On the morning of April 22, the weather in Mangshi, which is located in the southwest border of the motherland, was gloomy, and on the side of the monument to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in western Yunnan, Cao Yongyu came from Buxinping Village, Rezhe Town, Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, more than 2,300 kilometers away, knelt down in front of the tombstone of Uncle Cao Wujun, and said sadly: "Uncle, I have come to see you!"
After 82 years of sacrifice, Cao Wujun was finally "reunited" with his family.
It all starts with a laundry stone......
Special laundry stones
One day in the 60s of the 20th century, by the river next to the Baishui Well in Mangshi, Professor Liu, a Nanqiao mechanic, saw his daughter washing clothes on a neat stone, and immediately wondered: How could there be such a handy laundry stone?
The inscription reads as follows:
Cao Jun Wujun, a native of Mei County, eastern Guangdong, is in his Chinese New Year's Eve, has a benevolent nature, is full of knowledge, and is especially enthusiastic for the country and the people. In the nineteenth year of the Republic of China, he lived in the South Island, although he was tailoring, but in his spare time, he often participated in the rescue work. Since the beginning of the 77th Holy War of Resistance, it is planned to abandon his business and follow Rong. There is no way to enter, so wait for the right time. When the Nanqiao Association organized a service group for mechanics to return to China, he joined the Perak Relief Association, received technical training, and devoted himself to research in order to achieve success. In August of the 28th year of the People's Republic of China, the Perak Relief Association was repatriated to China and assigned to the 9th Brigade of the Southwest Transport Department. In the year of the Republic of China, the 15th Brigade was reorganized, and on the 24th day of January 19th of the 30th year, he and Qiang waited for the car to gallop to Wan Town, and returned to the Mangshi gas station, just waiting for the time of refueling, and the misfortune came to an end. Dai Ao, the captain of the 10th Gai Brigade, drove carelessly, crashed Cao Jun's car and ran Cao Jun to death. The national disaster has not been eliminated, and the king died first, his merits are worthy of discipline, and his death can be miserable. The strong fear of annihilation for a long time, the special tombstone, is to remember.
Xiao Yiqiang and returned comrade Dai Jili
The Republic of China was established in February of the 31st year
It can be seen from the inscription that the tombstone was erected for Cao Wujun, a Nanqiao mechanic. Cao Wujun served in the Ninth Brigade of the Southwest Transportation Department in August 1939, and was reorganized into the 15th Brigade in 1941, and died in a car accident on January 24, 1942, at the age of 32.
In July 1990, the Dehong Prefecture CPPCC and the former Luxi County CPPCC searched for this tombstone, and when the monument to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Western Yunnan was rebuilt, it stood on the side of the monument for the world to pay respects.
Cao Wujun is Cao Dongsheng
On December 21, 2023, the public welfare person released a video calling for Cao Wujun, a Nanqiao mechanic from Meixian County, Guangdong Province (now Meixian District, Meizhou City, Guangdong) to find his relatives.
After the video was released, enthusiastic netizens in Meizhou City forwarded it one after another, because the video showed that he was from Meixian County, Guangdong, so he searched for it from Meixian District and Meijiang District, but to no avail. To this end, the Meizhou Municipal Government expanded the scope of the search and released the search materials to volunteer associations in various counties and districts for them to help find them.
On April 8 this year, this road to find relatives ushered in good news. Lin Kanghua, president of the Pingyuan County Volunteer Association, said that half a year after the video was released, we found that Cao Dongsheng's information from Buxinping Village, Rezheng Town, Pingyuan County was basically consistent with Cao Wujun, so we contacted Cao Dongsheng's nephew Cao Yongyu through various channels.
"I have listened to my grandmother tell the story of my uncle since I was a child, and I think Cao Wujun and Cao Dongsheng are very similar when I watch the video. Cao Yongyu told reporters that he contacted the video publisher Sun Chunlong as soon as possible and confirmed the relevant details.
Subsequently, Cao Yongyu turned out the probation certificate left by his grandmother, and on the certificate, the words "Reason for the deferment: Fellow brother Dongsheng (alias Junwu) joined the Overseas Chinese Machinery Troupe to train in Kunming" was clearly legible.
Wu Jun and Jun Wu, the difference between one word, Cao Yongyu is still worried.
Fortunately, Cao Yongyu also found a family tree copied by his grandmother, about Cao Dongsheng, the family tree wrote: Dongsheng went to Nanyang at the age of eighteen, returned to Yunnan Province during the Anti-Japanese War to serve as the transport team leader of the Yunnan-Burma Highway, and was buried in Mangshi, and was called Wu Jun when he served.
Cao Yongyu determined that Cao Wujun was Cao Dongsheng.
"Reunited" with family after 82 years
"Uncle, grandma kept talking about taking you home before she died, and I finally fulfilled grandma's last wish today. Kneeling in front of Cao Wujun's tombstone, Cao Yongyu couldn't cry.
After confirming the uncle's news, Cao Yongyu discussed with his family and took time to go to Mangshi as soon as possible to worship.
On April 20, Cao Yongyu, his wife Wu Yunxiang, niece Cao Meixia, and niece son-in-law Huang Yinsheng boarded a plane from Guangdong to Yunnan.
As soon as they arrived in Mangshi on April 22, Cao Yongyu and his entourage went straight to Leiyarang Mountain.
From the foot of the mountain to the tombstone is only more than 100 meters, Cao Yongyu walked extremely slowly, and his heavy steps could not hide the sadness in his heart.
The spring breeze is gusting, and bamboo leaves are flying, sprinkled around the tombstones.
There were still two or three meters away from the tombstone, Cao Yongyu took three steps and made two steps, staggered and "bang", and knelt heavily in front of the tombstone.
Tears dripped silently on the slate, tears of sorrow, tears of excitement, tears of joy.
"Uncle, I'll take you home. Cao Yongyu and his entourage took a handful of red clay after the tombstone and put it into a fresh-keeping bag.
At this time, Thundertooth silenced the mountain, and only the crisp birdsong and low sobs could be heard.
Chuncheng Evening News-Kaiping News Reporter Ma Nan Correspondent Ming Xiongzhong Li Zhiyu Dong Zemao Photo Report
First trial Xiong Bo
Editor-in-charge: Cat Enbo
Responsible proofreader: Guo Yi
Editor-in-chief: He Xiaoyu
Final Review: Editorial Board Member Li Rong