In November 1931, to address an acute shortage of medical personnel in the Red Army, He Cheng, then Chief of the General Military Medical Department of the Central Military Commission, proposed establishing a military medical school. The Military Medical School of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army was founded in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, with the guiding principle of being “politically steadfast and technically proficient”. The school held its opening ceremony in Yudu. Even as fighting raged, its teachers and students treated the wounded on the battlefield and kept classes going, at times using wooden doors as blackboards. In 1932, the institution was renamed the Health School of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. Upon graduation, the first class left for the front. Many gave their lives, while others later became generals of the People’s Republic of China and made important contributions to the cause of revolutionary medical care.