60-year-old Yang Ning from Liaoning moved to 8 provinces
He found relatives for more than 400 martyrs (Inheritance·Red Gene Era)
Our reporter Xin Yang and Hu Jingyi
In the early morning, a group of special visitors were welcomed in the Liberation Jinzhou Martyrs Cemetery in Jinzhou, Liaoning.
Most of them are from rural areas in Guizhou. They came to Jinzhou for the first time on this trip to pay homage to their loved ones who have died for many years.
"Grandpa Liu Dingfang was killed in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. We couldn't find his name on the Internet until he appeared on a list this year." The martyr's relative Zhong Mingmei came to the cemetery early with a bouquet of flowers.
This list comes from a volunteer in Tai'an County, Anshan City, Liaoning Province-Yang Ning.
Among the people who came to worship, 60-year-old Yang Ning was gray-haired and lean. She silently recorded scenes of martyrs' relatives coming to worship with her mobile phone.
In the past 13 years, Yang Ning has witnessed countless such moments. He has traveled to more than 200 cemeteries of large and small martyrs and 184 villages in 8 provinces, and found relatives for more than 400 martyrs who died in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. .
In 2019, Yang Ning was named "Liaoning Good People·Good People Around" by the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department and Provincial Civilization Office, and was named "Liaoning Charity Red Man" by the Liaoning Provincial Charity Federation.
A letter
All parties were mobilized to check and visit, repeated deliberation, and finally confirmed the names of 109 martyrs
In March of this year, the Guizhou Provincial Department of Veterans Affairs received a letter of seeking relatives and a booklet containing information such as the names and birthplaces of the martyrs who resisted the US and Aid Korea.
Yang Ning collected this information for 5 years.
Five years ago, when Yang Ning visited the Liberation Jinzhou Martyrs Cemetery, he heard that the cemetery was buried with 500 or 600 volunteer soldiers from the Korean War.
These martyrs are all one person, one tomb. The tombstones erected that year have been eroded by wind and rain for decades, and some of them have been blurred.
After Yang Ning checked one by one, he found that the martyrs of Guizhou origin were very concentrated.
"I recorded the name and place of origin on the tombstone one by one, and then checked the original record of the cemetery." Yang Ning said, "When the war was in that year, there was a field hospital in Jinzhou. A large number of wounded soldiers were transported here from the front. He passed away due to his injuries. Many of the original records may have been dictated by the soldiers while they were still alive, and some were mixed with dialects. As a result, the recorded text may be homophones or even inaccurate, requiring repeated scrutiny."
If it is a martyr in the Liaoning area, Yang Ning will act immediately, visit the local civil affairs department or the retired military affairs department in the hometown of the martyr, continue to check the information of the martyrs registered in the place of origin, and then look for the families of the martyrs accordingly.
But Guizhou was too far for Yang Ning at the time.
"Faced with changes in administrative divisions, inaccurate information, and unfamiliar environments, I can only organize the information temporarily and wait for the opportunity." Yang Ning said.
After receiving the letter from Yang Ning, Guizhou mobilized relevant departments and media throughout the province to search literature, investigate and visit. It took several months to finally confirm the names of 109 martyrs and find the families of 20 martyrs.
"This is the first time we have concentrated on finding the families of so many martyrs. We have to thank volunteers like Yang Ning." said Lu Gang, deputy director of the Guizhou Provincial Veterans Affairs Department.
A persistence
To find relatives for the martyrs, he went to the Martyrs Cemetery in Shenyang for the War of Resistance against U.S. Aid Korea no less than 200 times
Yang Ning worked at the Taian County Museum before retiring.
In 2007, during a census of cultural relics, he accidentally visited a number of martyrs' cemeteries. He heard that many martyrs' tombs were rarely visited for decades.
"I feel very uncomfortable in my heart. The martyrs shed their blood for the country, but they lie in a long sleep but no relatives know about them." Yang Ning said, from then on, he had the idea of helping the martyrs "find their relatives."
Leaning on a bicycle, Yang Ning visited the martyrs cemetery in the province.
"Within 200 kilometers, I will go there by bike." Yang Ning said, some martyrs cemeteries are not open to traffic and can only rely on cycling, and you can visit nearby martyrs cemeteries along the way.
He only took a long-distance bus when the distance exceeded 200 kilometers.
The search usually lasts for several days, and the transportation and accommodation expenses must be paid by oneself.
In the past 13 years, Yang Ning has been to more than 200 martyrs' cemeteries, and has been to Guangxi the furthest to find relatives for more than 400 martyrs.
He went to the Martyrs Cemetery in Shenyang for the War of Resistance against US Aid Korea no less than 200 times.
When asked about the cost of these years, Yang Ning waved his hand and said that he would find relatives for the martyrs without mentioning money.
Yang Ning used his experience in museum work to "find relatives" for the martyrs, looking for clues from local county chronicles and related materials.
At first, I focused on and searched for martyrs from Liaoning, especially Anshan and surrounding areas.
He numbered the martyrs' information one by one, and then checked them one by one.
"On the one hand is the loneliness of the martyrs, and on the other is the bitter thoughts of the martyrs. If they can accurately inform their relatives of the burial place of the martyrs, it will also be a great comfort to them." For more than ten years, with this responsibility and tenacity, Yang Ning has been on the way. Forward.
A friendship
Every time you find the families of martyrs, Yang Ning will accompany them to the martyrs’ cemetery to worship
An old black briefcase, Yang Ning can not leave, full of photos and paper documents.
There are more than 1,000 photos, all of which are tombs of martyrs and martyrs taken by Yang Ning.
In each photo, Yang Ning can tell a series of stories and accurately call out the names of martyrs in the photos.
Several stacks of paper documents, classified by cemetery, printed detailed information about the martyrs.
Yang Ning said: "Every martyr and martyred is like my relative." Every time he finds the family of a martyr, Yang Ning will accompany them to the cemetery for worship.
In 2014, when Yang Ning was looking for information about the martyrs in the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery of Changchun City, he happened to see the three words "Li Jitang" and he stopped.
After learning that Li Jitang’s hometown was Liaoning, Yang Ning immediately crossed over half of Changchun and searched the archives of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The list of tens of thousands of people, more than three hours, Yang Ning finally confirmed his memory on the yellow card of the seriously injured: Li Jitang, from Xinfa Village, Huangshatuo Town, Tai'an County, Liaoning.
He rushed home by train overnight. Early the next morning, after reconfirming in the archives of the County Civil Affairs Bureau, he rode his bicycle to Xinfa Village and finally found Li Jitang's little niece in nearby Houjiatun.
At the tomb of the martyr Hu Mingxu, his nephew Hu Bingfa took out the "Letter to Uncle" prepared in advance and reported to him the situation at home: "14 children are brothers and sisters, 15 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren surnamed Hu ( One conscript), the whole family is in good health, everything is going well, don't worry!” Yang Ning would be moved every time he saw such a scene.
When looking around, people often ask, "You came all the way, who are you a martyr?" Yang Ning replied that he was a relative.
"At first it was for convenience, and over time, I really regarded myself as their relatives." He said.