Chapter 44 Returning to the war in the second quarter

The overseas Chinese in Nanyang not only supported the motherland in the war of resistance with property, but also many passionate young overseas Chinese who abandoned the comparatively affluent living conditions overseas and returned to the motherland in the flames of war to bravely fight against the Japanese invaders on the anti-Japanese battlefield. In 1938, the "Filipino Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Team" was formed and returned to China.Members of the Volunteer Team were recruited through open recruitment and after passing the review. There were sixty or seventy members in total, and the person in charge was Shen Erqi, who was only 24 years old.After a short period of training, the first batch of 28 members of the Volunteer Team set off from Manila to return to China in January 1938.This small team overcame all kinds of obstacles and went through hardships. It joined the Second Detachment of the New Fourth Army in western Fujian and was renamed the "Filipino Overseas Chinese Returning to the Country with the Army Service Corps". propaganda work.Shen Erqi was sent back to the Philippines twice to continue to organize the manpower and material resources of overseas Chinese to support the motherland in the war of resistance. In 1941, after returning to China for the third time, Shen Erqi unfortunately died in the anti-Japanese guerrilla war in the Dongjiang area of ​​Guangdong. He was only 28 years old.

Overseas Chinese in Indonesia sent medical teams to the front lines of the Anti-Japanese War.The organizer is Ke Quanshou, a famous doctor.The doctors, nurses and drivers of the medical team all signed up voluntarily and boarded the journey after strict selection and training.The medical team saved lives and healed the wounded under the difficult conditions on the front line, making contributions to the war of resistance.There are also many young Indonesian overseas Chinese who overcame many difficulties, joined the anti-Japanese team, fought bravely, and even sacrificed their young lives. The heroine Li Lin is one of the most outstanding.Li Lin (1916-1940 A.D.) was an overseas Chinese from Indonesia. He returned to China at the age of 14, studied in Xiamen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, and began to participate in the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement. In 1936, he went to Peking University to study. In 1937, he was sent to Shanxi and Suiyuan to carry out armed struggles.Served as the director of the political department of the eighth detachment of the Pinglu Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army, and the instructor of the cavalry battalion of the sixth independent detachment of the 120th division.She often held two guns and led the cavalry to attack the enemy in surprise. She achieved great results and was known as the "heroine with two guns". The Japanese invading army offered a huge reward for her arrest. On April 26, 1940, Li Lin died in battle at the age of 24.This outstanding son and daughter of the Chinese nation will always live in people's hearts.

Overseas Chinese from Nanyang returned to China to participate in the war. A prominent example is the more than 3,000 "Nanqiao mechanics" on the Burma Road. The full name of "Nanqiao Mechanics" is "Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics Returning Service Group".The Anti-Japanese War broke out, and the southeast half of the rivers and mountains fell, and the coastal ports and external communication arteries were occupied or blocked, and it was difficult to transport international military aid materials. The Burma Highway, which opened to traffic in early 1939, became the only international passage in the rear of my country during the Anti-Japanese War.The director of the Southwest Transportation General Office in Kunming called Tan Kah Kee, chairman of the South China Association, hoping that he would come forward to recruit a group of overseas Chinese mechanics to return to China to solve the problem of the lack of auto mechanics on the Yunnan-Burma Highway.The Nanqiao Association immediately issued a notice on February 7, 1939, calling on mechanics to return to China to serve, and set conditions.The majority of overseas Chinese in Nanyang responded enthusiastically to the call, and the registration was very enthusiastic, and many touching cases appeared.Wang Wensong, a mechanical engineer, has a monthly income equivalent to 700 yuan in Singapore, but when he works as a mechanic on the Burma Road, his monthly salary is only 30 yuan. Companion, brought a full set of machine repair equipment back home.Li Yuemei, disguised as a man, returned to China to join the war with her younger brother.A car overturned and was seriously injured. She was found to be a woman when she was rescued in the hospital. She was once hailed as "Contemporary Hua Mulan" by newspapers.There are many similar examples, which vividly reflect the patriotic sentiment and persistent pursuit of the cause of national liberation of overseas Chinese youth in Nanyang.

In just half a year in 1939, more than 3,200 mechanics from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other places set off from Singapore and Penang respectively, and embarked on the journey back to China to participate in the battle. The Yunnan-Burma Highway runs from Kunming, Yunnan to Lashio, Myanmar, with a total length of 1,200 kilometers. It was the link between my country and Southeast Asia during the Anti-Japanese War.This newly completed highway has to cross two high mountains, Gaoligong Mountain and Dawang Mountain, and cross three big rivers, Nu River, Lancang River, and Yang Bi River. Eight days, very difficult and dangerous.After the Nanqiao mechanics returned to China, after a short-term training in Kunming, they went to the Yunnan-Burma Highway to engage in intense military transportation.The Yunnan-Burma Highway not only has complex road conditions, changeable climate, steep cliffs, muddy landslides, and frequent dangers, but also has rampant malaria mosquitoes, and many people died of falciparum malaria.In order to block the Burma Highway, the Japanese army sent planes to bomb indiscriminately, and the safety of the mechanics was always under serious threat. In 1940, under the coercion of Japan, the British government that ruled Burma announced the closure of the Burma Road for more than three months (July to October).Nanqiao mechanics organized a surprise "big rush" to transport a large amount of military supplies into our country before the closure.After the highway was reopened, Japanese planes focused on bombing bridges in an attempt to cut off the throat of the traffic line. On January 23, 1941, the geographically important Gongguo Bridge was bombed by nine enemy planes indiscriminately. Half of the bridge deck fell into the Lancang River. The enemy thought the road was interrupted.However, the Nanqiao mechanic used 144 gasoline barrels to form a large floating raft, took the risk of rushing, and transported the supplies to the other side in time. At the end of 1941, the Pacific War broke out, Burma fell, and the Burma road transportation was forced to stop in May of the following year.In more than three years (1939-1942), more than 3,000 Chinese sons and daughters from Nanyang fought hard day and night to ensure the smooth flow of a strategic traffic artery. Many, strongly supported the war of resistance.The mechanics made great sacrifices for the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and more than 1,000 people gave their precious lives.The descendants of Yan and Huang at home and abroad will never forget their great achievements in history.Memorials to the martyred mechanics have been erected in Penang and Selangor, Malaysia.In Kunming, the starting point of my country's Burma Road, a "Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics Anti-Japanese Monument" was erected. The inscription affirmed the immortal feats of Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics: "With their lives, blood and sweat, they wrote a new chapter in the patriotic history of overseas Chinese. This epic and magnificent chapter has also made indelible contributions in the history of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japan and the history of the world's people's war against fascism."