During the Qingming Festival, the heroes were sacrificed, and their condolences were sent to their loyal souls.

Every martyr memorial facility and every martyr's tomb, whether the martyr is famous or unknown, flowers will be placed in front of their tombs, expressing people's deep remembrance and admiration for the martyrs.

The three old people have always remembered the eight martyrs

Before the Qingming Festival, the reporter followed Tian Ye, deputy director of the Martyrs 'Commendation Center of the Miyun District Veterans Affairs Bureau, to Hexia Village, Dachengzi Town to visit three elderly people in the village-Shan Changlin, Wang Yuqian and Wang Jianguo.

The three old people told reporters about an unforgettable past:In the second month of the lunar calendar in 1942, a team of the Eighth Route Army passed by Hexia Village. There were dozens of soldiers, all of whom were quite young, that is, around the age of 20. They stayed in the village and moved into villagers 'homes in twos and threes. The soldiers enthusiastically helped the villagers carry water, cut firewood, and sweep the yard. Unexpectedly, when the team moved the next day, it was discovered by the Japanese army in the two mountain towers in the north and south, and launched a fierce attack on them. The Eighth Route Army left nine soldiers behind to cover, and the majority of the troops evacuated in the direction of Dayu.

Eight soldiers retreated while fighting, but unfortunately were shot and killed. Another soldier escaped arrest because he hid under the rattan. Later, the villagers collected the bodies of the eight martyrs and buried them together in the place where the battle took place. The soldier who was still alive was carried home by Wang Yuqian's grandfather to hide him and recuperate. After hiding for three days, the soldier wanted to go find the large troops and bid farewell to Wang Yuqian's grandfather. A few years later, another Eighth Route Army team passed through the village. A squad leader led the soldiers to Wang Yuqian's grandfather's house and excitedly told everyone:"This is it. They are my saviors!"

Regrettably, Wang Yuqian's grandfather did not write down the soldier's name and did not ask which unit they were.

Since then, the villagers of Hexia Village have become the tomb guardians of the eight martyrs. Every year on the Qingming Festival, villagers spontaneously pay tribute to the martyrs. This story has also been passed down by word of mouth in this village and has been regarded as a typical case of red education for primary and secondary school students, and has been passed down to this generation.

"When we were young, the school would organize us to visit the graves of martyrs every year. At that time, we could still see a grave bag. But time has passed for too long, and after countless heavy rains, the grave is no longer visible." Under the leadership of Wang Hewu, the village party secretary, the reporter and his party stepped on the gravel in the river beach and climbed the steep hillside. They finally found the location of the earthen grave in a ditch between Xibei and Huling mountains. The tomb was gone, and a few stones were visible among the uneven loess.

The place where eight unknown martyrs rest

That anti-Japanese team may be called "Ma Weimi"

"More than 80 years ago, martyrs sacrificed their lives to save the country and the people and were buried in our village. Now, we are all so old, and we are afraid that when our generation is gone in the future, no one in the village will know this story, so we think that we should find names for the martyrs and let future generations remember them forever. This is an explanation we should give to the martyrs." The oldest of the three elderly people is 94 years old, and the other two are also in their nearly 80 years old. They said this was the biggest wish for the rest of their lives.

So the three old people asked the fields for help. Tian Ye consulted a lot of information and asked many people. Finally, a retired veteran comrade from the Shizhi Office of Miyun District provided a clue-he had read a document many years ago that around 1942, there was an anti-Japanese team named Ma Weimi operating around Dachengzi Town. But the old comrade only remembers the three words Ma Weimi and knows nothing else.

"This Ma Weimi may be the name of the leader of this team, or it may be a place name. Mi refers to Miyun, and Ma and Wei also refer to a place each, just like Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Fengluanmi at that time. If we can know which team this Maweimi evolved into, maybe we can find records of this battle by looking up the original archives." Tian Ye speculated.

There must be no less heroes at the Qingming Festival

During the Anti-Japanese War, Miyun was once an anti-Japanese base for the Eighth Route Army and established Fengluanmi Lianhe County, where many heroes were buried. There are 24 martyrs 'memorial facilities and 81 scattered martyrs' tombs here, most of which are scattered in the fields, on the back slopes of shallow mountains, and deep mountains and dense forests.

Although the place where the martyrs slept was deserted, the martyrs 'tomb was not ignored. Over the years, staff of the Veterans Affairs Department have shouldered the work of sweeping martyrs 'graves. No matter how difficult it is, every martyrs' memorial facility and martyrs 'tomb will be swept.

The reporter followed Tian Ye and other staff to sweep the tomb, and most of the way they walked was mountain roads. The mountains and rocks on both sides stand tall, and the mountain roads spiral and twist, surrounded by dangerous signs.

After bypassing the "nine twists and eighteen bends" and driving more than 60 kilometers, the reporter and Tian Ye and his party came to the Bulaotun Memorial Monument Pavilion to pay tribute to the martyrs. This was once the main battlefield for defending Gubeikou in the early days of the Liberation War. The names of 18 martyrs are engraved behind the monument.

The fields carefully swept away the dust and fallen leaves around the stele pavilion and gently wiped the body of the stele. Then, everyone presented flower baskets to the martyrs and bowed to pay tribute. The fields also brought a bottle of good wine, circled around the monument, and sprinkled it on the land paved with blood by the martyrs.

It is an important task for the veterans affairs department to fulfill filial piety for martyrs who have no descendants and comfort the unsung heroes for their unfulfilled aspirations.

Every year, the fields visit 24 martyrs 'memorial facilities and 81 martyrs' tombs in Miyun to pay tribute to the martyrs one by one. Because the mountains are high and the roads are long, often only one or two places can be swept a day. Therefore, this timeline is very long. Only part of the sweep will be completed before Qingming Festival, and another part will be completed in the next few months.

Among them, Yunmeng Mountain Huanghualing is the most dangerous. On Huanghualing, there was a touching story of "Beijing Langya Mountain". At that time, Shen Shuang, the county magistrate of Fengluanmi and the county government, led more than 30 soldiers to cover the evacuation of the main force and fired the last bullet. They would rather die than be prisoners. Shen Shuang killed herself when he drank the bullet. Other soldiers also hugged the enemy and jumped off the cliff after the bullet was exhausted. In 2021, Tian Ye went through hardships to find the tombs of five martyrs and repaired them.

This mountain is steep and there is no road at all. It takes 15 kilometers to reach the top of the mountain. "Before going every time, I have to do some physical exercise before I can climb up. It takes at least 11 hours. I can go up in the morning and come down when it gets dark." Tian Ye said that there was no way to go up the mountain to pay homage before Qingming Festival this year, but in May and June, he would definitely go up the mountain to visit the martyrs and inspect their tombs and tombstones.

collect clues:

为了帮河下村的三位老人圆梦，北京日报客户端向社会征集线索：您知道马维密吗？或者您知道1942年有哪支部队曾在大城子镇河下村与敌人发生过战斗？ If you have any clues, please call 010-69080181.

Let us work together to turn the unknown martyr into a "famous" hero!