The 90-year-old veteran of Guangxi regretted that he had not brought his comrades-in-arms back to protect the heroes and martyrs for nearly <> years

Liuzhou, 4 April (Zhongxin Net) -- Guangxi's 1-year-old veteran regrets not bringing his comrades-in-arms back to protect the heroes and martyrs for nearly 90 years

Written by Liu Juncong Wei Guozheng

"Mo Daddy, go up again today to take a look?" "yes." On March 3, in Jiangkou Township, Luzhai County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province, 31-year-old Mo Zhaoming walked toward a martyr's monument with great strides and singing military songs.

The picture shows Mo Zhaoming caressing the name on the Martyrs' Monument. Wei Guozheng Regency

One step, two steps, three steps... Mo Zhaoming's steps were steady and steady, "There are 198 steps, I remember it very well. Mo Zhaoming said. Before coming to the Martyrs' Monument, Mo Zhaoming stroked the names of the martyrs on the inscription over and over again, and solemnly saluted the monument.

The picture shows Mo Zhaoming saluting the Martyrs' Monument. Wei Guozheng Regency

"Many of my comrades-in-arms are buried on the Korean Peninsula, and it is a lifelong regret that I cannot pay homage to them in person. And this monument is buried with the martyrs who once guarded Jiangkou Township, and I put this 'comradeship' on this and settled them well, which is also a responsibility on my shoulders. Mo Zhaoming said.

He picked up a bamboo broom and swept the fallen leaves in the cemetery, and he had been alone with these martyrs for nearly sixty years.

In 1950, when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea began, Mo Zhaoming, who was only 16 years old at the time, joined the Chinese Volunteers and went to Korea to fight. He marched for nearly a month and a half with insufficient fried rice and fried noodles to the front line of Maliangshan. In the Battle of Maliangshan, Mo Zhaoming served as a correspondent, responsible for pulling telephone lines in the battlefield full of bullets to ensure smooth communication on the front line.

"Every day we are shuttling through the blockade line under artillery fire, our ears are always discerning the whistling of shells, and we must seize the opportunity to lie down immediately, otherwise we will die." Mo Zhaoming said.

But the battlefield is impermanent, and the war is unpredictable. The deputy instructor who was with Mo Zhaoming was hit by a shell, died and buried in the Korean battlefield. And this deputy instructor is also Mo Zhaoming's fellow villager in Jiangkou, "failed to bring him back to his hometown of Jiangkou." Mo Zhaoming was very sorry.

After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Mo Zhaoming retired from the army and returned to Jiangkou Township to work as a farmer. In the 20s of the 70th century, the township government staff proposed to Mo Zhaoming to gather the remains of the martyrs who died in the local area to build a martyr's monument.

This proposal pulls Mo Zhaoming back to the little-known story of bandit suppression that took place in Jiangkou Township. In 1950, the People's Liberation Army of the Chinese went to Jiangkou Township to participate in the battle against bandits, and a unit met the bandits in the mountains and fought fiercely, and two PLA soldiers unfortunately died.

One of the soldiers who died was named Wan Jiayi, a freshman at Tsinghua University. At that time, he could choose to return to Tsinghua University for further study, but he insisted on continuing to serve in the army, and he died here at the age of 22. Talking about this history, Mo Zhaoming couldn't help but choke up and cry.

When these martyrs died, most of them were hastily buried in the wilderness. Mo Zhaoming searched the surrounding villages and eventually found the remains of ten martyrs, and placed them properly in clay pots, focusing on the martyrs' monument on a hillside at that time. Since then, Mo Zhaoming has been guarding the hillside, and he often visits every year to visit and clean up the martyrs.

The picture shows Mo Zhaoming sweeping the fallen leaves around the Martyrs' Monument. Wei Guozheng Regency

In 1998, as the Martyrs' Monument fell into disrepair and was at risk of collapse, Mok decided to relocate the clay pots containing the remains of the martyrs with his own hands.

Mo Zhaoming, then 65, put one end of the rope around his waist and the other end over a tree. With the help of the township government staff, Mo Zhaoming probed into the grave of the Martyrs' Monument, carefully took out ten clay pots, replaced the bones with new clay pots and moved to the new site of the Martyrs' Monument. "I want to do my best for them." Mo Zhaoming said.

Nowadays, as the stories of these martyrs are known to more and more people, Mo Zhaoming is also responsible for explaining the Martyrs' Monument to convey this history to more people. In 2020, a sudden visit surprised Mo Zhaoming.

After decades of searching, relatives of the martyr Wan Jiayi finally found his remains in this small township in Guangxi. Looking at the old man in front of him, who had never known each other, but had silently guarded Wan Jia Yi for nearly 60 years, the relatives could not say how moved they were in their hearts, they took Mo Zhaoming's hand and said, "From now on, you will be our family." ”

In recent years, Mo Zhaoming learned from the news that the remains of nine batches of 913 martyrs of the Chinese Civilian Volunteers have been brought back to their hometown by special plane, and his eyes have more light, and he hopes that his deputy instructor can return to his hometown one day.

The picture shows Mo Zhaoming displaying his commemorative medal to resist US aggression and aid Korea. Wei Guozheng Regency

"If there is a day when his soul returns to his homeland, I will also bury him here well and stay with him all the time." Mo Zhaoming said. (End)