In October 1950, Chai Yunzhen joined the Volunteer Army in the Korean War.
In May 1951, Chai Yunzhen's unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 45th Division of the 15th Army, was tasked with blocking the enemy troops moving north at Park Dafeng, 30 kilometers southwest of Kim Hoa, North Korea. On the sixth day of the battle, our army lost two hills. Battalion commander Wu Shangzhi ordered Chai Yunzhen, the seventh squad leader of the Eighth Company, who had just been drawn from the division's guard company, to lead the nine soldiers of the whole squad to retake the main peak position. Chai Yunzhen took advantage of the cover of night, formulated a clever strategy, launched an onslaught on the enemy from the left and right sides, and took two hills in one fell swoop.
However, the enemy attacked under the cover of aircraft artillery and soon occupied the position. In order to preserve his strength, Chai Yunzhen was ordered to lead the seven squads of fighters to evacuate. During the evacuation, three fighters were shot and killed. After that, Chai Yunzhen asked for battle, led six warriors along the familiar terrain to hide near the top of the mountain, quickly attacked, eliminated the enemy on the top of the mountain, and sacrificed two more fighters. Chai Yunzhen divided the remaining four fighters into two combat groups and held their positions. After a fierce battle, two more heroes were sacrificed. At this time, the regimental headquarters issued an order, and the position was handed over to the Ninth Company for defense.
Chai Yunzhen returned to the battalion headquarters to finish eating, and was just about to take a break when news came from the front: the position was lost. Battalion Commander Wu Shangzhi said in a loud voice, "Seven squads of attacks, we must take down two hills!" At this time, Chai Yunzhen's seventh squad had only two soldiers, and the battalion commander added two new soldiers. With a command, several fighters rushed towards the position. Under the cover of the powerful fire of the reinforcements, they followed the mountain, avoided the enemy fire, climbed up the hill, touched the back of the enemy's position, saw the distribution of enemy fire, and eliminated the enemy one by one.
During the battle, Chai Yunzhen's comrades around him were all sacrificed, and he was wounded in many places, leaving him alone on the position. The machine gun was also free of bullets. In hand-to-hand combat with an American soldier, he grabbed one of the opponent's ears and bit off his right index finger. A sharp pain made Chai Yunzhen's eyes blacken and he lost consciousness. The American soldiers grabbed a stone and smashed it at Chai Yunzhen...
When Chai Yunzhen woke up, he was already lying on a hospital bed. The medic looked at him and shouted "miracle." During a conversation with the medical staff, he learned that he was a critically ill patient who had been transferred by plane from the frontline field hospital, and that the hospital had done its best to rescue him with the last glimmer of hope, and that it was a miracle that he could survive. In the hospital, after careful treatment by medical staff, Chai Yunzhen's injury gradually improved somewhat. After a year, there was no reaction other than frequent headaches. He missed his comrades in the army and his parents. He didn't know where the troops were, how his parents were back home. The doctor advised him to return to his hometown to recuperate slowly under the care of his relatives.
In April 1952, Chai Yunzhen went through the formalities at the hospital and was demobilized and returned home. He took the certificate of a third-class B disabled soldier, received a demobilization fee of 1,000 kilograms of rice at the Civil Affairs Bureau, and returned to his hometown of Yuechi, Sichuan. After returning to his hometown, he successively served as a brigade commander, a township chief, and a deputy secretary of the commune party committee. For more than thirty years, Chai Yunzhen has worked hard, dedicated silently, never confided his exploits, and no one knows that he is a great hero.
One day in 1984, Chai Yunzhen's eldest son saw a revelation in the Sichuan Daily looking for a hero. He took the newspaper and asked Chai Yunzhen, "Dad, you see, is it you who is looking for here?" Chai Yunzhen took a look at the newspaper, which read, "Looking for Chai Yunzheng, the hero of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.", he thought that the name was wrong, not looking for himself. The son said: "Chai Yunzhen and Chai Yunzheng, a word difference, the sound of the words is similar, and it is the same as your situation, you may wish to ask to see if it is looking for you." ”
Chai Yunzhen, persuaded by his family and villagers, wrote a letter to the relevant departments. The relevant departments sent people to investigate and took many photos. Soon, two people from the Wuhan Military Region who were responsible for finding the hero "Chai Yunzheng" took Chai Yunzhen to Hubei. In order to verify whether Chai Yunzhen was a hero in the battle of Pu Dafeng that year, the unit specially invited all the cadres of the army, division, and regiment of the unit that year, mixed with some soldiers of the same age, for Chai Yunzhen to identify. When Chai Yunzhen saw this, he immediately stepped forward and called out the names of Gu Jingsheng, former political commissar of the Fifteenth Army, Cui Jiangong, commander of the Forty-fifth Division, and Xiang Shouzhi, Tang Wancheng, Huang Yiren, Li Wanming, Nie Jifeng, Wang Yinshan, Zhang Yunyu, Liu Zhanhua, and other leaders, and clearly explained the positions of these people in the volunteer army at that time. The old general Xiang Shouzhi and the others hugged Chai Yunzhen, and they all cried.
Xiang Shouzhi said, "Chai Yunzhen, it has been more than thirty years, and we have found you so bitterly." ”
The troops found the hero and immediately held a meeting to recognize the hero. The leaders of the Central Military Commission personally came to present the awards to the heroes. More than 30 years ago, Chai Yunzhen was awarded the honors of "Meritorious Service Of the First Class" and "First Class Combat Hero", and was awarded the highest medal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the "Order of the National Flag of the First Class". Chai Yunzhen received the medal that was more than thirty years late. When he received these medals, he shed tears of excitement: "I didn't expect the head of the unit to remember me to this day." General Qin Jiwei, the former commander of the Fifteenth Army, said: "Not only do the troops remember you as a hero, but the Korean people also remember you." ”
It turned out that in September 1982, Kim Il Sung visited China to talk with Deng Xiaoping about the heroes of the Volunteer Army, and was particularly impressed by Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Lai Yongze, and Chai Yunzhen. Huang Jiguang and Qiu Shaoyun have been sacrificed, Lai Yongze has been found, only Chai Yunzhen's whereabouts are unknown, and it is not known whether he has been sacrificed. Kim Il Sung also said that the deeds of these heroes have been included in The Korean Textbook and the Military Museum of the Korean Revolution. Deng Xiaoping asked Qin Jiwei, who was accompanying him, if he knew about Chai Yunzhen.
Qin Jiwei said: "Chai Yunzhen is a great hero, only Park Dafeng blocked the battle, his battalion annihilated more than 2,000 enemies, the seven squads he led annihilated more than 400 enemies, and Chai Yunzhen alone annihilated more than 200 enemies. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the casualties of the troops were variable, and chai Yunzhen could no longer find any information, only that he was seriously injured at that time. Many chiefs have seen Chai Yunzhen unconscious, and commander Peng Dehuai, Yang Chengwu, Yang Yong, and other deputy commanders all instructed domestic hospitals to rescue Chai Yunzhen at all costs. On May 1, 1952, the Volunteer Army Command and the Supreme Council of State of Korea awarded him the title of Special Meritorious Service in recognition of his heroic deeds, and no one came to receive the award, and I heard that his medal had been in the honor room of the Wuhan Army. ”
When Deng Xiaoping heard this, he said to Kim Il Sung: "As long as Chai Yunzhen is alive, we will definitely find him." Soon, Sichuan Daily, Guizhou Daily, Yunnan Daily, People's Daily, China Youth Daily, People's Liberation Army Daily, and other newspapers published a notice for several consecutive days in a conspicuous position to find "Chai Yunzheng, a special meritorious man."
After Chai Yunzhen told his deeds, because the name did not match, in order to prevent errors, the troops verified and looked up the information, confirming that Chai Yunzhen was "Chai Yunzheng", and the name error was that the nearby "Zhen" was mistakenly written as "Zheng" when the name was registered in the document at that time.
News of the hero's finding soon spread between China and North Korea. The old chiefs Yang Chengwu and Hong Xuezhi received Chai Yunzhen separately. Qin Jiwei also invited Chai Yunzhen to his home as a guest, recalling the past and recounting the past. Talking about the 1951 Park Dafeng Blockade Battle, Chai Yunzhen learned that his battalion had all been killed.
In 1985, at the invitation of Kim Il Sung, Chai Yun-jin visited korea together with a heroic delegation of the Central Military Commission to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. During his visit to the DPRK, Kim Il-sung held a grand ceremony to award Yang Chengwu, Liu Zhenhua, and Chai Yunzhen the "First Class Freedom Medal" and personally wore the medal on the chests of the three heroes.
Chairman Kim Il Sung shook Chai Yun-jin's hand and said: "Find you, history should be rewritten, Chai Yunzhen is not a martyr, but a living hero." ”
Subsequently, accompanied by Kim Il Sung and other North Korean leaders, the hero came to visit the Military Museum of the Korean Revolution. Here, Chai Yunzhen personally took off his "portrait" and deeds. Prior to this, Chai Yunzhen had become a martyr in North Korea, and his deeds, along with huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun and others, had been written into books and translated into more than a dozen languages and disseminated around the world.
At this time, Chai Yunzhen became a world-famous "living martyr".