China in WW2

Living Heroes, Part 4

• By Guest blogger
• 12 June, 2015
• No Comments

This is the fourth in a series of articles introducing Chinese veterans of the Second Sino-Japanese War, some of whom are now about 100 years old. The fact that a broader public can now finally learn their stories is all thanks to the Youxin Foundation, which looks after many of the old heroes. The copyright of all photos on this page belongs to the Youxin Foundation.

Luo Kui (b. 1923 – see photo above) was a medic with the 57th Army. He now lives in Dazhou, Sichuan province. He was drafted into the Army in 1942, and in 1944 he participated in the Lingbao battle, part of the larger campaign for Central Henan. He saw extreme carnage, as thousands of young Chinese became casualties in the costly battles. After the campaign, his unit was pulled back to China’s southwest for regrouping and replenishment. After the war, Luo returned home to become a farmer.

Wu Zuowen (b. 1923) was a machine gunner with the 469th Regiment, 157th Division, 62nd Army. He now lives in Yunfu in Guangdong province. He was drafted into the army in 1943, and in 1944 he took part in the battle of Hengyang. At the battle at Mt Tanzu, the fighting with the Japanese so intense that the barrel of his machine gun “turned red hot”.  The combat lasted for several days and nights, and the troops suffered severe deprivations. At the end of the war he traveled to Indochina and Taiwan as part of the units sent off to accept the Japanese surrender. Wu survived the war. His older brother wasn’t that lucky. “He didn’t return,” he says.

Tan Xingfang (b. 1920) was a soldier in the Temporary 2nd Army’s 8th Division. He was drafted into the army in 1944 and went by train to Changsha. He took part in the fourth battle for Changsha as well as the battle for Hengyang. He stayed on in Jiangxi after the war and only returned to his home village in 1955. Today he lives in deep poverty, and despite his high age he works with bamboo to make a few yuan a day. His sons, who are farmers, also support him.