Parade brings service members' dreams alive

Yao Jiuwei, a marine of the People's Liberation Army Navy, recalled that the first time he considered joining the military was on Sept 3, 2015.

"I was running on a treadmill at my university — Harbin Sport University in Heilongjiang province — and was watching a live broadcast of the grand parade in Beijing that marked the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. It deeply impressed me and made me truly want to become a soldier. So, after my graduation in 2017, I chose to enlist and was sent to the PLA Navy's Marine Corps.

"In 2019, I watched on TV at our camp the Oct 1 parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and I felt envious of those taking part in the National Day parade, wondering when I could participate in a parade someday. Now, I am here, training for the coming parade. It feels like my dream is coming true," he told China Daily in a recent interview at a military compound on the northwestern outskirts of Beijing.

Yao, now an officer of the PLA Navy's Marine Corps, was selected several months ago as one of two members from his company to participate in the parade on Sept 3, which marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. The parade be the country's 19th military parade since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949 and the second V-Day parade.

During the first part of the parade on the day, troops of members of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, as well as China's militia and reserve service will line up in formations along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing.

The second part of the 70-minute celebration event will consist of shows of flags, processions of troops and ground-based hardware, and a flyby of aircraft.

Yao's assignment is to work with tens of officers and soldiers picked from across the armed forces to carry honorary flags representing time-honored combat units that fought in the war against Japanese invaders.

"The flag I will carry in the parade was conferred to an infantry company, which was the predecessor of my company, in September 1939 for its soldiers' heroic performance in a fierce battle that eliminated many Japanese aggressors. Actually, the company was established in May 1928 and had distinguished itself in battles even before the 1939 engagement," the veteran marine emphasized.

"Carrying this flag through Tian'anmen Square means a lot to my company and me. It is a symbol of recognition and acknowledgment of my unit's glorious history and has become a great inspiration to my fellow officers and soldiers. It will be recorded in the company's history book and will definitely generate endless energy to propel us into combat training with full effort," he stated.