Around the time of the traditional moon festival in the autumn of 1967, Sha Kaichu was rounded up by militiamen from his village, his own neighbors. He was denounced and roughed up in a “struggle” rally in the town square in Xiaojiang Village in Hunan. The next morning, he and five others were escorted to the commune's headquarters. Sha implored them to allow higher officials to hear his case: “I fought the war for our country. Please consider the efforts I have made.…”

Sha, thirty-seven and a father of three, had been the head of his family since his early twenties. His father, a landlord, was killed during the Land Reform movement of 1952. Sha joined the Chinese Voluntary Army to fight in the Korean War. After his discharge he worked in his village as a tractor driver. Sha had committed no crime but now was being singled out as the son of a landlord. A few days before his apprehension, his loved ones pleaded with him to hide; rumors of killings had come from other villages. He was too proud and confident to do so, citing his contribution to the country.

Sha considered himself to be safer than the other five male descendants of landlords being marched to the headquarters, but he was wrong. The village leader and the militia had decided to kill all of them at the roadside, 4 li (1 li equals 0.5 kilometers) shy of their destination.