Volunteers from the Volunteer Army Care Fund in Fuyang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, lasted 1 month, traveled thousands of kilometers, and completed a single photo of 87 veterans. After post-production, there is the following precious "group photo". "Leave no regrets", the word is often mentioned during filming operations. Because of this, many difficulties have been overcome one by one. At present, volunteers have successively sent framed photos to each veteran's home.
Caring for veterans is fearing history.
The smoke of war dissipated to enjoy the peace, do not forget the people who defended the country.
Hangzhou Fuyang District Volunteer Army veterans "group photo".
After a month and thousands of kilometers of travel, volunteers from Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, filmed a "group photo" for veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Seventy years after the battlefield, the elderly heroes reunited
■ Shen Na Liu Liguo Reporter Guo Hongbin
"This big 'group photo' of volunteer veterans is so precious!"
"It turns out that there are so many old heroes of the volunteer army around us, but we must not forget them!"
"Hats off to the heroes!" On the eve of the New Year, in the "Exhibition of Pictures Commemorating the Theme of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea" held in Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, a special "group photo" of veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea attracted widespread attention.
The 87 elderly people in the big "group photo" photo are all veterans who participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and their average age is more than 90 years old. They were dressed in volunteer uniforms and wore on their chests the commemorative medal of the "70th Anniversary of the Chinese Volunteer Army's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea." Despite their advanced age, the veterans are still in good spirits and exude the spirit of a soldier.
It is urgent to save photos for veterans
The initiator of this large "group photo" photo is Xue Yuhua, the project leader of the Volunteer Army Veterans Care Fund in Fuyang District, Hangzhou.
Xue Yuhua is a retired soldier with special feelings for volunteer veterans. At the beginning of 2021, he contacted the District Charity Federation and established the "Fuyang District Volunteer Army Veterans Care Fund", organizing and planning 7 caring activities such as visiting action, light action, sponsorship action, wish action, winter clothes action, veterans story meeting, birthday wish action and so on. "I hope that through our actions, we will remind more people not to forget the history of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, not to forget to be grateful to heroes, and to cherish a peaceful life." Xue Yuhua said.
During the investigation, Xue Yuhua found that 10 veterans had died in less than 1 year. At that time, the movie "Chosin Lake" was hot, and I heard and witnessed that friends and family around me were worshipping and admiring the heroes in the movie, while the old heroes around them were quietly leaving. This made him feel a lot of emotions and heartache.
"There are many veterans holding black and white military uniform photos to tell us about the combat experience of that year. They all miss their military careers and their comrades who were born and died together. Some people offered to put on their old military uniforms and take another color photo, while others proposed to meet their old comrades-in-arms. Considering that the veterans were old and incapacitated, I suddenly had an idea: to take a military uniform photo for each of the veterans, and then make a 'group photo' of these photos to reunite them in the photo. Xue Yuhua introduced.
Do what you say, and it is urgent to save photos for veterans. Under the organization of Xue Yuhua, a volunteer photography team composed of famous local art editor He Rongfa, photographers He Lili and Hua Lingjuan was quickly established.
Non-stop to complete the "group photo"
It has been learned that there were 89 veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea who were alive in Fuyang at that time, with an average age of more than 90 years old. Many veterans are over 95 years old, and some are bedridden for many years, so it is almost impossible for them to take group photos together. A possible approach is to take a single photo of each veteran first, and then synthesize it together by technology.
The group photo operation was officially launched on October 25, 2021, the anniversary of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Nearly a hundred veterans, scattered in the streets of various townships in Fuyang District, how long will this run? Xue Yuhua stomped his feet: Running, we must run quickly, and we must run scientifically. He and several photographers repeatedly studied the shooting plan, and finally decided to complete the early single photo shooting according to the distribution of the veterans' residence, age, and physical condition.
Photographer He Rongfa showed volunteer veteran Zhou Rongfu the good photos taken. Photo by Xue Yuhua
However, so many veterans have to be combined in one photo in the end, but also look natural, the difficulty can be imagined. Because the position in the photo is different, the shooting angle is also different, and in the front row, you have to sit in a unified chair to shoot. To this end, they determined the position of each person in the "group photo" according to the body and height of some veterans that they had mastered in the early stage.
In the days that followed, He Rongfa, He Lili, Hua Lingjuan and volunteers went to 16 townships (streets) in Fuyang, such as Xindeng, Wanshi, Dongqiao, Xukou and so on, with a total journey of nearly 1,000 kilometers, and finally completed the single photo of 87 veterans. At this point, the preparatory work for the "group photo" is basically completed.
There are also regrets in "No Regrets"
While following up the shooting process, a "tidbit photo" made people tear up. In the photo, a bench is placed on the bed, photographer He Rongfa stands on it, and volunteers next to it help support the stool. Directly below the camera of He Rongfa is Wang Quanyuan, a veteran lying on the bed in a military uniform.
Because he was bedridden for many years, Wang Quanyuan could not get up to take pictures, but from his eyes, He Rongfa read the old hero's heart's desire. "We don't want to leave a little regret." He Rongfa said that it was also with this belief that he thought of shooting with the bed as the background.
In the end, with the cooperation of his family, Wang Quanyuan changed into a military uniform, lay on a hospital bed with a background cloth in advance, straightened his body with all his strength, straightened his head, and stared at the camera lens above. As the "click" sounded, the camera was frozen, and the old man in the photo seemed to stand up again, looking forward with great energy.
"Leave no regrets", the word is often mentioned during filming operations. Because of this, many difficulties have been overcome one by one. By the end of the operation, except for 2 veterans who gave up filming for personal reasons, the remaining 87 veterans had already filmed 86.
The veteran in the final shoot was named Zhuang Zhengfu. He has been hospitalized in the field for many years, and when volunteers contacted his family, he was lying in a hospital bed with a snorkel in his nose. Due to the epidemic, photographers were unable to go to the hospital to shoot. Seeing that the "group photo" was about to be completed, Zhuang Zhengfu's position was still empty.
Finally, He Rongfa and Zhuang Zhengfu's family added WeChat, remotely guiding the elderly family to take repeated photos with their mobile phones, and He Rongfa finally selected a satisfactory photo.
Despite this, Operation Group Photo left a regret. In the process of the later film, Zhang Zhixing, the second veteran from the left in the third row, died of illness before he saw the photo.
Xue Yuhua recalled that when shooting, Elder Zhang's physical condition was not bad, and he changed his military uniform and straightened up in front of the camera. "We thought that there would be such a situation, so when making a shooting plan, we tried to arrange the poor physical condition in the front. Unexpectedly, Elder Zhang did not wait for the day when the 'group photo' was completed. Xue Yuhua said regretfully.
The popularity of "group photo" care continues
After a month of rushing shooting and post-production, on November 25, 2021, the big "group photo" was finally completed. They enlarged the photos into exhibition panels, presented them to the Fuyang District Party History Research Office, and exhibited them at the "Theme Photo Exhibition Commemorating the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea" in Fuyang District.
"This picture is so shocking and precious." "This is the hero around us." Many people who visited the exhibition took out their mobile phones and took photos with this photo.
In the adjacent exhibition hall of Fuchun Mountain Pavilion, 8 veterans Xu Shunquan, Yang Luchun, Zhang Hengben, Cao Renyi, Shi An, Ye Yuxian, Zhang Baoxiang and Zhang Ronggen in the group photo came to visit under the guidance of volunteers.
Veteran Xu Shunquan looked at the group photo and chanted with his wife next to him: "Li Zhigui has not seen him for decades, I did not expect to see him in the photo this time." After speaking, Xu Shunquan asked the volunteers about the veteran Li Zhigui.
Looking at the group photo, another veteran, Zhang Ronggen, was a little disappointed. It turned out that he saw a familiar name in the list of martyrs of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea -- Xu Tugen. In 1951, he joined the army from Xindeng with Xu Tugen, but not long after arriving in North Korea, the 17-year-old Xu Tugen was attacked by enemy aircraft to treat the wounded. "What would he look like if he could be alive and in the group photo?" I just remember how he looked when he was 17! Zhang Ronggen murmured.
Caring for veterans is to revere history and to guard our spiritual homeland. Listening to them tell the story of each medal on their chests, and feeling their enthusiasm and bold loyalty to serve the motherland, this is the original intention of our public welfare activities, and it is also my lifelong pursuit. Xue Yuhua said.
Over the past few days, volunteers from the Fuyang District Volunteer Army Care Fund have successively delivered framed photos to the homes of every veteran.
The smoke of war dissipated to enjoy the peace, do not forget the defenders of the country. A wave of learning from heroes, paying tribute to heroes, and caring for heroes has risen in Hangzhou.
They are always the cutest people
■ Sheng Wenying, a teacher at Dayuan Middle School in Fuyang District, Hangzhou
Not long ago, I went with my friends to visit the "Theme Photo Exhibition commemorating the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea." When I saw the big "group photo" of the veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The veterans in this photo all participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and like the volunteer soldiers in the movie "Chosin Lake", I rose sharply to respect.
Looking at this big "group photo", I have in my mind the unforgettable footage of the movie "Chosin Lake": it seems that these veterans, eating frozen potatoes in the hard state, using mortars and machine guns against the enemy's planes and tanks, they defeated the enemy armed to the teeth with iron will and flesh and blood, and let us live a happy life today.
Volunteers explain the stories behind the photos to the visiting crowd.
At the photo exhibition, I had the privilege of meeting 8 veterans in the big "group photo" photo, who also came to visit the exhibition. Veteran Zhang Ronggen is a comrade-in-arms of the special combat hero Yang Gensi, and veteran Ye Yuxian is the wingman of ace pilot Wang Hai... Looking at the old heroes, I saw the scene of their heroic battle on the front line, and the reverence was born.
Now life is happy, but we must not forget the sacrifices and sacrifices of the volunteer soldiers. Who is the cutest person? It is the thousands of revolutionary martyrs who threw their heads and spilled their blood, and the 87 smiling and kind old people in the big "group photo". They have dedicated their youth and blood to the motherland and the people, and we should remember their deeds, respect them and care for them.
At this moment, I suddenly remembered the introduction to the famous book "How Steel is Made" in the middle school Chinese textbook: The characters are different and the experiences are different, but their spiritual qualities are the same, the dedication spirit of obeying the party's command, and the tenacious spirit of being able to win the battle. Such a spirit is worthy of our admiration and learning, and it needs to be passed on forever.
Cao Renyi, a veteran of the Volunteer Army, and Xue Yuhua, the organizer of the "group photo", exchanged military salutes.
I'm back on the battlefield
■ Mou Jingyao, a former medical nurse of the Ministry of Health of the Twelfth Army of the Volunteer Army
In early December last year, Xue Yuhua sent me a military uniform photo taken by their team, a single photo and a group photo. Looking at the smiling faces of the comrades-in-arms on the big "group photo" photo, I vaguely saw the bravery and fearlessness of everyone who braved the rain of bullets and bullets to charge into the battlefield, and I seemed to have returned to the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
When I went to the battlefield, I was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl with a long and big braid. At that time, I was studying at the Health School of the Twelfth Army, and when I learned that medical personnel were needed in the front, I took the initiative to write an application and asked to go to the front. When I arrived in North Korea, it was a cold day, and the snow was very thick, and it was all at the root of the thigh.
Our medical station was stationed in an air raid shelter not far from the battlefield, and the conditions were slightly better than on the front line. At that time, I ate frozen steamed buns and fried noodles mixed with cold water, and life was extremely hard. The war was very cruel, and when some of the wounded were sent, the wounds were very serious, and it was really tears for those who saw it. But the wounded were very brave, and at the age of 20 or so, no matter how many injuries they suffered, they endured the pain and did not cry or scream. It is they who have defended our motherland and people with their flesh and blood, and many young lives have remained in Korea forever.
As a witness to that war, I was honored to receive the commemorative medal of "Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" and the commemorative medal of "70th Anniversary of the Chinese Volunteer Army's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea." I thought how nice it would be to be able to take a color photo in a medal and a volunteer uniform!
I really didn't expect that Xiao Xue and the volunteers not only helped me take military uniform photos, but also made a big "group photo", fulfilling my biggest wish in the past two years!
A large "group photo" photo, through time and space, let us share the joy of comrade-in-arms reunion, enjoy the peace and prosperity, and the years are quiet.
In addition to the signature, the photos in this edition are all taken by Rongfa
(China National Defense Daily, January 13, 2022, third edition)
Editor-in-Charge/Guo Hongbin