During the Spring Festival in 1958, several chiefs passed by Donggou County, Liaoning Province, and the local department warmly welcomed them, and the whole county was full of cheers because of their arrival, and the scene was very lively. In stark contrast is the guard guarding the granary, who is extremely calm, as if he is indifferent to everything, not to mention that you can know that he was a veteran of many battles?
When the chiefs chatted with local cadres, they took a whim and mentioned the glory days on the Korean battlefield, which are still boiling in retrospect. At this moment, the local cadre suddenly said:
It was a coincidence that there was a guard named Lao Xu in our granary, who also participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in those years, and then left the army when he was injured.
”
When the chief heard about it, he immediately said that he could, and they were very concerned about the lives of the veterans. Under the leadership of the person in charge, the group quickly came to the granary, saw the busy guards, the chief who had been talking and laughing was red-eyed, very excited, they were all stunned by the scene in front of them, was this person really him?
At this moment, the guard just raised his head, and the two sides looked at each other, and in that instant, the air seemed to freeze, and no one spoke first. In the next instant, the chiefs rushed forward one after another, hugged the guard tightly, and kept saying in their mouths: "Old Xu, is it really you?" You're still alive, why don't you come to us? They said as they slapped the guard the back.
The people present were confused and did not understand what the origins of their relationship were. It turned out that this guard was not an ordinary person, he not only participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but also made first-class merits on the battlefield and was an explosive hero in the army. But why do people who have "sacrificed their lives for the country" appear in this small town? And why are you willing to be a granary guard?
The fact that Lao Xu of the granary was a hero of battle grew wings like wings, and spread throughout the county, and many people found Lao Xu and wanted to know his past on the battlefield. Forced to help, he talked about the war-torn and unforgettable days...
Xu Changyou: "If you go to the battlefield after being slightly injured, is that still called a PLA soldier?" ”
Old Xu named
Xu Changyou
, a native of Donggou, Liaoning. In 1947, he left his hometown to join the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and when he first joined the army, he participated in the battle to liberate Yixian and Jinzhou, which was a huge challenge for a recruit.
Picture | Xu Changyou
Especially in the Battle of Jinzhou, Xu Changyou's performance shocked many people, not only did he have no fear or worry about going to the battlefield, but he was better than some veterans. He ignored the danger, charged into battle, killed many enemies, and his comrades gave him a thumbs up. In this way, until the end of the battle, he insisted on being on the front line.
The battle came to an end, the two sides simply stopped fighting, directly turned on the melee mode, the warriors all took out their bayonets and rushed to the enemy not far away. During this period, Xu Changyou's left leg was accidentally stabbed by the enemy, and the blood flowed immediately, and the comrades next to him were a little worried, so they asked him to go to the rear to bandage the wound, where they could just hold it.
Xu Changyou was not impressed, and said solemnly:
If you go to the battlefield after being slightly injured, is that still called a PLA soldier?
After saying that, he limped and continued to enter the battle, constantly fighting, and that bloody nature was not the material for being a soldier! By the end of the war, Xu Changyou had fainted in pain and was found by his comrades-in-arms and sent to a medical team for treatment.
After this, Xu Changyou followed the troops all the way south, participating in dozens of battles large and small, each time he was not afraid of sacrifice and danger, and bravely rushed to the front line of the battlefield to fight the enemy to the death. It is precisely because of this that he has made many meritorious achievements, successively obtained 5 military merit medals, and with the founding of New China, Xu Changyou has entered a state of rest.
In 1950, the "United Nations Army" led by the United States ignored china's repeated warnings and crossed the Yalu River frequently affected the border area. In the end, the CPC Central Committee decided after deliberation: Resist US aggression and aid Korea, and defend the family and the country. After the Chinese People's Volunteer Army rallying horn sounded, Xu Changyou once again dressed in military uniform and went to the Korean battlefield, and successfully reached the front line of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Figure | Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
At present, Xu Changyou has been tempered into a veteran of hundreds of battles, serving as the deputy squad leader of the first company of the 357th Regiment of the 119th Division of the 40th Army of the Volunteer Army. In the Battle of Yunshan, Xu Changyou rushed to the front of the troops, leading the battle for the comrades behind him, and just when he had already killed the red eye, an enemy shell hit him in the head, and the blood flowed.
Seeing that if this situation was not treated in time, he was afraid that his life would be in danger, and when his comrades-in-arms saw the situation, they immediately formed a circle toward him to protect his safety, and all advised him to quickly bandage his wounds, but he roared, rushed out of the protective circle of his comrades-in-arms, took up the weapons on the ground and rushed to the forefront. The Korean War was the last battle of his life, but the Battle of Unsan was not the end.
The Battle of Shangganling became famous in the first battle, and the yin and yang mistakes "sacrificed their lives for the country"
Speaking of his last battle, it was also the most glorious one, that is, the fiercest battle of the entire Korean War.
Battle of Shangganling
。 Needless to say, the danger and hardship of it are not to mention, and the reason why he was mistaken for a sacrifice is also directly related to this battle:
It was on October 14, 1952, when the Battle of Shangganling was officially launched, and the enemy and we were caught in a tense confrontation. The enemy mobilized more than 60,000 troops, more than 300 artillery pieces, more than 170 tanks, and more than 3,000 fighters, launched a fierce attack on the Shangganling position, and our side stubbornly resisted, repelling the enemy's attacks again and again, and the positions were lost and regained many times.
Although our army temporarily held its position, it also paid an extremely heavy price. At this moment, Xu Changyou's company received an urgent order: to storm the 161 heights in the south of the Upper Ganling Mountains. At that time, the heights were occupied by the American army, and Xu Changyou was responsible for taking the lead in spying on the enemy's military intelligence, but this time the task was far less simple than they thought.
The deployment that Xu Changyou received was: to form an explosive squad, make full preparations, break into the depths of the enemy, and remove all kinds of bunker fortifications built by the enemy, which is conducive to the continued advance of large troops. There are eight trails of extremely tricky barbed wire in front of the U.S. position, and under these barbed wires are countless mines, the degree of danger can be imagined.
Pictured| volunteers cutting barbed wire
That night, Xu Changyou set off with the demolition squad, first the sappers carefully cleared the mines, and then Xu Changyou and the remaining soldiers cut the barbed wire, and in the silent night, only the sound of "rustling" could be heard, which was the sound of the friction of wire and knives, and everyone was preoccupied with the matter at hand, and no one dared to be distracted for a moment.
Just when they came to the third barbed wire, the searchlights on the fortress found them, and immediately countless shells flew towards them, and Xu Changyou, who had no time to dodge, was hit by the shells, and the explosions continued to echo in his ears. His waist was injured, and there was a piece of shell in his back spine, and he was suddenly covered in blood.
With a bang, Xu Changyou's arm was hit by another shot from the enemy, and everyone showed a worried look, but there was no time to be distracted. The severe pain made Xu Changyou sweat straight, and carrying the gun became very laborious, and the gun that was once easy to pick up was now like a thousand pounds, extremely laborious. Unable to bandage the wound, he gritted his teeth, picked up the gun with a vicious face, and rushed to the front to block the enemy, the wound was bleeding outside, and he didn't care.
Under the dense artillery fire of the US army, he led his troops to crawl forward, and finally climbed the hill more than 100 meters high. One of the soldiers couldn't help but say to him, "Squad deputy, how are you?" Does it matter? Xu Changyou was in pain, but he still smiled and replied: "It's not a big deal, it's just that I hung up a little color, and it is more important to fight the enemy." ”
At the same time, the superiors gave the order to continue to advance, and the enemy's artillery fire was like a downpour without any intention of stopping. Finally, with the unremitting efforts of Xu Changyou and the soldiers, he approached the enemy's first bunker, and due to the special geographical location, the enemy army did not find Xu Changyou, and he quickly took it
Blaster canister
He stepped in, and the enemy was frightened by this sudden situation.
Seeing that the situation was urgent, he worked together to push the blaster out, just to prevent them from having this move, xu Changyou was already waiting outside the bunker. Seeing that the blaster was pushed out, no matter how three seven twenty-one blocked it with his body, the enemy looked at the blaster that had been pushed out so hard that it came in again, and stomped his feet in anger, and when they picked up the blaster again and wanted to push it out, they were caught off guard.
In an instant, the outer layer of the bunker was blown up, a raging fire was ignited, and the screams of the enemy army were heard inside. Saying that it was late and fast, Xu Changyou took advantage of the opportunity to pick up the turntable machine gun and rushed into the enemy fort, and it was a fierce strafing. Then, in broken English, he shouted: "Don't kill the gun, give preferential treatment to the prisoners!" "But I didn't get any response, was it all killed by myself?"
I saw many horizontal and vertical corpses lying on the ground, at first glance it seemed that there was no one, but the careful Xu Changyou found that there was a staircase that led to the next floor, and there was a faint light emitted from it, and he thought: There must be someone in here. So he took the turntable machine gun again, fired another crazy strafing at the stairwell, and continued to shout.
The enemy hiding inside knew that there was no chance, and came out from inside one after another, holding their heads with both hands, not daring to look directly at Xu Changyou, counting down a total of 8 people, 7 men and 1 woman. After controlling the prisoners of war, Xu Changyou followed the soldiers to the second bunker, at this time his wounds and blood were still pouring out, and he was weak after losing too much blood, but this was not a reason to withdraw from the front line.
Weakly lying in the communication trenches, he slowly approached the enemy fort step by step, and at present our army has suffered more than half of the casualties, and its combat effectiveness has also plummeted. Suddenly, a surprise, the enemy's bullet penetrated his right arm, when Xu Changyou's eyes were blackened, the pain increased, and the pain almost fainted, but a voice in his heart told him: Hold on! It's not going to fall down yet.
Xu Changyou looked back with severe pain, plus he only had a few people left, and the rest of his brothers were killed under the enemy's artillery fire. He dragged his crippled body forward a little bit, leaving a shocking blood mark behind him, and he came to the front of the bunker, but he couldn't find a specific location to drop the grenade, which made him anxious and didn't know what to do.
The enemy machine gun fired a merciless tongue of fire, knocking down several fighters, Xu Changyou knew that he could not delay any longer, and with the determination to die in his heart, he decided to use his body to block the enemy's gun hole. Perhaps it was not a fate, in order to be able to see our attack clearly, the enemy troops on the position fired an illumination bomb, which just helped Xu Changyou a lot.
The light of the flares made it clear to him the specific location of the enemy bunker, and he immediately felt for a grenade, aimed at the bunker and threw it. After a loud noise, the enemy troops in the bunker were all blown to the ground, unable to move, Xu Changyou finally showed a satisfied smile, but the wounds on his body hurt him and he grinned, and his consciousness began to gradually become blurred.
In order to keep himself awake, he slapped his cheek hard and pinched the flesh on his thigh, and the comrades next to him saw his behavior, and their hearts were very worried, and they began to persuade Xu Changyou to withdraw from the battlefield. Not to say that it was okay, as soon as he said it, he was uncomfortable, and replied categorically:
We only have a few warriors left, and if I leave now to heal my wounds, will this battle still be fought? I am the squad leader, I should take the lead, no matter how difficult it is, I must persist until the last moment, I am dead, I have to die on the front line.
As soon as the words fell, Xu Changyou struggled to continue to advance with several fighters, not as smoothly as the previous two times, this time they encountered the enemy's bunker for a long time. This is the command post of the US army, probably there is a squad stationed, under the direct command of the US officers, it can be said that it is one of the bunkers that the enemy values more, the defense system is very strong, and it is also equipped with many heavy machine guns, and the firepower is extremely strong.
Our army's attack was immediately suppressed, and many attacks on this bunker were launched in succession, and the blasting mission still had no chance to be carried out, which was not a good omen. Next, grenades, grenades, rocket launchers, etc., as long as the weapons that can be used are used, the enemy bunkers have not even exploded, and the morale of our army has dropped sharply after round of offensives.
Xu Changyou realized that relying on conventional methods alone was not enough, and he had to find a way to win by surprise. He planned to take the risk, do not stop, holding a blast canister in his arms towards the enemy bunker, the soldiers saw the situation and immediately covered him with fire, Xu Changyou tried his best to throw the blast canister towards the bunker, but the bunker was still intact, and even the blast canister could not take it.
Xu Changyou continued to struggle to climb into the traffic trench and said to the soldiers:
fast! Bring me a pack of explosives, this bunker is unusual, much stronger than the previous ones...
Before he could finish speaking, he couldn't hold back due to excessive blood loss and fainted. Now that the battle has reached the most tragic stage, our army has almost entered the desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food, because of the existence of this bunker, our army is still unable to advance half a step, if the enemy's air support comes, there is really no room for recovery.
The more the warriors thought about it, the more frightened they became, this is not a way to go on, if they continue to fight hard with the enemy, the price paid must be extremely heavy, this risk we can not take, just when preparing to evacuate with the unconscious Xu Changyou, he woke up in a blur, the sound of artillery fire around him reminded him that the enemy was at present, and the task of capturing the 161 heights was not yet completed.
Even though he was now dizzy and weak, and it was extremely difficult to stand up, he still struggled to climb towards the enemy fort with two packs of explosives, but when he came to the enemy fort, he could not find the place to drop the explosive pack, just at this moment, the enemy put another flare, Xu Changyou saw that there was a small door in the bunker, looked at the timing, quickly aimed, lit the fuse, and threw the explosive pack into it accurately.
After a deafening loud noise, the enemy's bunkers were blown to pieces, the enemy was all buried, the way forward was blocked by firepower, and the soldiers of our army immediately launched a fierce attack, conquered and quickly occupied the 161 heights, and everyone cheered. At this moment, Xu Changyou, who was lying in the traffic trench, became confused and slowly closed his eyes and fainted.
In addition to the joy, the soldiers immediately began to look for Xu Changyou, and finally found him in the enemy's communication trench, everyone looked at it and shed tears, Xu Changyou did not have a good place on his body, his mouth foamed, his ears were bleeding, and he was seriously injured. The explosion just now also affected him, and now his breath is extremely weak, his life is in danger, and he must be rushed to the hospital for treatment.
However, Xu Changyou was too badly injured, he was shot in many places on his body, lost too much blood, and was sent to a field hospital for treatment, and the doctors also shook their heads. The technology and facilities of the field medical team are limited, and the injuries on Xu Changyou's body are too serious and urgently need to be transfused, but the environmental conditions here are not allowed, and people can only be immediately sent back to China for treatment.
After returning to China, the situation is not optimistic, the injury is too serious, and some hospitals are helpless, until they have gone to several large hospitals to save people. But the breath was still very weak, whether it could survive was still unknown, coupled with the traffic blockage at that time, the message transmission between the two countries was slow, and Xu Changyou's unit did not receive the news of the hospital for a long time.
In 1953, when counting casualties, he was included in the list of victims. In recognition of Xu Changyou's outstanding contributions, the Volunteer Army Command awarded him"
First Class Meritorious Service
”、“
Level 2 Blast hero
"The title, and after the DPRK heard about this figure, it also awarded him a national flag medal of the Third Class of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Xu Changyou's photograph and Huang Jiguang's photograph are juxtaposed and exhibited together at the Central Military Museum, and his name is also engraved on the heroic monument of the Dandong Memorial Hall for The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The comrades-in-arms who fought side by side in the past also accepted the fact that he "sacrificed", and everyone felt sorry for him and remembered him in their hearts forever.
The | Central Military Museum
Xu Changyou's deeds of fighting the enemy at The 161 Heights were written by volunteer war correspondents as a newsletter entitled ""Blast Hero" Xu Changyou. As everyone knows, this explosion hero who "sacrificed his life for the country" survived, and Xu Changyou, under the careful care of the hospital, recuperated for more than a year before recovering his health, and there was no problem in a normal life, and at this time the Korean War was also nearing its end.
Although he missed his comrades in his heart, he gave up returning to the army. After all, now that the war on the front line is coming to an end, there is no need to go back, so he turned around and returned to his hometown in Liaoning and lived the life of an ordinary person. He married and had children, settled down, and completely cut off contact with the troops, where he said nothing about his deeds on the Korean battlefield.
The villagers asked him, "Why did you get so many wounds on your body?" Xu Changyou replied, "When I was young, I was a soldier and got it on the battlefield." Back and forth, no matter what questions others ask, he will only say this, and after a long time, people will no longer care about his affairs, and only regard him as an ordinary veteran."
After 5 years of reunion, Xu Changyou worked as a guard in the granary
Later, through the hospital's certificate of injury and the help of the relevant personnel, he got a job as a guard in the county granary, which was relatively easy and he himself was more satisfied. During this period, Xu Changyou worked diligently and conscientiously, never made a mistake, and the days passed for 5 years, and 5 years had long been a thing of wrong.
Xu Changyou's former comrade-in-arms also became the head of a military region, and in 1958, just because he was passing through Donggou in Liaoning Province on official business, there was the scene where the old comrades-in-arms recognized each other at the beginning. Several people hugged and cried, the hot tears could not control the flow down, they were telling Xu Changyou about their thoughts about him, Xu Changyou was undoubtedly the most surprised, never thought of the day when he and his comrades-in-arms met again.
After some greetings, the mood of several people stabilized, and the chiefs looked at Xu Changyou's current work with some dissatisfaction, so they proposed to help him change to a better job and don't do this work, but they were strongly rejected by Xu Changyou, and he seriously said to the crowd: "
I am doing very well now, and besides, I fought so that the people would no longer suffer, and now I am very content.
Pictured| Volunteer Veteran
Having said that, the country will not forget these heroes, and with the proof of several chiefs, the government restored Xu Changyou's status as a veteran and received the preferential treatment that veterans deserve. For example, a first-class hero like Xu Changyou can enjoy treatment such as fine grains, side foods, and reimbursement of medical expenses.
But Xu Changyou thinks that he does not need those and should give these to those who need them more. In this way, he distributed these "benefits" to the elderly who had no financial resources and their children were not around, as well as some left-behind children. If you are sick, you will not go to the hospital, unless you have to go, and you will not go to a small illness.
At that time, some people saw that his medical expenses could be reimbursed, so they had a crooked mind and wanted to buy medicines for reimbursement in the name of Xu Changyou, and when he learned about it, he immediately made clear his position:
No one can take advantage of the country in my name!
In the position of granary guard, Xu Changyou worked until retirement. After retirement, he is still enthusiastic about the work of the party, and he will always do his part in helping things. When primary and secondary schools and units invited him to talk about revolutionary traditions and pass on the red ideas, he would always recall the battle of Shangganling on the Korean battlefield, and the scene at that time was still fresh in his memory, which was unforgettable in this life!