Death squad member Chen Baoan was killed in hand-to-hand combat

Chen Baorong held the martyr's certificate of his eldest brother Chen Baoan in his hand and recalled the past with a heavy heart.

Text/Film Reporter Ling Wenxiu

Recently, at the home of 76-year-old Chen Baorong, the reporter saw a "Certificate of Revolutionary Martyrs" that had been treasured for 32 years. The certificate is 60 centimeters long and 35 centimeters wide, and reads: "Comrade Chen Baoan made a heroic sacrifice in the War of Resistance Against Japan and was approved as a revolutionary martyr." This certificate is specially issued for praise. The payment is "Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China" (with official seal). Chen Baoan is the eldest brother of Chen Baorong's half-brother. The certificate of martyrdom was issued once in 1958 when Chen Baoan was approved as a martyr, and this one is currently renewed in 1983.

Joining the army: Worship ancient heroes since childhood Join the anti-Japanese army at the age of 20

Chen Baorong recalled that his parents often told the story of his eldest brother when he was alive, which made him full of reverence for his eldest brother from an early age. As an adult, he did a long-term investigation and understanding of the deeds of his eldest brother, and once wanted to write a biography of his eldest brother, but in the end he failed to do so due to his low level of education. With his narration, the heroic image of an anti-Japanese martyr is reproduced from the dusty history.

Born in June 1917, Chen Baoan's biological mother died of illness when he was a few years old, and he has lived with his father and stepmother ever since. His father earned money by working hard to support his family, and the family tightened their belts for him to study for several years.

Chen Baorong said that Li Shizhao, a classmate of the eldest brother and an expert in Liaocheng's literature and history, had told him the story of the eldest brother. At that time, there was a big stage in Wanshouguan Square, and the stage sang at both ends for three days, and there were artists talking about books in the square. The eldest brother was often obsessed with watching plays and listening to books there, so he was more familiar with the deeds of ancient heroes and martyrs, and he especially admired heroes such as Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang.

From the age of thirteen, Chen Baoan followed his father to work. When building a house for a wealthy family, a northeastern worker told him that after his hometown was occupied by the Japanese army, the people were displaced, begging everywhere, and one family could not return. Speaking of emotional places, the young people in the northeast burst into tears, and since then, Chen Baoan has planted the seeds of hatred for the Japanese army invading China in his heart.

At the age of 18, Chen Baoan was arrested by the Kuomintang troops in the city and became a soldier. At the age of 20, Fan Zhuxian came to Liaocheng, and since then he has become an anti-Japanese fighter in Fan Zhuxian's army. Because of his large stature and quick mobility, he excelled in training and was quickly promoted to squad leader. Later, a "bicycle team" was formed in the army, and Fan Zhu first saw that Chen Baoan's riding skills were high, so he assigned him as the captain. After that, he often rode back and forth between the headquarters and various agencies, and sometimes to detachments outside the city, transmitting important orders, intelligence, letters, and the like.

Valor: Participated in dozens of battles and was honored at the Zhujie Meeting

Chen Baorong listened to his parents and his eldest brother's comrades-in-arms and told them that Chen Baoan belonged to Fan Zhuxian's direct subordinate troop transmission team, followed Fan Zhuxian's side during the battle, and participated in dozens of battles in Liangshui Town, Jiebei, Huangzhen, Huangzhuang, Fan County, Pu County, and so on.

The first time Chen Baoan fought the devils was in the "Battle of Liangshui Town" in the winter of 1937. During the battle, Chen Baoan killed a ghost and captured a cotton army hat. "The eldest brother was even more prominent in the battle of the boundary monument, and it is said that he killed a ghost, wounded two puppet soldiers, and captured a foreign horse." Chen Baorong introduced that in the Battle of Nanzhen in early 1938, Chen Baoan brandished a large knife, slashed and wounded several enemies in succession, and captured two rifles. After returning to the division after victory, Fan Zhuxian arranged for a celebration meeting to be held in Wanshouguan Square, and Chen Baoan was commended, wearing a large red flower on his chest.

In the Battle of Puxian County, Fan Zhuxian commanded more than 6,000 people to besiege the enemy for nearly two months, and in the battles of reconquesting Fan County, attacking Pu County, and ambushing Shi Tomb head, Chen Baoan performed prominently. Especially in the battle of Fan County, when pursuing and retreating the enemy, he alone captured two puppet soldiers.

On November 13, 1938, when the Japanese army was about to invade Liaocheng, Fan Zhuxian deployed the defensive forces while arranging fighters to mobilize the people in the city to go out of the city. At that time, Chen Baoan's home was a few dozen meters south of Guangyuelou West Road, but he was busy with official business and did not take time to go home to help his parents go out of the city. Until the afternoon of the next day, he learned that his parents were still in the city, and he rushed home on leave to mobilize his parents to take refuge in the countryside.

After Sending his parents to a friend's house in Wulitun Village, southwest of the city, Chen Baoan immediately returned, and when he arrived under the Shun Parapet, he saw that the city gate was closed, and he called out to his comrades on the city wall and asked to enter the city to participate in the battle, and several comrades-in-arms pulled him up the city wall with ropes.

Martyrdom: Sign up for the Death Squad to kill the enemy until the last breath

At 4 p.m. on November 14, 1938, the Japanese army surrounded the ancient city and successively attacked the city from all sides. Enemy shells kept falling all over the city. At night, Fan Zhuxian arranged for troops to organize dozens of death squads to try to break through from the west gate. Most of the daredevils were fighters from the law enforcement team and the martial arts team, but Chen Baoan was scrambling to sign up.

At 9:00 a.m. on the 15th, the East Gate was lost. Later, the north gate was also captured by the Japanese. Chen Baoan, along with the county magistrate Zheng Zuoheng, the guerrilla battalion commander Lin Jintang, and other officers and men once again tried to break through from Xiguan. After leaving the city gate, they were blocked by enemy fire and forced to retreat to the urn. The Japanese took the opportunity to attack, and a fierce battle ensued. After the bullets were fired, Chen Baoan and all the fighters used large knives against the enemy's bayonets, and finally engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

At about 4 p.m., Liaocheng fell. The next day, the Japanese army organized a maintenance meeting, which was responsible for arranging for people outside the city to collect corpses inside the city. A peasant worker who was related to the Chen family participated in the operation. Later, he told Chen Baorong that when he collected the body at Ximen, he saw the corpse of Chen Baoan. Although the corpse was stabbed in many places by the devil, Chen Baoan still held a large knife in his hand.

It is said that there were more than a hundred soldiers who died in the battle at The West Gate, and each corpse was covered with scales and wounds, and many of the dead were angry. When it comes to emotion, Chen Baorong's voice is a bit choked.

Chen Baorong has not yet found out where the eldest brother's body is buried, and when the family went to the grave, they burned a pile of paper for the eldest brother alone at the grave of their parents to express their deep remembrance. Chen Baorong's sons Chen Lin and Chen Ming said that although they had not seen Uncle Da's face, they had listened to his grandmother and father tell his story since childhood, and Uncle Da's patriotic spirit and heroic feats always inspired them to forge ahead, "Uncle Da is a model of eternal shining on our road in life!"