Shancheng Village, Jinshan Town, Yuanbao District, Dandong, Liaoning Province, in October 1924. When the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931–1945) broke out, he dropped out of school to make a living as he struggled with his farmer parents. Life started to look up after the war finished, and Sun Jingkun married a girl from his village.

At the end of 1947, a critical moment of the communists' counterattack, the Kuomintang (KMT) gathered large troops in northeast China for a desperate struggle. The Northeast People's Liberation Army, led by the Party Central Committee, was ready to take the entire northeast China at a stroke. The Liaoxi-Shenyang Campaign was imminent.

War was coming to his hometown. Sun Jingkun enlisted in the PLA without the hesitation as soon as he heard about recruitment. It was five days after he got married, in January 1948, 24-year-old Sun Jingkun bid farewell to his newly wedded wife, telling her "We can only hope for a better life after winning the war."