He was the first to fall on March 27, which the Myanmar military calls Armed Forces Day but the rest of the country calls Anti-Fascist Resistance Day.

Chit Bo Bo Nyein, 21, a young man whose first love was football before the February 1 coup, now wished to see the end of military rule in his country. And, in the end, he sacrificed his life for this cause.

He marched with a large group of young demonstrators in Ywarma Lal, a ward in Yangon's Insein township, early on the day of his death, in a display of resistance to the military takeover that had dashed their generation's hopes.

They were ambushed by around a dozen soldiers who were waiting for them as they approached a barricade set up by the demonstrators themselves. The soldiers opened fire as soon as they were within range, scattering the crowd.

The majority of the people managed to flee. Two others were injured, including a 14-year-old boy who needed abdominal surgery, but Chit Bo Bo Nyein was the only one killed in the junta's day of shame's first volley of gunfire.

More than 150 others would die by the end of the day across the region, as regime forces reveled in an orgy of brutality against unarmed civilians.

A Proud Legacy

Chit Bo Bo Nyein, also known as Ar Yar Yar, died around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to his brother, Aung Ko Ko Zaw.

Before hitting him on the right side of his body and passing through his ribs, the bullet that killed him had already hit another man of around the same age.

Aung Ko Ko Zaw explained how his brother was murdered in cold blood. “They laid their guns on the sandbags put up by the demonstrators, aimed carefully at the people, and shot,” he said.

He said, "I'm very sorry that my brother died, but I'm also proud of him for giving his life in this way."

Chit Bo Bo Nyein was the family's fourth of five children. He found his calling in life five years ago, at the age of 15, when he realized he wanted to be a world-class footballer like his idol, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

“He enjoyed imitating Paul Pogba's style of play. Pogba's style, including his hairstyle, was imitated by him. He is depicted in photographs. Aung Ko Ko Zaw described him as "very dynamic."

His desire to become Myanmar's Pogba grew to the point that it trumped all other interests, including his education. But it also led to athletic success, earning him a spot on the Hantharwady United U21 football team as a midfielder. He was also the captain of his squad, much like his idol.

His death was a great loss not only for his team but also for Myanmar's football future, according to Chit Ko Ko, a Hantharwady United teacher.

Unbearable grief

Chit Bo Bo Nyein always wanted to make his country proud by bringing it back to its former glory in a sport he loved. The national team was once one of Asia's finest, but half a century of military rule had reduced it to a shadow of its former glory, as had virtually any other aspect of life in Myanmar.

Although the junta celebrated its own exalted self-image on March 27 in the company of dignitaries from the few countries that haven't condemned its heinous abuse of Myanmar's people, its troops once again disgraced the nation with depraved displays of brutality.

The regime had warned demonstrators the day before that they were “in danger of being shot in the head” like so many others who had been killed in this cowardly manner in the previous weeks.

Despite this, tens of thousands of demonstrators, including Chit Bo Bo Nyein, turned out across the country to defy the junta's attempts to terrorize them into submission. The nation's stain of the regime's cowardice was ultimately left to average citizens to clean up.

At least 500 people have been killed by the dictatorship in the first two months of its reign of terror. Some civilians, including children, have been gunned down in their own homes by junta forces determined to inflict as much pain as possible on a recalcitrant populace.

The mounting death toll has become almost intolerable for Aung Ko Ko Zaw, whose brother willingly gave his life for the cause of restoring power to the people of Myanmar.

He said of the soldiers who have taken the lives of so many innocent people, "I quiver with indignation when I see them."

“The problem is that we are powerless to respond. Everything I want is for them to lose as soon as possible. My brother's life isn't the only thing at stake. I dislike seeing someone suffer at the hands of such people.”