On May 12, 1949, the 16-day Battle of Shanghai began. The Battle of Shanghai was a relatively independent battle in the People's Liberation Army's battle to cross the river, and it was also a large-scale urban siege in the strategic pursuit. After the battle, 135 martyrs who died for the liberation of Shanghai were buried in the Minhang District Martyrs Cemetery, in addition to 24 unknown martyrs and 3 martyrs who found their families, there are 108 martyrs who have not yet found their descendants.
In December 2020, Toutiao's public welfare project "Looking for the Descendants of Martyrs" officially cooperated with the Martyrs Cemetery in Minhang District, Shanghai, to help 97 martyrs buried in the Martyrs Cemetery in Minhang District with a clear place of origin and have not yet found their relatives to find their descendants with the help of technological advantages. Today I will tell you the touching story that happened in it.
A special Worshipper
On the eve of Qingming Festival in 2023, a mourner came from afar in the Martyrs Cemetery in Minhang District, who changed planes and cars all the way, spanning more than 1,700 kilometers, standing in front of a tombstone on the west side of the cemetery cemetery, reluctant to leave for a long time, and stroked the name on the tombstone over and over again.
The mourner's surname was Huang, and the staff of the martyr's cemetery invited him to rest in the reception room, and he took the initiative to tell a family affair that had been dusty for more than 70 years. Mr. Huang is from Zunyi County, Guizhou Province, and his uncle Ran Jian, the eldest son in the family, has not been heard from since he left home in 1948, leaving the family with only a widowed mother and two younger siblings. Mr. Huang's grandmother is Ran Jian's younger sister, and before she passed away, she repeatedly told her to find Ran Jian.
Mr. Huang has always kept in mind the entrustment, and accidentally swiped the "Searching for Relatives for the Martyrs" released by the Martyrs Cemetery in Minhang District on today's headlines, Douyin and other platforms, among which there is the information of Ran Jian's martyrs.
Ran Jian, a native of Zunyi County, Guizhou Province, a soldier of the 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the 240th Regiment of the 80th Division of the 27th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, died in the Battle to liberate Shanghai in May 1949, and is now resting in the West 4-9 West of the Martyrs' Cemetery in Minhang District.
A tortuous journey to find relatives
When the martyrs' cemetery family search team learned the news, they were very excited and immediately contacted the Preferential Care Section of the Veterans Affairs Bureau of Banzhou District, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province (formerly Zunyi County) to check the information of the martyrs. The Banzhou District Veterans Affairs Bureau immediately organized verification, and after investigation, it was found that there was an information record of the Ran Jian martyrs in Zunyi County. In October 1983, the martyr's certificate was renewed, and the address of his place of origin is the same as that of the army before his death. Zunyi records that the martyr Ran Jian died of illness due to hard work in July 1950, and Minhang records that the martyr died in the battle to liberate Shanghai in May 1949.
The hearts of the members of the family search team were heavy. Because in the process of searching for relatives in 2022, a similar situation was encountered, there is a martyr Ou Rende from Sichuan, who has the same nationality and troops, but the sacrifice recorded in the local area is inconsistent with that of Minhang, and the age cannot be verified, and the search for relatives has stalled for a while.
Mr. Huang told the family tracing team that finding Ran Jian was the greatest wish of the whole family. In order not to let regrets be written for the rest of their lives, the family search team relayed their true feelings, carefully investigated, and continued to pursue. With the help of local relatives tracing volunteers, they contacted Bannan Street, Banzhou District, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, and one of the staff members of the street office took the initiative to suggest that the martyr Ran Jian was his grandfather's younger brother, and the elders of the family held the "Revolutionary Martyr Certificate" issued by Comrade Ran Jian in 1983. Could it be that there are two martyrs with the same name and surname?Or are you looking for the same person?
After repeated communication and analysis of the genealogy of the two families, it was finally determined that the two Ran Jian were not the same person. However, due to the age and lack of information, there is no second martyr with the same name and surname in the local records of Zunyi, and both parties believe that the martyr Ran Jian, who is buried in the martyrs' cemetery in Minhang District, is their relatives.
We can only wait and wait for the final result, but we believe that no matter who is the descendant of the martyr, they are all the hometown of the martyr, and they all bring the longing of their homeland and illuminate the way home for the martyr.
A continuous relay run
The mountains and rivers are safe and the years are peaceful, all because of the blood and tears of the martyrs." "Every heroic soul who sacrificed his life for the country should be remembered." According to incomplete statistics, about 20 million martyrs have sacrificed their lives for the country in modern China, of which only 1.96 million have names and surnames. The staff of the martyrs' cemetery in Minhang District said that as a descendant, it is their bounden duty to find relatives for the martyrs, and as long as there is a clue, they will work hard.
At the end of 2020, the Minhang District Martyrs Cemetery cooperated with "Toutiao" to carry out the "Searching for the Descendants of Martyrs" public welfare project, with the help of online pop-up push technology to help the martyrs find their descendants. After sending out the information on searching for relatives, the "Jiangyan Evening News" of Jiangsu Province used a full page to find the relatives of the martyr Chen Maoxi from Taizhou, the lover of the martyr Meng Xiangbin who moved China in 2007 called to find the relatives of the martyr Li Renxin in Qihe County, Shandong, the descendants of the martyrs of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea searched for the relatives of the martyrs from Shandong, and there were also public welfare organizations such as "Baby Home" to participate in the search for the relatives of the martyrs.
After three years, countless times of analyzing clues, ** communication, file inquiry, and touching one by one, so far 13 martyrs have "lit up" the way home, found the families of 4 martyrs, and another 4 people have verified and matched clues. Relatives of the martyrs say that more than 70 years of waiting and waiting for generations have finally come to fruition. Some of the martyrs have no descendants, and although there are regrets, they are remembered by the people of their homeland. Some errors in the records have been corrected, and the names of the two martyrs, Dong Sheng from Laiyang, Shandong Province, and Gao Xiaofa from Linyi, Shandong Province, have been corrected by checking the original handwritten archives of the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the family lineage of the villages.
The hot-blooded son threw himself into the battlefield, what a pity to be buried in another country. Finding relatives for martyrs, helping relatives realize their dreams, and lighting up the way for martyrs to return home is a tribute and remembrance to the heroes, a consolation and a inheritance. Searching is not just about finding, it is about protecting, excavating and publicizing. History flows endlessly, and the spirit is passed down from generation to generation. Stepping across mountains and seas, just to find you!
Editor: Lin Xinyi.
Contributed by: District Martyrs Cemetery.
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