Of the 40, some were more or less coerced by the Japanese police to join, while others signed up in order to earn a military salary. Liu Ying-hui, on the other hand, was working in the Puli distillery and had a son, but his patriotism made him give it all up and enlist.
40 人當中，有的是被日本警察半強迫徵召，有的是為了賺取軍俸前往戰場，而當時在埔里酒廠工作，已經育有一子的劉英輝則是為了「愛國心」，捨棄了工作，不顧家人反對而參戰。