One winter morning, late in the month of June of 1995 (Southern Hemisphere, but still near the Equator), when Zhang was age 9, the homeland was invaded by UNITA guerrilla fighters from a region of the country in the mountains to the north, as well as some from the southeast corner of the country which was still mostly UNITA controlled. The invaders consisted of various civet species, colobus monkeys, galagos, and miscellaneous other species including pangolins, and they were leaving no survivors in their wake. Months earlier, there had been a peace accord (the Lusaka Protocol) agreed to among several separatist movements who fought against Portugal for Angola's independence, but that peace accord had collapsed. Since Angola's independence in 1974-75, there had been 20 years of power struggle, which had been an ongoing series of civil war fighting waged against the MPLA government by those loyal to UNITA. That movement was fully intent on seizing control of the country, and it wasn't long before the invaders were joined by forces from Cabinda, a small country to the north that was not at that time recognized by the UN as a legitimate country. As it already was, the UNITA had in years past, with the help of what had been apartheid South Africa, controlled territory far to the east around Mavinga and Jamba. However, the UNITA invaders could no longer rely on South Africa as the ally they had in past years, as that country had pulled out of Namibia years earlier and had issues of their own abolishing their apartheid rule.

But in spite of South African troops being out of the picture, the rebel insurgency still had the homeland in the Province of Cunene where the Meerkat Family lived badly outnumbered and desperately needing everyone, regardless of gender, health condition or age, who can hold and fire a weapon. And no one in the that part of the country could rely on much protection from the country's military...The military was doing all it can do to defend the rest of the country. So the need for those who can fight meant owners of nonessential businesses had to close shop to go fight, and cubs who were going to school had to pull out of school, along with their teachers or school masters, to go fight in the war. Even the leaders and law enforcement officers of towns, leaders of provinces as well as the leaders of the country along with other elected officials picked up weapons to go fight. "Everyone who can hold and fire a weapon" meant "everyone who can hold and fire a weapon", with only few special exceptions. The animals of the community were determined that UNITA's attempt at separatism and dismemberment of the territory of the homeland would be vigorously combated.
While the UNITA invaders had only a limited amount of assault vehicles and other military equipment, the anthro-animals of the southern part of the country had less than that. All they had for military weapons, for the most part, were old civilian firearms that had been in their families for generations. They did have some Portuguese G3A3 assault rifles and old ammo that had been taken from fallen Portuguese during Angola's War for Independence years earlier, along with a few M-16s and Chinese rifles taken from fallen UNITA fighters in more recent years. What they had for grenades were homemade explosives and dynamite with the fuses trimmed down to only a few seconds, which was often surrounded by old nails, sharp stones and broken glass wrapped in duct tape...Some of the dynamite was old and unstable. Their military transport were their own personal vehicles, nearly all of which were in ragged mechanical condition. The populations of the country's southern provinces were basically a rag tag, civilian army with an unwavering loyalty to the country's non-apartheid Labour Party presently in power, the 'Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola' (MPLA). And there was no option of surrender or negotiation which no one wanted anyway...That was because the UNITA invasion was a genocidal one as was evident when those who had cars with radios that worked had already heard reports of extermination campaigns being carried out in a few of their northern villages, and knew their only two choices were prevail or be killed...and the 2nd choice was certainly not a viable option.
Members of the family who were called upon to help defend the homeland were Zhang's dad, armed with a Portuguese G3A3, in what ever way he could serve with his hip joints being bad, and Zhang's two older brothers and Zhang himself. Cheesah was only 3, and Lacara, the mom, had to stay home to care for him. Zhang, like his friends and older brothers, found himself helping to defend the homeland in a guerrilla combat war, as a 9 year old cub soldier. At his young age, Zhang, was issued the 4/10 gauge shotgun belonging to the family, and given rifled slugs for ammo.
Zhang, like his older brothers Moze and Jorad, got the experience of firing on other living beings, and at age 9, it wasn't long before Zhang had two kills to his credit...This is at an age where cubs in 1st world, developed, "nanny state" countries know war only from their favorite video games fought from the comfort of a sofa...But this was not a video game...This is where it got real...This is where a cub really learns to grow up, and learns to grow up fast. Maybe even too fast...It's also where death has no discretion as to who is a cub and who is an adult. And at a time or two, Zhang had a close scrape with death himself from enemy gunfire.
Moze, Jorad and Zhang, as well as others, were well instructed in martial arts when there was time for it, because there wasn't the guarantee of a firearm, or ammo, being available. In some parts of the country, there was a shortage weapons, and more so a shortage of ammo. Some meerkats and other animals in the southern provinces were fighting with weapons, ammo and grenades (the real grenades) that were taken from fallen enemy fighters. Occasionally a rifle taken from a fallen enemy fighter would be identified as an M16-A1...which was evident that UNITA was being supplied with American weapons.
Not long into the war, it was realized that pangolins, civets and various other species who are MPLA loyal citizens from distant parts of the southern provinces were mistaken for UNITA fighters, and as a result, came under friendly fire...Because they were not from the local area, the locals did not know who they were. This was soon remedied by issuing strips of cloth for themselves and their allies to wear either as a bandana or as a band tied around an arm to identify who they are. Sometimes the cloth wasn't easy to come by, but strips of cloth were always available torn from furniture or old blankets. Sometimes cloth was taken from the upholstery of their old ragged cars if no other source was available.
The UNITA forces began trying to confuse the civilian fighters in Cunene by having some of their own civets and pangolins wear bandanas and arm cloths so they couldn't be identified as an enemy by the local fighters. But that idea proved to be a folly, and it wasn't long before the UNITA leaders abandoned it. Because it was a guerrilla war, their own fighters wearing the cloth strips caused them to come under friendly fire from their own forces.

One hot July afternoon, only a few weeks into the war, Zhang saw his next oldest brother, Jorad, take a sniper shot in the chest. Zhang immediately dropped his weapon and ran over crying to Jorad, who was still conscious, but laid dying. Immediately, the adult meerkat who was with Jorad and Zhang threw himself to the ground to shield the cubs from further gunfire with his own body, as he frantically tried to locate the sniper.

As Jorad was moaning, "Estou a sangrar...Estou ferido gravemente (I'm bleeding...I'm hurt badly.)" another round barely got past the adult meerkat and ricocheted near the cubs, followed by the distant sounds of muzzle fire and projectile crack, as Zhang laid with his brother, Jorad, hugging him.
The adult meerkat finally spotted the pangolin sniper and took him out with a fatal 30.06 shot to the forehead. The adult meerkat knew the pangolin was a UNITA fighter by him having no bandana or arm cloth...and from the obvious fact the pangolin had just shot Jorad who was clearly wearing a bandana.
Jorad gave his last farewell to Zhang. Then said to Zhang in a weak voice, "Zhang, I love you. And mom and dad. And our brothers. Say good bye for me to them. Tell them I love them."
Then Jorad passed away. Zhang cried bitterly, embracing his deceased brother for a while before he and the adult meerkat picked up the weapons and ammo from the bodies of Jorad and the pangolin sniper and moved on. Jorad's body was picked up for burial that evening.
Jorad's funeral was held the following morning at the village community worship center, which is an unpainted, concrete block building, with stone slab floor and slate shingle roof, and with it's cemetery beyond it's north side. It was on the outskirts of the north end of the village, just off of a narrow dirt lane highway leading north out of the village which ran along side the narrow gauge railroad. For a hearse, Jorad's body arrived in back of Granddad Zeth's old '54 Rekord station wagon...There was no hearse...No one in that part of the Cunene Province had ever even seen a real hearse before. There were no funeral homes or embalming either, as those things were totally unheard of. As customary for the locals, Jorad's body spent the night at home before Granddad Zeth stopped by at dawn with his car so the family can take the body to the village worship center that morning for the funeral.
Sy Aardwolf, who was the proprietor of the automotive garage and junkyard in the village, and was also the pastor of the worship center, was the one who conducted Jorad's funeral. The worship center had no piano and organ, but they did have an old harmonium (portable pump style organ).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_organ#/media/File:Harmonium_20151009_%2823914086965%29.jpg
On that old harmonium, a very beautiful a song was played for Jorad's farewell as those animals chosen to be Jorad's pallbearers carried out the homemade, wood crate casket, adorned with wildflowers, containing his body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulera_O5esU
The six pallbearers who shoulder carried Jorad's casket were Jorad's dad Bron, his granddad Zeth (who never dreamed he'd someday help carry his grandson's casket), older brother Moze, friend of the family Sanchez Genet, Sanchez's son Sefu, and Jorad's Uncle Amos from his mom's side of the family.
When Jorad's casket was being lowered into the grave, several gunshots could be heard in a far off distance to the northwest...That meant fighting somewhere going on. It was hoped that during Jorad's burial that everyone would not have to run to the cars and grab up their guns, but fortunately, no further gunshots were heard and no UNITA rebels had showed up.

Along with the family members and friends attending Jorad's funeral was also a 13 year old, female meerkat not related to or known to the family, but was in as much mourning as the family was. The family did welcome the adolescent female, who introduced herself and told the family about her and Jorad being friends.

During the remainder of that war, Zhang also saw two cousins die...thus two more funerals at the worship center. One cousin was his Uncle Amos' oldest son Sengo, he saw actually get shot, the way he saw his brother die. And the other cousin was on his dad's side of the family who he came up on as she laid unconscious and dying.
Later during the war, Zhang was blazed in the thigh while helping a wounded fellow meerkat to safety, which he would later be awarded a medal of honour for.
In November of that same year, which is shortly before summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the UNITA rebels were well on their way to being defeated. It was then, Zeth Meerkat, who is Grandpa on the four brother's mom's side of the family, was killed while helping to drive the last of the invaders back to where they came from. It happened when a jackal fighting for UNITA broke from his fleeing comrades, ran into the jungle, circled up from behind the patrol Zeth was with, then shot Zeth in the back. Immediately a mongoose in Zeth's patrol quickly turned around and shot and killed the jackal...The rifle picked up from the fallen jackal was no other than a forward assist equipped M-16A1.

Only four months after laying Jorad to rest, the funeral for Granddad Zeth was held at the village worship center, with Pastor Sy Aardwolf presiding over the service. Zeth Meerkat's body had arrived from home early that morning aboard Sanchez Genet's old Wartburg station wagon. Being that a large area had been blown from Zeth Meerkat's chest as the result of an M-16 exit wound, the family had an old blanket placed over the chest of Zeth's body. And like as it was with Jorad's funeral, while the homemade, wood casket containing Granddad Zeth Meerkat's body was being carried out of the church building to the adjacent cemetery, a farewell song was also played for him on that old harmonium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aluKY8lBNsM
As Zeth was laid to rest beside the graves of his parents Dominique and Gloria, family members and friends still listened out for the sound of gunshots and were watchful for any rebels that might show up, being ready to grab their guns at any time if they had to. Beside Zeth's grave, a burial plot was reserved for when the day comes his wife Mylah should pass away. Granddad Zeth had an older brother, Rudo, who had died back in 1963 fighting in the war for independence from Portugal. However, Rudo had not been buried in that cemetery. Back in that day and time, Lacara's side of the family was living near Menongue which was in a province to the north.
Of course, as with the death of her 2nd son Jorad, Lacara along with the rest of the family also took the death of her dad very hard.
No certificates of death were ever filed either...They never are...Same goes for births and marriages as well. That part of the country is not densely populated. When someone is born (always at home), everyone knows who was born. When someone dies, everyone knows who died. When a happy couple gets married, everyone knows who they are. And most animals in that part of the country were never aware that such certificates exist anyway.
Within a week of Lacara's dad's death, the civilian fighters in Cunene finally prevailed, and the UNITA fighters were drove back north into their mountain homelands and back to other places they had came from.
During this most recent flash point in the ongoing civil war, the animals Zhang and his family knew had only encountered UNITA forces. It was fortunate the better trained and well equipped South African army had no longer been involved in the war. Had that been the case, the outcome for the untrained, poorly equipped locals would have been a really disastrous situation.
Once the UNITA rebels were driven away, the locals did not continue to pursue them. Doing so would have only meant more guerrilla fighting and bloodshed by going after them. Besides that, the rebel animals took such a loss of life among them during the later part this round of the war, and another invasion would be a mistake they weren't about to repeat anytime soon.
Then it was only a couple of months later, in January of 1996, which is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the MPLA government had defeated the remaining UNITA forces further north.
One of their first priorities was to conduct a campaign of locating and disbanding the rebel guerrilla militias so they would no longer be a threat to any other animals again. Former rebel leaders who were captured were either executed or imprisoned for their roles in the attempted insurrection, and also for the genocide campaigns and other war crimes committed against the citizens of the country. There were a few of the former rebel leaders who had fled the country and never were found. And many rebel leaders had fled back to the southeast corner of the country around Mavinga and Jamba which were still in UNITA control. However, the government did offer large bounties for their capture. As for their militia compounds throughout the country, they were burned and bulldozed under, and their abandoned war equipment was seized and placed into service in the Angolan military. However, UNITA still had it's stronghold of control in the southeast corner of the country which still remained a challenge for Angola to contend with. But in spite of a state of civil war since 1974 that still continued to exist, everything was at least under control...for now.

Like all others who died fighting against the UNITA rebels, Grand Dad Zeth, Jorad, and the two cousins who died, even though as civilian fighters, were posthumously awarded the gold grade, Medalah Merito Militar (Medal of Military Merit) by military representatives from Luanda for their sacrifice in the war.
Zhang, like all others who were wounded, but lived, received the bronze grade, Medalha Merito Militar.
The award ceremony was conducted at the cafe' in the village by the two genets and the mongoose who were the military representatives...Needless to say, it was with a large crowd inside the cafe' as well as outside around the front door.
Because those who helped protect the country were civilians, thus there being no military records on anyone there, the representatives had to rely on the testimonies given by the locals at the cafe' as to who was eligible to receive a medal of honour. There was nothing to have prevented anyone from giving a false testimony in collaboration for a friend to receive a medal they did not deserve...And because that part of the province never issues birth or death certificates, it would have been easy enough for someone to pull off receiving a gold grade medal posthumously in behalf for someone who never existed...However, none of that kind of stuff ever happen...The locals of that community had better integrity than to try to pull off something that dishonourable. All testimony by all animals there was straight, forthwith and truthful. Only those who were entitled to a medal of honour were the ones who received one, and that was the way the locals wanted it to remain.
After the award ceremony was completed, a gathering of locals who had brought along a collection of horns, drums and other musical instruments assembled on the edge of the dirt street in front of the cafe' and played the Angolan National Anthem for everyone who took part in defending the homeland. The instruments were a bit ragged, but the animals who played them did a beautiful job at it...A professional band probably could not have been able to do it any better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwDAWytUrX8

Even in the cafe', those animals who were seated at tables and booths stood to their feet as everyone placed their right paw over their heart, and the military representatives saluted, for the playing of the Anthem.

As for Moze and Zhang, along with others they were growing up with, they'll never be required for future military service upon becoming adults...Like their deceased brother Jorad, they've already fulfilled that obligation as cubs.