90-year-old WWII veteran inspires Hong Kong youth with tales of valor, peace

On December 8, 1941, Lin, then six, witnessed Japanese planes soaring over Kowloon City in Hong Kong. The roar of engines shattered the morning calm, and the once-bright sun was obscured by smoke. She saw refugees clutching children, their faces streaked with tears, a haunting image that introduced her to death.

Lin could never forget the day Japanese soldiers burst into her home. They tied up and viciously beat her older sister Lin Zhan on completely false pretenses. Lin Zhan later became her inspiration in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. "If I am killed, avenge me!" her sister's desperate cry etched itself into Lin's memory, intertwining personal and national grief.

"We couldn't just sit here and wait to be beaten," Lin's mother urged, spurring the family to join the resistance. At just eight years old, Lin served as a "little messenger" for the guerrilla fighters, deftly hiding information in her clothing or inside fruit baskets.

Despite her youth, she learned the ways of the battlefield, navigating treacherous terrain to deliver vital messages.

After six months as a messenger, Lin was assigned to a field hospital, where she tended to wounded soldiers. The lack of medical supplies haunted her, yet the soldiers' unwavering spirit inspired her.

A comrade blinded in combat urged her to become a doctor and return after the war to heal his wounded eyes. This plea became her beacon of hope, a light piercing the darkness and cherished deeply in her heart.