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The book was written by Nancy and Len Tsou, a couple from Taiwan who are long-time residents in the United States. According to Len, what prompted these two non-historians to embark on a 20-year research journey was a documentary.

“20 years ago, we watched the Good Fight, a documentary about the volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. We were astonished by the fact that 40,000 people from 50 different countries would fight for people from another nation, just because they all had the same faith. We were wondering if there were Chinese volunteers as well. After doing some research, we found three Chinese-sounding names on the list of international volunteers in the war. At that moment, we decided to find them and tell their stories. ”

Len says curiosity was the main impetus in the beginning, but now, curiosity has given way to responsibility.

“With such significant people and events behind the history, we think it is our duty to write the stories down and let the world know what really happened at that time.”

In the next 20 years, they traveled all over the world to do the research and tried to find the related people. Nancy says although the searching process was hard, they could never stop it.

“We spent all our evenings, weekends and vacations on the research. We couldn’t afford to waste any minute because those survivors were not getting any younger. If we didn’t act fast, their stories might never be told.”

The couple’s hard work paid off, bringing them pleasant surprises along the way.

“In 1988, I took part in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War’s victory. A veteran told me his doctor was a Chinese man back in the wartime. I could not believe it, so I went to his home. It turned out that the doctor was Bi Daowen, a Chinese-Indonesian, and he happened to be one of the three Chinese names we found in the beginning.”

Aside from Bi, the couple also succeeded in finding Chen Wenrao, Zhang Ji, Xie Weijin and 12 other Chinese volunteers.

Talking about the purpose of their endeavor, Len got a bit emotional.

“Chinese people had this image abroad that they only cared about themselves. We felt it every day in the U.S. Sometimes, I was wondering whether we were born like that. Doing this research helped me to see that it wasn’t the case. Thousands of Chinese people participated in the Independence War of Cuba and the October Revolution, and none of them was a deserter. Whenever we found a story like that, we became even more proud of being Chinese.”

Stories of Chinese people who served abroad were not the only thing Nancy and Len Tsou found during the searching process. They also discovered the stories of Dr. Janto Kaneti and Dr. Rolf Becker, who served in China until the end of World War II.

“These doctors came to help. The condition in China back then was way worse than that of Spain, but they came anyway. We want to thank them. It is a bit late, but it is something we have to do. It is never only about Chinese people. We are the world.”

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-fascist war. An updated version of Nancy and Len’s book will be published with more stories and information. The Tsous want to share their hopes, frustrations and the joy of human encounters rekindling fond memories and unshakable ideals. As they say, the history cannot be forgotten, and neither can those people.