Pursuit, long-term fruitless search, twists and turns, "reunion" under coincidence, a story drawn out of a paper of probation....
Cao Yongyu sat in front of the background wall full of historical photos, and told us about the twists and turns of the Cao family's 82-year search for the martyrdom of Cao Wujun, a Nanqiao mechanic.
This time, Cao Yongyu's family traveled thousands of miles away to Yunnan to pick up his uncle Cao Wujun home. At the same time, I would like to donate this precious certificate of probation and the original photos of the martyrs to us, and keep them in the Anti-Japanese War Veterans Relics Museum (in preparation), so that we can depict the lives of the martyrs to every participant.
Buxinping Village, Rezhe Town, Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Mangshi, Dehong City, Yunnan Province, and Guanshan is separated by Guanshan.
"When I was a child, my grandmother used to tell us the story of my uncle's life in Nanyang, and I always wanted to know where my uncle was buried. Cao Yongyu told us with a certificate of probation and a photo of his uncle Cao Wujun and martyrs. The words on the certificate of probation are clearly legible:
"Reason for the reprisal: Brother-in-law Dongsheng (alias Junwu) joined the Overseas Chinese Machinery Troupe to train in Kunming. ”
However, why is it Jun Wu on the certificate, not Wu Jun, sometimes a word difference may cause irreparable regrets. Subsequently, Cao Yongyu explained to us why.
A few years ago, due to the relocation of his family, Cao Yongyu turned over a box of valuable materials left by his grandmother, and there were many deeds before the liberation period, including a copy of his father's probation certificate, and an old photo of his uncle Cao Wujun, which was placed in a large photo frame. He was curious about the old photo, turned over the back, and wrote the three words Cao Dongsheng, Cao Wujun is Cao Dongsheng's alias.
In order to further confirm, he turned out the genealogy rewritten by his father in 2006, which recorded: 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 later buried in Mangshi, Kunming, with the name Wu Jun when he served.
At this point, he finally decided that Cao Wujun, who was buried far away in Mangshi, Yunnan, was the uncle.
On December 21, 2023, we released a family search video through the Internet, calling for Cao Wujun, a Nanqiao machinist from Meixian County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, to find relatives.
After the video was released, enthusiastic netizens in Meizhou City forwarded it one after another, and the Meizhou Municipal Government actively searched for it, and released the search information to the volunteer associations in various counties and districts, so that they could help find it, and at the same time, Cao Yongyu learned about it by chance, and the Cao family finally had an opportunity to reunite with Cao Wujun.
"I didn't expect my uncle to use an alias, but fortunately I never gave up. Cao Yongyu said.
After Cao Yongyu told the story, Mr. Zhang Yunpeng, who is also a descendant of Nanqiao mechanics, also shared the story of Cao Wujun with us from another perspective. Hearing that the Cao family was coming to Kunming, he immediately went to the archives of the Yunnan Nanqiao Machinery Historical Research Association to find relevant historical materials, identified and sorted out from the materials and archives, and finally turned to the information about Cao Wujun.
In several documents, Cao Wujun's deeds are clearly recorded. Cao Wujun, second lieutenant squad leader, was the ninth batch of Nanqiao mechanics who returned to China, trained and studied in Kunming, and worked in the 15th Brigade of Baoshan in 1941 as the squad leader of the 158th Squadron. When he worked in Baoshan for three years, Cao Wujun and the other five Nanqiao mechanics requested a replacement of the commemorative medal for returning to China, which was something he always remembered in his heart.
"The probation certificate and old historical photos brought by Cao Yongyu this time filled two gaps in the history of Nanqiao mechanics. Zhang Yunpeng looked at the information repeatedly and showed surprise on his face.
The blanks of Nanqiao mechanics have been continuously supplemented and improved, and the history has gradually become clear and clear. After years of hard work, more than 800 photos of Nanqiao mechanics have been collected, accounting for a quarter of the total number of people who returned to China that year.
During the Anti-Japanese War, more than 3,200 overseas Chinese car drivers and repair technicians responded to the call of resistance against Japan and returned to China in 9 batches from all over Nanyang to participate in the Anti-Japanese War and repair 1,146 kilometers of Yunnan-Burma highways. During this period, more than 1,000 Nanqiao mechanics sacrificed their precious lives, with an average of one person per kilometer. In the process of repairing the Yunnan-Burma Highway, they faced four checkpoints: one was the difficult and dangerous road, the second was the landslide road, the third was the Japanese bombardment, and the fourth was the disease-ravaged pass. With their lives, blood, and sweat, they have written a magnificent chapter in the patriotic history of overseas Chinese.
In the past two days, the Cao family took the old things, crossed 2,000 kilometers, traveled to Kunming and Mangshi, looked for the footprints of their fathers in the memorial hall of Nanyang overseas Chinese mechanics returning to China to resist Japan, and went to Mangshi to worship in front of the tombstone of Cao Wujun.
During the trip to Kunming, the Cao family and his entourage went to Xishan Park in Kunming, bowed three times in front of the Nanqiao Machinery Monument, visited the Memorial Hall of Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics Returning to China to Resist Japan, listened to the history of Nanyang Mechanics who returned to China to resist Japanese aggression, and engraved Cao Wujun's name on the wall of the Nanyang Machinery Workers' Directory.
In addition, the Cao family also has one of the most important tasks, which is to take Cao Wujun home.
Cao Wujun's tombstone is embedded in the side of the monument to the Anti-Japanese War in western Yunnan in Mangshi, and the inscription information is detailed - Cao Wujun, a native of Meixian County, Guangdong Province (now Meixian District, Meizhou City) lived in the South Island in 1930, cut the industry, and joined the Perak Overseas Chinese Relief Association after the 77 Incident, served in the Ninth Brigade of the Southwest Transportation Department in 1939, and was reorganized into the 15th Brigade in 1941, and was run over by a car on January 24, 1942, at the age of 32.
On the same day, on the side of the monument to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Western Yunnan, Cao Yongyu knelt in front of the tombstone of Uncle Cao Wujun and said sadly: "Uncle, I came to see you!"
The spring breeze is gusting, and bamboo leaves are flying, sprinkled around the tombstones.
The pursuit of memory is not easy to find the answer, the years go by, and most of the old people who remember the events of the year are no longer alive. But fortunately, it seems that there is a providence in the dark, which invisibly dragged Cao Wujun home.
Nanqiao mechanics, they are a special force, their task is to transport and save the country, their battlefield is the extremely steep Yunnan-Burma highway, their eyes are full of determination to serve the country, their weapons are tightly held on the steering wheel of both hands, their task is to hang up the forward gear and move forward bravely, we will always remember them!