“It’s been 74 years, my brother has finally been found, and my parents’ last wish has finally been fulfilled.” When the 78-year-old Jiao Fulan learned that his brother Jiao Futian’s martyr’s place of sacrifice and the mausoleum had been found, Excited to cry!
During this year’s Qingming Festival, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, together with the People’s Daily New Media and others, continued to carry out the activity of “finding relatives for martyrs”. 40 pieces of information about family search were selected and clues were collected from the whole society. Up to now, it has been confirmed by the Department of Veterans Affairs that the relatives of the four martyrs have been successfully searched. Martyr Jiao Futian is one of them.
One day 74 years ago, Jiao Futian’s parents rushed to visit their son’s army station and watched their son follow the army to the battlefield of the Huaihai Campaign. Who knew this parting would be a lifetime forever. “The martyr’s card was mailed back, and I only knew that my brother died, but no one knew where he was buried.” Jiao Fulan recalled, “My father and mother always asked someone to look for my brother’s tomb, but there was no news. Sad to leave this world, before he died, he also asked his descendants to continue searching, and he must go to see my brother’s tomb.”
In the past, wars were raging, and mountains and rivers were separated by mountains and rivers. . Today, the “Family Search for the Martyrs” campaign reconnects the martyrs and their relatives. In this year’s family tracing activities, 30 relatives of martyrs are looking for the burial places of martyrs, and 10 are known burial places of martyrs to find relatives of martyrs.
In Chengwu County, Heze City, Shandong Province, a comrade from the local Veterans Affairs Bureau saw that there was a martyr named “Jiao Xiangtian” in the family tracing information. Immediately acted, kept checking various archives and materials, and repeatedly verified with the Huaihai Battle Shuangjiji Martyrs Cemetery, and finally confirmed that the “Jiao Xiangtian” martyr should be the Jiao Futian martyr. What is the reason for the “deviation” in the information of the martyrs? It turned out that due to the handwriting of the year, there were errors in “image” and “blessing”, “Nine Girl Rong Village” and “Nine Girl Village”.
Finally, the Chengwu County Veterans Affairs Bureau successfully found the sister, sister-in-law and four nephews of Martyr Jiao Futian. The bureau said that in the next step, it will actively connect with the relatives of the martyrs, and when the epidemic dissipates, it will organize the relatives of the martyrs Jiao Futian to go to the burial place of the martyrs to pay homage.
In Changyi City, Shandong Province, the information of relatives looking for the burial site of Martyr Li Hongxu attracted the attention of the local Veterans Affairs Bureau and other departments. After several turns, they learned from the old man Yang Zhizhong, who had guarded the Martyrs Cemetery in Yinma Town, Changyi City for 21 years, that on the tombstone of Martyrs No. 11 in the fifth cemetery of Yinma Martyrs Cemetery, the words “Tomb of Martyr Li Hongxu” were engraved with the words “Li Hongxu Martyr’s Tomb”. The time of sacrifice was a glorious sacrifice in the battle of Sanheshan in August 1947. So far, the relatives of Martyr Li Hongxu in Laiyang City, Shandong Province finally know that the martyr’s burial place is in Yinma Martyrs Cemetery.
In addition, with the efforts of relevant units, media and netizens in various places, Martyrs Wei Lixiang and Martyrs Liao Qifu also succeeded in finding relatives. “Do your best to make the best of your true feelings. Salute to the martyrs!” “I look forward to the martyrs returning to their relatives and friends as soon as possible. Forward it!” “Countless martyrs shed their blood for our beautiful life today, and let each of us do our little bit. Help the martyrs find their relatives”… In the “Find relatives for the martyrs” activity, netizens left messages, forwarded them, and responded positively. The Weibo topic #Searching for relatives for martyrs# has been read more than 500 million times, with a cumulative reading of nearly 1.9 billion times. The Douyin platform and the “Toutiao Tracing” column will accurately push the clues to the relatives according to the martyrs’ sacrifice sites and hometowns. The relative search mailbox opened by the People’s Daily client received more than 120 relatives search clues.
The martyrs who sacrificed themselves, together with the touching stories behind them, moved everyone who participated in the family search activity. At present, there are still some martyrs’ family tracing clues under verification. The activity of “finding relatives for the martyrs” will be carried out for a long time. If you have any clues or needs to find relatives, you can contact the local veterans affairs department or log in to the “martyrs’ relatives tracing public service platform” of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit. Let us work together to help more martyrs find their relatives!
Source: People’s Daily Client