In June 1950, a large force of the Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River and went to the Korean battlefield to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Among these people's disciples, no one expected that there was also a Japanese teenager inside, who was also the only Japanese soldier in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
So where did this Japanese teenager come from? Why did he take part in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea? Where did he go after the war?
Japanese teenagers have experienced the rise and fall of life, and they feel the true feelings in China
In 1933, a baby boy was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and no one expected that fifteen years later, the Japanese would have an indissoluble relationship with the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The baby boy's name is Kei Sahara, and his father is the president of the "South Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd.", so Kei Sahara's family is also a well-known family in the local area.
In 1938, Kei Sahara's father was transferred to Dalian for work reasons, and Sahara and his mother followed him to Dalian. At that time, Kei Sahara was only five years old, and he was ignorant of anything, not knowing that Japan had declared war on China at this time.
The young Kei Sahara will only be bullied by the local children again, and then run home in a gray body to cry with his mother, he does not understand why everyone does not play with him. Seeing this, his father sent Kosara to a temporary school for Japanese people, and the family also moved to the Japanese overseas Chinese area in Fuxin, Liaoning.
At first, the Japanese government also took special care of these Japanese overseas Chinese who worked in China, and after moving to the Japanese overseas Chinese area, Kosara Kei was in contact with Japanese people every day, and she could not contact the Chinese at that time, so she did not know what the situation was outside.
However, the good times did not last long, and Kei Sahara's father died of illness before the defeat of Japan, without his father's support, the Sahara family fell into trouble. The Japanese government also paid no attention to the Kei Sahara family. After Japan's defeat and surrender, this was even more disastrous for Kei Sahara and his mother, because the Japanese government abandoned the Japanese overseas Chinese in China and still left them to fend for themselves. And the hatred of the local people for the Japanese was all vented to these Japanese overseas Chinese.
Although the Chinese government at that time always adhered to the principle of giving preferential treatment to Japanese overseas Chinese and not harming innocents, it still could not stop the angry people, and Wherever Sahara and her mother went, they would be pointed out, and no one was willing to take them in. From a famous nobleman, living the life of a young master all day, to begging around now and not being able to fill his stomach, it was only 5 years in between, and he could not prevent it, so that Sahara Could only force himself to grow up.
Because she could not say Chinese, Sahara's mother has been pretending to be dumb, sewing clothes for people in the local area to make a living, and 12-year-old Sahara Kei has also been sent by her mother to the local landlord's house to make pigs. The landlords were kind-hearted, and seeing that their mother and son were pitiful, they let go of their prejudices about their Japanese identity. Not only did they work at home, but they were also provided with food and housing, and the Japanese mother and son were actually victims of the war.
This kind deed of the landlord made the 12-year-old Sahara Hui feel good about this land for the first time, and it was at this time that Sha Yuan Hui really came into contact with the true face of Chinese society.
In the few years of being a pig, Sahara Kei learned to Chinese, learned Chinese characters, became a "authentic" Northeasterner, and also met many playmates, so that Sahara Kei felt the enthusiasm of this land, and developed a sense of dependence and belonging.
On this side of the black land, he also witnessed the changes in history. The Japanese Kwantung Army during the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang and Chairman Mao's Communist Party in the War of Liberation. What these armies did in the northeast was seen by Kei Sahara in his eyes and remembered in his heart.
The inhumane behavior of the Japanese Kwantung Army made Kei Sahara spurn it, and the false insidiousness of the Kuomintang could not be recognized by Kei Sahara. Only the People's Liberation Army made Sahara feel admiration. The excellent style of work and the principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, but "not taking a needle and a line from the masses" have made Sahara very moved, and also made him yearn for this group.
So at the age of fifteen, with a relative familiarity with the local environment, Sahara volunteered to help the People's Liberation Army lead the way, do reconnaissance work, and successively made military achievements in the Liaoshen Campaign and the Pingjin Campaign, helping the PLA successfully liberate the northeast. After that, Sahara Changed her name to "Zhang Rongqing" without her mother' knowledge, joined the ranks of the People's Liberation Army as she wished, and followed the troops around to fight against Old Chiang.
Japanese teenagers voluntarily participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
After the Liberation War and following the troops throughout the north and south of China' great rivers, At this time, Sahara Kei had already regarded himself as a Chinese. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Sahara followed the troops to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Before leaving, the troops asked Sahara to fill in a certificate of nationality.
In doing so, first, when Sahara joined the army, the road was unknown, and the number of people who went to the Korean battlefield was more than ji, in order to prevent the soldiers from sacrificing and unable to return to their homeland, so a large-scale identity authentication was carried out; Second, in the PLA troops at that time, in addition to Kei Sahara, there were many Japanese and American soldiers who voluntarily joined the army that year, but the government did not want these foreign soldiers to be involved in this cruel war.
In the face of this identity certificate, Sahara did not hesitate to write down the name Zhang Rongqing and filled in the nationality column in China. It was also because of this lie that Kei Sahara became the only Japanese volunteer in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
The war on the Korean battlefield was far more fierce than the Liberation War, and many soldiers arrived in Korea and were ruthlessly covered by the artillery fire of the US army before they became familiar with this land. Because they are fighting abroad and are very unfamiliar with the local environment, the PLA's weapons and equipment are far inferior to those of the US military, but they have not flinched in the slightest.
In this case, the volunteer forces adopted a "decentralized operation" approach, not allowing the fighters to concentrate in one area. Even the vehicles transporting supplies should be spaced more than 1 kilometer apart to prevent logistical supplies from being cut off by US military aircraft.
But even so, the supply of the volunteer army was often unable to keep up, and the soldiers had to push small carts to take the path to transport. They ate poorly, had to endure heavy combat tasks and mental stress, and many warriors' bodies were dragged down.
However, each soldier held the belief of defending the country and the determination to die, repelled the US army again and again, and created one battlefield miracle after another. Infected by the spirit of his comrades-in-arms, Kei Sahara is also very heroic.
Although he was a Japanese, the two words "China" had been deeply rooted in his heart, watching his comrades-in-arms continue to sacrifice on the battlefield, Andahara was eager to rush to the US military base camp to avenge his comrades-in-arms.
The situation in the Korean battlefield has become increasingly fierce, the US military has been defeated and retreated, and the victory of the war is also close at hand. More than once, It was thought that in the near future, he would be able to return triumphantly with his troops. However, he did not expect that his identity, which he had buried for many years, was discovered.
Just a few months before the victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, when the logistics soldiers sorted out the political examination form, they found that this soldier named "Zhang Rongqing" was full of loopholes. The soldier reported the situation to his superiors, and quickly contacted Zhang Rongqing's unit, and the head of the unit learned of the situation and immediately called back Sahara Hui, who was on the front line.
At that time, Sahara Kei thought that the chief was going to give him a secret task, and ran back excitedly, but the chief's first words made him panic.
"Soldier Zhang Rongqing, what is your real identity?" Kei Sahara had realized that his identity had been exposed, but he still said firmly, "The chief of the report, my name is Zhang Rongqing, and I am a Chinese volunteer soldier!" "I'm asking about your nationality!" The chief slapped the table and roared. Kei Sahara swallowed with trepidation, "My name is Kei Sahara, and I am a person who loves China deeply... Japanese. ”
Although he was a Japanese, the heroic performance of Kei Sahara for the country was still in the eyes of the chief. When Kei Sahara's comrades-in-arms learned of this incident, they all came to intercede for Kei Sahara, hoping that the chief would leave Kei Sahara behind.
However, Sahara's Japanese identity was too sensitive, and under the pressure of his superiors, the chief could only ruthlessly let this excellent soldier withdraw from the Korean battlefield and return to China to wait for instructions from his superiors.
"Kei Sahara, do you know what the duties of a soldier are?"
"Report chief, is obedience!"
"Well, go back"
"Yes!"
With tears in his eyes, Sahara boarded a personnel carrier back to China. On that day, General Sahara Kei was dressed neatly, carrying his bag and refusing to sit down, facing the direction of the troops, always maintaining a salute posture, and the soldiers of the troops also saluted Sahara Hui in a neat manner, watching this heroic Chinese volunteer soldier go away.
A hunger strike to prevent Japanese from eating white rice
In 1953, Kei Sahara was transferred back to China by his superiors to await notification because his Japanese identity was exposed. However, considering the contribution made by Sahara Hui to China, the superiors still have a high degree of trust in Sha Yuan Hui, not only did not punish him, but also arranged a new job for him, letting him work at the old northeast aviation school on the bank of the Mudanjiang River.
At that time, China and Japan were negotiating the issue of the return of Japanese overseas Chinese, and the organization also hoped that Sahara would return to his hometown, so they arranged for him to work with the Japanese and integrate into Japanese life as soon as possible.
However, Kei Sahara, who had just returned from the Korean battlefield, saw that the Japanese here were eating large white rice, and the food was quite good, and he thought that his comrades on the battlefield were still nibbling on the bark of the trees. "These Japanese devils also deserve to eat white rice?"
Having seen the atrocities of the Kwantung Army since childhood, Kei Sahara did not have a good sense of these Japanese, so he not only did not want to communicate with these Japanese people, but also protested with hunger strikes.
At that time, Sahara was only in his early 20s, and he had been fighting with the army for many years, and he already had the bloodiness of Chinese. Knowing the situation of Sahara Hui, the superior leader personally came to communicate with Sha Yuan Hui. "There are bad Japanese people in this world, and there are good Japanese people, just like you and your mother, the Japanese who work here are all like you, who have contributed to China, and the Chinese government will not forget you." 」
After several communications, Sahara Kei also relieved, they are also victims of the war, and the order of the soldiers is to obey, Sahara Kei accepted the criticism of the leader, actively devoted himself to the work, and then contributed his own strength to China.
The Japanese soldiers returned to their hometowns, but they were ostracized everywhere
In 1955, China and Japan reached an agreement, and Japanese people who stayed in China began to gradually return to China. Although Sahara was reluctant to leave China, in response to the policy and to soothe her mother's miss for her hometown, Sahara embarked on a journey back to China to bid farewell to the land he loved so much.
After returning to China, Kei Sahara has been caught up in the question of whether he is Chinese or Japanese, and he is very anxious about this. He was born in Japan, and his grandparents were also Japanese, but his childhood, his youth, was spent in China. He witnessed many crimes in Japan, and also realized that there are too many beautiful things in China, and Sahara is very contradictory.
At the same time, Japan also had a mood of exclusion towards Kei Sahara, who had returned from China, calling them traitors and a disgrace to the Japanese. Many of the Japanese who returned to Japan did not live well, but Kei Sahara's family accepted them. As for such a crowded out behavior in Japan, Kei Sahara thought of contributing to sino-Japanese friendly exchanges.
In 1967, Sahara opened a company to engage in trade between China and Japan, and even set the opening date of the company on July 1, because this day was the day of the birth of the Chinese Communist Party. However, because of The special status of Kei Sahara, not only was he boycotted by the local people, but even the local government kept looking for trouble for him, and the company closed down not long after it opened
。 Kei Sahara was too disappointed in Japan and always wanted to return to China. So in his lifetime, he has traveled back and forth between China and Japan more than 350 times, and every time he returns to China, he is sincerely excited.
Japanese veteran soldier wins national medal, hoping to "fall leaves back to the roots" after death
Like Kei Sahara, there are many Japanese fighters who want to return to China, and like Kei Sahara, they all came to China with their parents when they were young, were displaced by the war, were rescued by the Chinese government, and voluntarily joined the People's Liberation Army. In his later years, Kei Sahara always thought about such a thing, that is, to take these Japanese veterans back to China to have a look.
Once at a dinner party in China, Sahara met liu zhen, the then air force general, and immediately expressed his thoughts like Liu Zhen. Liu Zhen listened, this is a good thing, after the meal reported the matter to the superiors, when the Japanese veteran returned to China to visit was quickly put on the agenda.
On July 28, 2010, on the occasion of the 83rd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Chinese government invited Japanese veterans who had participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation to the Great Hall of the People to celebrate this moment.
At that time, 36 Japanese veterans led by Kei Sahara were invited to come, and Kei Sahara was appointed as the secretary general of the delegation.
And the contribution of Kei Sahara to China, the Chinese government has always remembered. In 2015, the state awarded him the "70th Anniversary Medal of the World Anti-Fascist War" in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the anti-fascist war. In 2019, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of China, the state awarded him the "70th Anniversary Medal of the Founding of the People's Republic of China". Although Kei Sahara has always been a Japanese citizen, the Chinese government has long regarded him as his own family. The awarding of these two medals is the best testimony to the life of Kei Sahara.
Mr. Sahara said, "Although many people will question my identity, I have questioned my own identity before, but now I have thoroughly understood, I am the Chinese, my name is not only Shayuan Hui, I am also called Zhang Rongqing." ”
Sahara also has a wish that after his death, he will be able to sprinkle his ashes on the land of China, because this is a tradition Chinese, called "falling leaves back to the roots".