The Long March, Never Fade Away (Part 1)

The Life Millennium: The 100 Most Important Events and People of the Past 1,000 Years, a book published by LIFE Magazine, Time Inc, has listed 100 most important events that taking place between the year 1000 to 2000 (AD) and with great impact on the development of the human civilization.

The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Long March is among the selected list.

Olufemi Samson Ogunsina
Air Force Colonel, Nigeria

It's still alive. It's something about determination.It should never go away.It should never fade away.

Giancarlo Franca Apuzzo
Air Force Colonel, Brazil

Sometimes in your life to have a better thing, you have to sacrifice yourself to reach this point.So the spirit of Long March is present in our daily lives.

Olufemi Samson Ogunsina
Air Force Colonel, Nigeria

I think China is what it is today because of the Long March. And it's a wonderful story, very impressive,very encouraging. It is a story of patriotism, a story of determination.

But let me go to the one about they crossing the river. They lost a lot of soldiers, they lost thousands of people there. So after crossing the river, I think it's enough for them to abandon the project. "We have lost a lot of people. There's no reason for us to continue. "But I'm surprised they still continue. Despite the number of people they lost, despite the casualty, they still continue with the mission.I'm so impressed with that, very very impressed, both with the leaders and the followers.It's a story of the leaders and followers.The leaders are correct and the followers are also correct.

The Long March, of course, there is a similarity between my experience and that of the Long March. And that is the determination.

What the Nigerian is doing now, the military is doing now, the government is doing now is exactly the same thing that was done in the Long March.We have an issue in the country which is known all over the world, the terrorism issue, Boko Haram.They've killed a lot of innocent people, both civilian and military.But now with ten years' losses, the Nigerian government keeps on fighting them with all it has, both diplomacy, military wise and everything the country has. It's given to ensure that the militants, the terrorism is brought to a good, to a conclusive end.I know with this determination, the government will surely win terrorism in the country.It is just a matter of time.

It's still alive. It's something about determination It should never go away.It should never fade away.

Giancarlo Franca Apuzzo
Air Force Colonel, Brazil

I joined the air force because I have a dream, a dream to fly.I think that one of my most important assignments was to command a fighter unit inside the Amazon forest.It was seven years ago and it was a challenge for me and for all my maintenance crew and all my pilots.There are no roads. There are not many commercial flights to this place. So it's quite difficult to be there and quite difficult to keep the system functioning well.We have to sacrifice ourselves and our families for them, getting apart from good things that we have in the big cities.But in the Long March, we have couples spread and aparted for a long long time have familiesaparted then and they never see each other again.So it's unbalanced. But the spirit must be the same. Self-sacrifice, determination, faith, belief.

If faith, it's just quite same as believing in your mission. The faith will make it easier for you. If you have the faith that this is the right thing, you will believe it strongly.

Sometimes in your life to have a better thing, you have to sacrifice yourself to reach this point.So the spirit of Long March is present in our daily lives.