Li Zong wanted to see Li Mu, but Li Mu was not a competent host to receive these guests from afar in the hotel. Today, he drove to the Flying Tigers cemetery in the suburbs of Spring City with the foundation's staff to mourn.
The veterans knew that there was a cemetery in the suburbs of Spring City and had always wanted to find a chance to mourn, but the schedule that the foundation's staff had arranged for them did not include this.
This was also the only arrangement that the foundation did not follow the wishes of the veterans.
The reason why Liu Xinying had not arranged for the veterans to mourn was mainly because the current situation of this "cemetery" was really distressing. This cemetery had been around since 1943. The pilots and ground soldiers of the Flying Tigers who had died in battle, whether it was Hua Xia or Merika, were all buried there. It was said that at its peak, there were seven to eight hundred graves here.
However, after the victory of the War of Resistance, the Merika took away the remains of the American Flying Tigers martyrs and brought them back to the United States for burial, leaving about five hundred graves of the Hua Xia martyrs. However, in the following decades, the cemetery of the Flying Tigers martyrs of Hua Xia encountered many disasters.
First, in the early 1950s, due to construction needs, the local villagers dug out almost all the martyrs' coffins and tombstones, then transported them to a nameless mountain and hastily buried them. Then, at the end of the 1950s, during the era of large-scale Great Leap Forward, due to the need for water conservancy construction, these martyrs' tombstones were all used by the production team to build a reservoir.
Then, in the 1980s, these martyrs' coffins were almost all robbed by grave robbers. The coffins were basically destroyed and opened by the grave robbers, which made people feel sorry for them.
After Liu Xinying heard this news, she had not told the veterans the actual situation. She had wiped her tears several times, but she really could not say it out loud.
How could she say it?
More than twenty old Hua Xia Flying Tigers wholeheartedly wanted to mourn their comrades of the past. They went to the graves to light a cigarette, pour a glass of wine, and pour out their heartfelt feelings in front of the graves of familiar comrades.
Although the remains of the American Flying Tigers in the cemetery had long been moved back to the United States for burial, these old American Flying Tigers who were invited to Hua Xia also wanted to go to the cemetery to offer a bouquet of flowers to their comrades who had fought side by side with Hua Xia.
Every time she faced the sincere hearts of more than fifty old people, Liu Xinying felt as if there was a fishbone stuck in her throat. She could not possibly tell them that the graves of their comrades had been completely destroyed, that the original martyrs' graves had been moved away, and that the tombstones had become stones for building the reservoir, and that the coffins had been completely destroyed by the grave robbers.
Therefore, Liu Xinying planned all of the old man's outings as a journey to search for memories of the past. She visited the old aviation academy, the old airport, the old dormitory, and the small village where the pilot was rescued after the crash. The only thing she did not visit was this remote cemetery.
However, according to the original plan, these American veterans would return to the United States tomorrow. The veterans of Hua Xia would also be temporarily separated. Some people had to go home, and some had to go to the military sanatorium. Therefore, today was the last day for everyone to gather together. More than fifty old people could no longer bear it. They all asked Liu Xinying to take them to the cemetery to have a look and mourn. It was a way to be worthy of the souls of these martyrs in heaven.
Liu Xinying had no choice but to find Li Mu early in the morning. While crying, she explained the situation of the martyrs' cemetery to Li Mu. She hoped that Li Mu could help her persuade those old people. She really did not want the old people to know these heartbreaking news.
When Li Mu heard this, he was also wringing his hands. It had only been fifty to sixty years, but they had not even been able to protect the cemetery of the martyrs. If the surviving veterans knew about this, what kind of cold Blizzard would their hearts go through?
However, it was really unreasonable to forcefully stop them from going. The Veterans Don't Die event this time had given the elderly a lot of comfort, and also allowed them to fulfill their lifelong wish of reuniting with their comrades. After so many years, the living had reunited with each other. What they would think of the most would definitely be those who had passed away. If they really didn't let them go and mourn, this regret would probably follow them for the rest of their lives.
After thinking about it, Li Mu made the final decision.
Go!
All the staff, including himself, would go too!
Liu Xinying was in a dilemma and said, "But what we can find now is a mass grave. Our volunteers have gone to see it. That feeling is too miserable. I'm afraid they won't be able to accept it …"
Li Mu said, "Even so, we can't let these old people leave Spring City with regrets."
At this point, Li Mu sighed deeply and said, "Actually, the psychological endurance of these old people is much stronger than ours. They have experienced the cruel war of resistance and experienced the bumpy second half of their lives. They have a deeper understanding of the reality of society than us. At this time, I believe that what they really want is to interact with the spirits of the deceased. Let them go. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If we don't let them go, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages."
Liu Xinying fell silent.
Li Mu was right. She felt that the old people might not be able to accept that reality, but thinking about the experiences of these old people, they were really the strongest and greatest group of people in this world. Decades ago, they had already become indifferent to life and death. What they advocated was the will to die in battle to serve their country. They had seen so much cruelty on the battlefield, so they should have a very strong psychological endurance when faced with some of the reality today.
However, Li Mu still had more considerations. He said, "Xinying, bring the old people home, but we have to make a promise to the old people. We can't restore these martyrs' graves in a day or two, but we have to promise the veterans that the Veterans Never Die Charitable Foundation will definitely allocate funds to rebury all the veterans' remains and coffins. We will do our best to find all the veterans' tombstones. If we can't find them, we will find information about the martyrs and make new tombstones. We will also find a place in Spring City with good Fengshui, good scenery, and convenient transportation to build a new Flying Tigers Martyrs Cemetery!"
Speaking up to this point, Li Mu added, "Not only do we want to build a martyrs' cemetery! We also want to invest in building a Flying Tigers Historical Memorial Hall next to the cemetery. We now have three to four billion yuan of funds available. Not only do we have to use this money to improve the lives of every surviving veteran, but we also have to be responsible for the deceased veterans, give them enough respect, and pass on their spirit and heroic deeds. We will do as we say. After sending them off tomorrow, you will communicate with the local government. "
"Okay!" Liu Xinying nodded repeatedly. In her opinion, Li Mu's solution had already exceeded her imagination. If she made these promises to the veterans and fulfilled them one by one, she believed that the veterans would definitely be greatly comforted.
Li Mu then instructed her, "Contact the reporters from the major media outlets, as well as the reporters from the local media outlets in Yun Province and Spring City, and invite them to accompany and film. The entire society owes the veterans too much, not only those who are alive, but also those who have sacrificed themselves. I hope that through their follow-up and filming, the society will be able to realize this."
"Okay, I'll go inform them now!"
…
When Li Zong arrived at the hotel, Li Mu had already arrived at the mountainous area on the outskirts of Spring City with dozens of Flying Tigers, nearly a hundred relatives of the Flying Tigers, dozens of volunteers, staff, and dozens of reporters.
The reporters who were invited at the last minute were originally still waiting at the airport. When they suddenly received the invitation, they came almost immediately. However, they had no idea why Li Mu, the entire foundation, and more than fifty veterans had set off for the outskirts before the charity night began.
It was only when the staff led everyone to a mass grave that Liu Xinying told them the truth.
In front of all the veterans and reporters, Liu Xinying choked as she explained how the martyrs' cemetery had gradually become a mass grave. This news made everyone grieve. Many veterans stood in front of the rotting coffins in the mass grave for a long time without saying a word. While their relatives and the volunteers of the foundation were crying silently, they unexpectedly did not cry.
Li Mu was right. The psychological endurance of these veterans had far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Elder Sun Xiaozhong leaned on his walking stick and let out a long sigh. He said, "Only dying on the battlefield for the country, there's no need to die on the battlefield … Brothers, we're here to see you …"
As soon as he said that, all the Hua Xia veterans trembled and said in unison, "Brothers, we're here to see you!"
Elder Sun Xiaozhong secretly wiped away his tears and turned around to say to the other veterans, "Brothers, let's give a toast to the brothers who died for a righteous cause!"
The volunteers took out the white wine that they had prepared in advance from their bags and handed a bottle to each of the Huaxia veterans. Elder Sun Xiaozhong and the other elders took the wine and spread out in a tacit understanding. Each of them took a direction, and every time they came to a broken grave, a rotten tomb, or an exposed rotting coffin, they would pour some into the wine while chanting something.
A veteran's son whispered to the reporter beside him, whose eyes were red from crying, "My father used to tell me that when the bodies of the martyrs were counted after the war, the living would pour some white wine on the bodies of each martyr before they were buried so that they could have a good journey."
When everyone heard this, although they did not make a sound, they did not miss a single word.
The old people sighed and mourned for their dead comrades. After everyone's emotions calmed down, Liu Xinying made a promise to everyone that Li Mu had instructed: invest in the construction of the Flying Tigers' martyrs' mausoleum and the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall. At the same time, all the remains of the martyrs would be moved out and reburied in the martyrs' mausoleum. Then, they would negotiate with the local government to send a salvage team to the reservoir to salvage the martyrs' tombstones, and so on.
After hearing this promise, the veterans, who had been holding back their tears, could not help but burst into tears. They no longer had the ability to take care of these deceased comrades. Even they themselves needed to be taken care of and helped by society. In this case, it was a great comfort for them that the foundation was willing to take care of these deceased heroes.
When the American Flying Tigers learned everything through the interpreter, they could not help but cry. They expressed their willingness to donate to the mausoleum, but Li Mu made it clear that he could not accept the veterans' donations. He told them, "I have reached an agreement with a friend in the United States. Makino Technology and he will jointly invest 10 million US dollars to establish the Veterans Don 't-American Charity Foundation in the United States. Not only do the veterans of Hua Xia need care and love, but veterans all over the world need it."
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