In early August 1986, on the day before he went to Fengshan, Kaohsiung County, to begin his schooling, he packed the harvested rice into sacks, finished the preparations for the village harvest festival, then told his parents he was off to military school the next day.
1986 年 8 月上旬，出發到高雄鳳山中正預校報到的前一天，馬耀把收割完的稻穀分袋裝好，做完部落豐年祭的準備工作後，他告訴父母隔天要去軍校報到。