the most beautiful military supporter in hunan丨shi jinhua: guarding the tongtong county martyrs cemetery in all weathers for more than 40 years
2024-10-04
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editor's note:the "most beautiful military supporter" in hunan province is a typical representative who has made outstanding contributions to supporting the army and favoring their families. among them are grassroots workers who care about national defense construction, social entrepreneurs who support the cause of supporting the military, and people's teachers and media workers who are devoted to national defense education. red net moment news launches the column "the most beautiful people supporting the army" to record these advanced models who, although they are in different industries and shoulder different responsibilities, have played a strong voice in the era of patriotism and supporting the army with practical actions.
red net moment news reporter wang yang and correspondent wu xiangmiao reported
the martyrs cemetery in tongtong dong autonomous county, huaihua city is located on the bank of wolong mountain on qingyun road in the south of shuangjiang town. it is shaded by pines and cypresses all year round, and the souls of 77 martyrs who dedicated their lives to national defense are buried in the garden.
shi jinhua, the caretaker of the martyrs cemetery in tongtong county.
shi jinhua, a villager from qiaotou village, shuangjiang town, comes to the martyrs cemetery every day to clean, wipe tombstones and place flowers. for more than 40 years, regardless of rain or shine, actions have demonstrated the deep memory and respect for the martyrs.
untitled "soldier"
shi jinhua was born in 1954. his parents died when he was young, and he was raised by relatives and fellow villagers. growing up eating hundreds of meals, he developed a warm-hearted heart and always wanted to do good things for his neighbors.
after joining the workforce, shi jinhua worked as a guard, kept and repaired firearms, and even worked as a tractor driver. in 1982, shi jinhua ushered in a turning point in his life. at the age of 29, he was chosen by the head of a certain army stationed in tongtong as a warehouse keeper due to his integrity and kind character, and became a non-staff employee of the army stationed in tongtong.
from then on, shi jinhua became a "soldier" with no title in a certain military unit stationed in tongtong. he was the "old squad leader" of thousands of retired officers and soldiers, and a veritable "seven members" in the organization - the receptionist. , waiters, instructors, administrators, cleaners, security guards and security guards until retirement.
first introduction to the cemetery
after entering the army, shi jinhua gradually had more things to do. you can see shi jinhua's busy figure in the storage and delivery of materials, courtyard cleaning, and maintenance of facilities and equipment.
many tools and supplies had to be purchased locally, and shi jinhua's trips to and from army offices and county stores also increased, sometimes several times a day.
from the army office to the county seat, it is more convenient to take the familiar path of shijinhua. along the field ridge and through the foot of wolong mountain, you can go directly to the streets in the south of the city.
along the way, the attentive shi jinhua discovered that there were more tombs in a scattered pattern on wolong mountain. it could be seen from the piles of soil that they were new tombs. in his memory, this place was overgrown with bamboos and trees, and he had never heard of whose cemetery it was.
shi jinhua returned home and told the villagers about his doubts. he also asked the army chief for verification and learned the truth.
it turns out that since 1969, the local government of tongtong county and the garrison troops have jointly determined wolong mountain as the burial site for martyrs, and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for national defense construction in tongtong county in recent years have been buried here. at the same time, the burial site of the martyrs was planned and constructed as the tongtong county martyrs cemetery, and a monument to the revolutionary martyrs was built to commemorate the martyrs.
at this time, shi jinhua himself did not expect that he would have an indissoluble bond with the martyrs cemetery in this life.
guard the cemetery
like martyrs’ cemeteries in many cities, the conditions for the initial construction of the tongtong county martyrs’ cemetery were simple. there were no walls and there were only martyrs’ tombs one by one. due to the lack of dedicated personnel to manage and protect them, the surroundings were covered with weeds and looked slightly desolate.
shi jinhua, the caretaker of the martyrs cemetery in tongtong county.
shi jinhua passes by the martyrs cemetery every day. seeing such a situation, he feels uncomfortable when he thinks of the stories about the martyrs told by the head of the army. "most of the people lying here are young soldiers who dedicated their lives to serving the country. they left their homes and devoted themselves to national defense. they should be respected by people." shi jinhua said.
so, one weekend, shi jinhua called his brother and came to the martyrs cemetery to weed and clean up the garbage. after that, shi jinhua would go to the martyrs cemetery to clean every weekend, and gradually formed a habit.
from once a week to once a day, shi jinhua could no longer trouble his brothers, so he had to bring his lover with him, and the couple took on the responsibility of managing the martyrs' cemetery.
as time went by, the square and simple wooden tombstones in the martyrs cemetery began to be damaged to varying degrees, and some of the martyrs' names could not even be identified. shi jinhua saw this in his eyes and was anxious in his heart. he determined to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the martyrs' cemetery and establish files and monuments for each martyrs.
shi jinhua relied on his personal efforts to win the support of the army and the county civil affairs department. over the next three years, shi jinhua and his wife "touched" out the martyrs' information word by word from the original tombstones. after repeated spelling and checking of files, they finally verified the names and life stories of 73 heroes and martyrs, and hand it over to the garrison troops. four of the tombstones were seriously damaged and the information could not be restored. after discussion, they were erected into four tombs of the unknown soldiers.
nowadays, every time during the qingming festival, when family members of martyrs come to pay their respects, shi jinhua can accurately lead the family members to the tombstone without any mistakes.
in recent years, hunan has vigorously promoted the work of commending martyrs, and the atmosphere of advocating heroes and martyrs has become stronger.
with the care of the garrison troops and the county government, the tongtong county martyrs cemetery has undergone three renovations. up to now, the martyrs cemetery has been built as a provincial-level national defense education base covering an area of 8,200 square meters, with a cemetery area of 6,000 square meters, and 100 martyrs’ graves reserved. more and more army officers and soldiers and the masses came here spontaneously to commemorate the heroes and martyrs.
while the martyrs cemetery was being repaired, the tombs inside were also repaired four times. "the first tombstone was a board, the second was cement, the third was non-uniform cement and bluestone, and the last overall repair gave it such a neat and solemn appearance." speaking of the details in the martyrs cemetery changes, shi jinhua's words were full of relief.
on december 7, 2023, shi jinhua was awarded the title of "the most beautiful military supporter" in hunan province. with tears in his eyes, he said: "it is the heroes and martyrs who deserve the honor. as i get older, i will do my best to guard the martyrs." in the cemetery, wipe the monuments and sweep the floor for the martyrs!”
