Once on the battlefield, there were many outstanding soldiers, who made a lot of efforts for the motherland and made great contributions to the people, but in the end they did not choose to continue to stay in the army, but hid their former merits and names, became an ordinary people, and lived in anonymity.
In 1983, Xia Liangbai, the head of the United Front Work Department of Rizhao County, came to Sunjia Village to investigate, and a farmer who poured water for him attracted his attention, and this person's actions looked like a former soldier, and he would never be an ordinary farmer. After understanding it, he did find that this person's identity turned out to be extraordinary, and this person was Wang Yanzhou.
1. Join the Military Training Corps
Wang Yanzhou was born in October 1920, although he was born in a relatively ordinary family, but the ancestors in this family have been educated for generations, and his grandfather and maternal grandfather have both passed the Xiucai examination. Although his parents' learning and education level is not so high, but because the family can also be regarded as a scholar, he was sent to a private school when he was very young, and later went to Qingdao to become an apprentice when he was 15 years old.
In fact, in the chaotic world at that time, the requirements of the elders in the family were very simple, not to ask Wang Yanzhou to fly Huang Tengda, nor to ask him to be famous, only to hope that he could live a stable life, marry and have children, which was enough, but no one thought that Wang Yanzhou would embark on a path that they had never thought about.
What really changed Wang Yanzhou's life was his cousin Wang Yande, who was a company commander in the Kuomintang troops at the time, and when he returned home for the New Year, he saw that Wang Yanzhou had become a big guy. However, he still did not have much planning for his future in life, and under such circumstances, Wang Yande proposed that if he could join the army and serve the country, it would be a very good choice. Although the people in the family were not very happy at first, under the persuasion of Wang Yande, the people in the family also agreed to the idea of letting Wang Yanzhou join the army.
Soon after, Wang Yanzhou officially joined the military training regiment of the 29th Army in Beipingnan, although this is not a regular military school, and the knowledge taught cannot be compared with the Whampoa Military Academy, but this military training regiment is completely adapted to newcomers, and the knowledge imparted is also very comprehensive. Leading this corps was Tong Linge, a very staunch anti-Japanese fighter.
On July 28, 1937, the Japanese army launched a very strong attack on Peiping, and Tong Linge and Zhao Dengyu led the troops to fight hard against the Japanese army, showing a strong national integrity. But unfortunately, in this battle, Tong Linge and Zhao Dengyu both left their precious lives on the battlefield.
It was in this confrontation that Wang Yanzhou first boarded the battlefield, in fact, they had not learned much knowledge in the school at that time, but because of the urgency of the situation, the corps also had to confront the Japanese army on the battlefield. It was in this battle that Wang Yanzhou truly realized that war is not a child's play, and on the battlefield, every moment may be in danger of life, but no matter what, we must bravely kill the enemy, only in this way can we defend the motherland and the people.
Although this is Wang Yanzhou's first time on the battlefield, his performance on the battlefield is still very heroic, even if the Japanese firepower is very strong, he can resist the enemy, and he was also wounded in this battle, and his left leg was hit by the enemy's bullet. Later, the team received the order to retreat, and the wounds must be treated immediately, but the conditions at that time were relatively simple, wang Yanzhou could only use branches to dig out the bullets, and the pain was conceivable, but he still persevered.
In this battle, the losses of our army were very heavy, especially many of Wang Yanzhou's classmates, who still died on the battlefield the first time, which was really a pity. In the military training regiment to which Wang Yanzhou belonged, only one-third of the cadets remained after a battle, and in this case, the military training regiment could only be disbanded.
For Wang Yanzhou, he had already experienced the cruelty of war, and he did not want this kind of war situation to appear in other places. Therefore, in his heart, he has decided that no matter what, he will continue to be a soldier and continue to defend his family and country on the battlefield in the future.
2. Become an Air Force pilot
Wang Yanzhou, in order to realize his dream of joining the army, chose to join the Whampoa Military Academy for study, where he studied for more than two years, he gained a lot of more military knowledge, systematically learned military theory, which also laid a firm foundation for his subsequent aerospace.
Originally, after graduation, Wang Yanzhou could smoothly join the Kuomintang ranks, but three days before graduation, he saw an enrollment advertisement for the Jianqiao Air Force Officer School posted on the street. This could not help but make Wang Yanzhou think of the bombers flying in the sky on the first battlefield, and he also hoped that our side could have excellent air force, so he resolutely signed up for this school.
After entering the school, he studied for about a year, during which time, although he mastered the basic flying essentials, the school did not have much time for him to train, after all, the Japanese aircraft at that time always bombed the local area every three or five minutes, so the instructors of the academy had to often let students fly around in the air.
When it came to the pilot assessment, the assessment system was still very strict, and finally after many screenings, Wang Yanzhou's group only left him and another student.
In 1941, Wang Yanzhou and his classmates were sent to the United States for professional flight training, and the place where they practiced was the Luke and Thunderbird bases. Wang Yanzhou cherished the opportunity to study here, and he knew that if he wanted to fly to the sky and contribute to the motherland, he must study harder. It is precisely because he has a firm belief in his heart that he persevered even if he encountered many difficulties in learning later.
In 1943, Wang Yanzhou successfully graduated, and at this moment he was faced with two choices, the first was to stay in the school as a teacher, and the second was to return to the motherland. In fact, if he stayed in the United States as a teacher, then life must be very beautiful, here is a high salary, comfortable treatment, but for Wang Yanzhou, his heart is deeply worried about his motherland, so in the end he resolutely chose to return to China.
Shoot down enemy aircraft
After returning to China, Wang Yanzhou joined the Kuomintang Air Force, when the superior sent down the task, he was always able to complete it perfectly, in 1944, he had just completed one of his bombing tasks, ready to return to the ship, he suddenly found that the engine of the fighter failed, as a very experienced pilot, encountered this situation, Wang Yanzhou did not panic, after some inspection, he found that the fuel tank was exhausted, so he immediately adjusted the altitude of the aircraft to catch up with the comrades who had just left.
At this time, Wang Yanzhou suddenly noticed that a large Japanese transport plane appeared in front of the left, and he calmly went around the rear of the plane to aim, and six machine guns simultaneously attacked the transport plane. Naturally, this Japanese plane crashed during this attack, and this plane was of great significance, because he was the first enemy plane shot down in Wang Yanzhou's life.
Later, in the entire War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang Yanzhou used his super flying ability to successfully shoot down five enemy aircraft. It was precisely because of his excellent performance on the anti-Japanese battlefield that after the victory of the war, he was successfully transferred to Jinan through his own ability.
In the field of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang Yanzhou could use all his strength to fight the enemy, but during the civil war, he was unwilling to aim the muzzle of the gun at his compatriots on the battlefield, and when he first learned the knowledge of the air force, he hoped to be able to defend his dear compatriots, but now how could he turn the muzzle of the gun inward?
Wang Yanzhou once went on a mission when the plane had a problem and the wings began to leak oil, so he had to make a quick forced landing, otherwise it would only destroy the plane and kill people. At that time, he was over our Party, and once he landed, he was likely to be captured by our army. However, none of the things That Wang Yanzhou had expected had happened, and after landing, the surrounding militia fighters found him and immediately took him to a family's house for dinner and let him rest for a while.
Wang Yande also thought that his brother had been captured by our party, and told Zhou Enlai: I hope to be able to release people. But this was something that Wang Yanzhou himself did not want to leave, and no one was holding him at all. Later, Wang Yanzhou still chose to continue to serve the Chinese Party and train a new generation of air force pilots for China. The Kuomintang has always been propagating the evil deeds of our party, but in fact, all of them are slanderous remarks. In fact, the atmosphere in the Liberated Areas was very relaxed, and everyone was positive and uplifting, never like what the Kuomintang said.
In 1961, for various reasons, Wang Yanzhou and his wife were unjustly imprisoned, and they were finally released after several months, and at this time, he could no longer continue to fly, and could only return to his hometown to undergo reform. After returning home, he never told the people around him about his glorious history, and even if he participated in many battles, he chose to hide these meritorious names.
In 1983, Xia Liangbai, director of the United Front Work Department of Rizhao County, came here to inspect, and when Wang Yanzhou brought him tea and poured water, he happened to see the difference between Wang Yanzhou and ordinary people. After some inquiry, he learned about the events of that year, and with the help of Xia Liangbai, Wang Yanzhou rehabilitated the things that had been wronged that year.
epilogue
After Wang Yanzhou was rehabilitated, the government implemented various policies for him, and he could finally enjoy preferential treatment, and 22 years later, in 2005, he was invited to the Great Hall of the People to participate in the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In fact, for this revolutionary, he never cared what benefits he could get, as long as what he did for the country and the people could be affirmed, which made him satisfied. The older generation of fighters have exchanged their youth and blood for our happy life today, and we should strive for China's development.
References: "Aviation Centennial Figures", "The Last Flying Tigers of the Mainland"