Red Army veteran Li Guang visits schools and gives lectures to tell young people his stories of the Long March. [Photo provided to China Daily]

He says many of his comrades lost their lives during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945 and the three-year war of liberation.

"So many people died to build a better life for the generations to follow," Li says.

Li has been donating his pension to children from poor families so they may continue studying until university. Since 1995, he has donated more than 400,000 yuan to help more than 1,700 such children.

In 2000, Li was diagnosed with rectal cancer and survived a major surgery and follow-up treatment.

In 2002, he had acute pancreatitis that kept him in a coma for 20 days. Four years later, he was diagnosed with skin cancer, which took a few surgeries to control.

Despite his poor health, Li visits schools and armed forces institutes to tell young people about the struggles of the Long March, asking them to cherish life and the chance to get educated.

"I was born in the age of war, without a chance to study. Today, I feel sorry if some children cannot go to school because their families are poor. I've been a CPC member for 77 years, and helping such kids is my responsibility."