Xinhua News Agency, Shenyang, April 1st: "No one knows your name, but I have never forgotten it" - a relay of officers and soldiers of the Air Force of the Northern Theater Command has guarded the tombs of 69 Unknown Soldiers for more than 50 years
Mei Shixiong, Zhang Dongpan, Liu Ruonan
Qingming season.
In the Martyrs Cemetery in Jinpu New District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, soldier Li Dong solemnly affixed his name tag to the lower left corner of the tombstone of the martyrs, then got up and solemnly paid a military salute.
From this moment on, Li Dong officially replaces the squad leader Zhou Jian and becomes the "descendant" of the unknown martyr.
Li Dong is a recruit in a security service company of an equipment warehouse of the Air Force in the Northern Theater Command. As soon as he got off the company, he heard the squad leader tell the story of "the officers and soldiers of the warehouse guard the tomb of the unknown soldier"...
Martyrs are buried here, no one knows their names
In the spring of 1946, the former Liaonan Independent Second Division of the Chinese People's Liberation Army fought fiercely with the Kuomintang troops entrenched in the Goumenzi area of Pulandian, Dalian.
The battle was extremely brutal.
Among the wounded officers and soldiers of our army, 69 died in the rear hospital due to their serious injuries.
Their remains were buried around the nearby village of Lianfeng.
After the battle, the troops hurried south before they could record the details of the martyrs.
Martyrs are buried here, and no one knows their names.
Over time, the cemetery was overgrown with weeds and dilapidated.
In the 1970s, under the promotion of the resident government, the warehouse officers and soldiers stationed here moved the tombs of these unknown soldiers to the vicinity of the camp.
Since then, the resting place of the heroic soul is separated from the warehouse only by a wall.
After that, the warehouse officers and soldiers began to guard the tombs of the 69 unknown soldiers spontaneously.
Strive to be the descendants of the martyrs to continue the red blood
The pines burst, and the cemetery was silent.
The 69 tombstones do not have names, ages, places of origin, enlistment and sacrifice time. The officers and soldiers who went to the sacrifice often wondered: What does a martyr look like?
Where is home?
How old were you when you died?
After the Qingming Festival in 2013, officers and soldiers decided to find relatives for the unknown martyr.
In the following three years, they visited the local archives many times to collect materials, searched for clues through the elderly in the village, went to the army where the martyr was alive to verify the identity, and also issued "family search notices" for the unknown martyr on newspapers and the Internet. .
The officers and soldiers traveled more than 10,000 kilometers and visited more than 10 provinces and cities.
Unfortunately, due to the age, even after spending a lot of time and energy, they still did not find the relatives of the Unknown Soldier.
The search for relatives failed, and an idea gradually emerged, that is, "I am here to be the descendant of the martyrs"!
Immediately, the warehouse launched the activity of "claiming unknown martyrs and striving to be descendants of martyrs".
"I often come here to worship, send a bunch of flowers, talk to the martyrs, and talk about the army." As the first batch of "applicants", warehouse director Wang Zhanchun has been claiming the unknown martyrs for more than six years.
Every year, when recruits enter the camp, veterans leave the army, and soldiers join the party to take oath, he will tell the history for his comrades in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and guide the officers and soldiers to continue their red blood and perform their duties conscientiously.
In 2017, the resident government decided to relocate the 69 tombs of the Unknown Soldier to the resident Jinpu New Area Martyrs Cemetery, which is a consolation to the martyrs.
Relay to protect the spirit of martyrs from generation to generation
Today, in the center of the Martyrs Cemetery in Jinpu New District, the eight characters "The People's Heroes are Immortal" are shining brightly, indicating people's admiration for the martyrs; in the cemetery, the tombstones of 69 martyrs are neatly arranged, and the common names are engraved on the monuments - — "The Unknown Soldier".
There is a nameplate on the lower left corner of these tombstones, which records the names of the officers and soldiers who claimed, and the time of claiming, "2013.10 Zhang Bao", "2015.12 Wei Yuan"... Time flies, veterans leave, recruits take over, and the names on the nameplates have changed. Again, what remains unchanged is the inheritance of the spirit of the martyrs.
"The martyrs fought with blood in exchange for today's peace, and I will protect them." Li Dong felt very proud of taking over the "handover baton" of the veterans.
"The claiming officers and soldiers have long regarded the unknown martyrs as their relatives, and they feel this bloodline that spans time and space." Gao Yuqiang, political committee member of the warehouse, said that the memorial activities should be integrated into the characteristic culture of the warehouse and the cultivation of fighting spirit. Guide officers and soldiers not to forget the history, to continue the blood, and not to change their true colors.
The heroic spirit of heaven and earth is still awe-inspiring.
Now, the renovated Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has become a local red education base.
Every major festival, officers and soldiers of the army and staff of the resident agencies and units will come here to pay homage to the memory of the martyrs.