In 2017, a ceremony was held at the Bayi Building in Beijing, and ten heroes received the first batch of August 1 medals and certificates in China. Two of them accepted the honor on behalf of the Navy, one of whom was Ma Weiming and the other was Ma Xiande.
Speaking of Ma Weiming, many people are very familiar with him; he is a big man in China's military science and technology and has made outstanding contributions to the construction of a modern people's navy. But what makes people curious is who this Mai Xiande is, why can he accept such a lofty honor with Ma Weiming, is this a mysterious "giant"?
In fact, for the younger generation, Mai Xiande's name may be a little unfamiliar, but for some elderly people, this person's big name is well known. Mak Hyun Tak is not a scientist like Academician Ma Weiming, but a famous "combat hero".
"People's Hero" title winner Mai Xiande
In the 1960s, his name flew like a spring breeze across the land of Shenzhou and became a household name for a time. What made him famous in China was a naval battle that took place in 1965, the "Battle of August 6". It was in this naval battle that Mai Xian was able to make a miraculous contribution to his will to fight beyond ordinary people and become a great hero known to everyone.
Become a naval soldier
In 1945, Mai Xiande was born into a fisherman's family in Raoping County, Guangdong Province. Because he grew up by the sea, Mai Xiande has a unique feeling for the ocean, and he likes to wander around the sea by fishing boat.
And people who have been bumping in the wind and waves for many years often have a spirit of daring to fight and dare not accept defeat, which is also reflected in Mai Xiande's body. Since he was a child, Mai Xiande has listened to the old people in his hometown talk about the deeds of those young people in his hometown who joined the army outside the country and heroically killed the enemy on the battlefield.
In that era when there was a strong social atmosphere of serving the country from the military, what boy did not want to wear a green military uniform?
A photo of Mak Hyun-de when he was young
Mai Xiande is naturally no exception, in his heart, he has always had a dream of defending his family and country as a member of the people's children and soldiers, holding a steel gun. And this dream of his was finally realized in the year he was eighteen.
In December 1963, Mai Xiande was successfully admitted to the army with great joy and became a recruit at the People's Navy's South China Sea Fleet Joint School. This was the best thing for him, not only to join the army as he wished, but also to gallop on the sea frontier of the motherland, how could he not be excited.
From another point of view, at this time, Mai Xiande, together with his comrades-in-arms of the same era, shouldered a glorious historical responsibility, that is, as a member of the newborn people's navy, firmly guarding the sea frontier of the motherland and writing a historical chapter of the people's navy moving towards deep blue.
Mai Xian had to wear a naval uniform
This is a great historical task, and it is the goal that we have been striving for since the western affairs movement. However, the bureaucratic landlords of the old empire could not bear this heavy responsibility, and the warlord leaders of the Republic of China era did not have this ambition and boldness.
And when New China and the People's Navy were established, the same test was placed in front of them, and all naval officers and men, including Mai Xiande, needed to face it together. This takes time and war to test.
After graduating from the Joint School, Mai Xiande was assigned to a frigate in a marine police area of the South China Sea Fleet as a mechatronic soldier. When he was in the Naval Academy, Mai Xiande trained very solidly and developed a strong skill.
Among them, there is a skill called "Night Tiger", that is, in a completely low-light environment, he can still accurately operate the equipment on the ship, which shows the solidity of his training and excellent tactical quality. And this skill he had cultivated quickly came in handy.
Mai Xian had to work on the ship
Assault formations meet enemy ships
In early 1965, Liu Guangkai was promoted to commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Navy, and when the new official took office, he was anxious to make a little achievement to win the favor of those in power, so he personally formulated a "tsunami plan" in an attempt to send spies to Guangdong and Fujian through warships to establish a "guerrilla base."
In order to complete this task, he specially designated his beloved general Hu Jiaheng as the commander-in-chief of the operation. After taking over the task, Hu Jiaheng immediately began to arrange two submarine hunting ships as the main warships of the operation.
The two submarine hunting ships dispatched by the Kuomintang this time were named "Jianmen" and the other "Zhangjiang". Among them, the standard displacement of the Jianmen reached 890 tons, and the full load displacement was even 1250 tons, which was more than twice that of the average submarine hunting ship.
The ship was equipped with five guns and a radar, and had relatively strong firepower and reconnaissance capabilities. It was originally a U.S. warship, originally known as the Toucan, which arrived in Taiwan Province more than three months ago and was handed over to the Nationalist naval forces.
In contrast, the Zhangjiang is much more beautiful, and the ship has a displacement of only 450 tons even at full load. However, in terms of weapons and equipment, the Zhangjiang has seven artillery pieces and a rocket launcher, four deep-water radar projectors and radars, and its comprehensive combat performance is more prominent. Similarly, the warship, which had earlier been an American warship, was incorporated into the Nationalist naval forces in 1954 and was used as the flagship of the Patrol Second Fleet.
In order to ensure the secret progress of the plan, Hu Jiaheng deliberately arranged the sailing time in the early morning. On the morning of August 5th, in order to boost the morale of the army, Lieutenant General Feng Qicong, deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Navy, surrounded by a group of senior officers, went to the docks of Zuoying Port and personally marched for the troops.
Subsequently, the two warships secretly sailed away from Zuoying Port, ready to carry out the task that the Kuomintang authorities had been plotting for a long time. What they did not expect was that their plan had long been understood by the mainland side.
At 5:45 p.m. on the same day, the radar observation station set up by the People's Liberation Army South China Sea Fleet Headquarters along the Fujian coast found traces of this fleet. The technicians quickly judged that it was a warship sent by the enemy, probably to carry out sabotage missions, and immediately reported to the command.
The Fleet Command immediately held a meeting to analyze the enemy's intentions and believe that their target was most likely the waters of Dongshan Island.
Subsequently, the command formulated a combat deployment, allowing the enemy ships to continue to penetrate, and then carry out encirclement and annihilation, taking the lead in sinking the Jianmen, and then attacking the Zhangjiang, so that the enemy would never return.
In order to carry out this operational plan, the South China Sea Fleet resolved to send four frigates of the 41st Group of Frigates and six torpedo boats of the 11th Torpedo Speedboat Group to form a surprise formation, with gunboats "161" and five torpedo boats as support forces, a total of sixteen ships to carry out the task of annihilating the enemy.
At the command level, the commander-in-chief of the operation was Kong Zhaonian, deputy commander of the Shantou Police District, and Wang Jin, chief of staff.
A warrior of steel
At 21:20 that night, the sea assault formation began to set sail, and the commander-in-chief of the operation, Kong Zhaonian, personally boarded the frigate No. 598 and left the dock first, followed by the rest of the ships, who were on the Frigate No. 611 at the time. By 23:13 in the evening, the escort boat arrived in the designated area and waited for the arrival of the torpedo boat formation.
But until midnight, there was no shadow of the torpedo boat. Seeing that the enemy army was about to enter the ambush position arranged by our army, the fighter plane was fleeting, and Kong Zhaonian, who was impatient, finally decided to launch an attack immediately.
On the other side, Hu Jiaheng, who was sitting on the Jianmen, was in front of the command platform at the time, and since the warship had left the harbor, he had never been steadfast in his heart. At 1:42, the radar of the Jianmen suddenly found four fast-moving white dots, and the Kuomintang officers and soldiers on the Jianmen were immediately alerted. At this moment, Hu Jiaheng immediately stood up and gave orders to the officers and men of the two warships to immediately enter the state of combat.
Although our army's assault formations were superior in numbers at that time, there was a certain gap between the tonnage and firepower of the ships and the Warships of the Kuomintang. It is precisely because of this that the two Kuomintang warships have no fear, and they will fire and strike only when our warships enter their firing range.
The warships of the two sides approached at high speed and opened fire one after another, and the originally dark sea was red with artillery fire, and the shells drew fiery red arcs in the night sky with a sharp roar.
After the battle began, Hu Jiaheng soon realized that his Jianmen was under heavy attack from the enemy, and they were concentrating superior forces to fight the annihilation war. Soon, he first commanded the Zhang Jiang to move closer to himself in order to undermine our strategic intentions.
However, because our warships gave full play to the advantages of high-speed mobility, they quickly dispersed the enemy's formation. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Jianmen turned around and left the battlefield, leaving the Zhangjiang behind to attract fire.
Seeing that the Jianmen had quickly left the battlefield, Kong Zhaonian immediately made a decision, changed the pre-war deployment, and first concentrated his firepower to eliminate the Zhangjiang. The Zhang Jiang was under siege and had to pour fire madly. After several rounds of artillery salvo, the Zhangjiang was severely damaged, its radar antenna was interrupted, and the battleship also set fire.
In the midst of the predicament, the Zhang Jiang launched a charge towards the 611 ship. The No. 611 frigate saw the Zhangjiang rushing forward and immediately maneuvered to evade, but in the process of steering, one of the main engines of the No. 611 frigate suddenly had a mechanical failure and stopped working, which was a really fatal thing in the naval battle.
The situation was critical, and Mai Xian, who was an electromechanical soldier, had to rush forward to overhaul the machine. In the process, a shell slipped out of the gun chamber of the Zhangjiang, only to see a wisp of fireworks passing by, and the cabin of the 611 made a fierce noise, and the flames immediately rose.
At that time, Mai Xiande was still in the cabin, and in an instant, the shrapnel of the entire cabin flew wildly, and he only felt a sharp pain like a tear, and in the darkness, the door of the brain was like a knife, and then there was a hot liquid flowing down his face.
It turned out that the shrapnel hit the door of Mai Xiande's head and tore his forehead. For a moment, not only blood, but even cerebrospinal fluid flowed out. Mai Xian, who was in severe pain, almost fainted, and he collapsed on the deck, groaning in pain.
The deputy instructor on the side rushed forward, shouted loudly to Mai Xiande, and immediately bandaged him. Mai Xiande, who was seriously injured, was not completely unconscious at this time, he could not speak, but his fingers were pointing at the machine.
After the deputy instructor bandaged him, he immediately struggled to get up and continued to stand on the job, regardless of the great pain his body was suffering, still insisting on groping with his hands to overhaul the machine.
"Iron Warrior" Mai Xiande
Finally, in the unimaginably huge physical pain, in the darkness of the night, and even in the state of semi-blindness with the corners of the eyes and eyelashes glued to the eyes and eyelashes by a mixture of blood and cerebrospinal fluid, Mai Xian had to grope for the cause of the failure in several machines and dozens of pipes, and it turned out that a nut was loosened by gunfire, and he tried his best to tighten it with his fingers and start the ship again.
For the next three hours, Mai Xiande stood on top of his post, keeping the machine running.
During this period, No. 611 was already entangled with Zhangjiang, and the other side tried to use No. 611 as a cover to escape from the battlefield. At this time, the battlefield commander Kong Zhaonian said to the fleet commander: "Shoot the armor-piercing shell and shoot below the waterline." ”
After the fierce artillery fire, the Zhangjiang had been beaten to pieces and could only flee in a hurry, but our warships still pursued it. Finally, at 3:30 a.m., accompanied by a loud noise, the main battleship of the Nationalist Navy was finally sunk.
On the other side, the Jianmen, although it had fled to the open sea at that time, was still found by our radar. Soon, the command ordered the torpedo boat troops that had previously failed to escort the assault formation due to yaw, and the frigate formation followed suit.
Finally, at about five o'clock in the morning, the fleet spotted the Jianmen and immediately launched an attack. The convoy formation launched a fierce artillery attack on it, while the torpedo boat formation on the side approached the Jianmen at high speed.
Immediately after that, one torpedo after another was shot out of the launch tube, and a total of ten torpedoes opened a net of death on the surface of the sea. At 5:22, only a loud noise was heard, and the large submarine hunting ship carrying Hu Jiaheng, commander of the Kuomintang Second Patrol Second Fleet, and hundreds of officers and men also sank to the bottom of the sea.
After the end of the battle, the officers and men of our army salvaged a total of thirty-three Kuomintang officers and men and returned victoriously.
Capture of Nationalist soldiers
A continuation of a heroic story
The fleet returned, and the 611 boat returned safely, but Mai Xiande, who had previously insisted on working, finally could not hold on. After returning home, Mai Xiande was sent to the hospital for first aid, which even alarmed the Party Central Committee, in order to retain this steely fighting hero, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou immediately assigned relevant departments to immediately mobilize elite doctors from all over the country to rescue Mai Xiande, and Premier Zhou even personally served as the leader of the rescue command.
Under the consultation of the country's top brain experts, through four surgeries, the shrapnel that invaded Mai Xiande's brain was successfully removed, and the wound of Mai Xiande's skull was repaired by using plexiglass.
Mai Xian was saved, and his deeds spread throughout China with the news of the great victory in the "Eight and Six Naval Battles", and Mai Xiande was hailed as a "steel warrior" and unanimously praised by the people of the whole country.
Mai Xian had to be cheered
This naval battle was the first large-scale naval battle experienced by the people's navy since the founding of New China, and with the concerted efforts of all officers and men, the people's navy achieved a major victory in annihilating two large surface ships of the enemy army and killing and wounding more than 170 people.
This is a naval battle of great historical significance, which has played an important role in tempering the combat effectiveness of the people's navy and testing the combat qualities of officers and men, and has also provided valuable practical combat experience for the development of the people's navy and enhanced the confidence of the people's navy in victory.
Mak hyun has to be in rehabilitation
Equally important, the combat heroes represented by Mai Xiande who emerged from this campaign played a positive role in demonstrating the excellent military qualities of the officers and men of the People's Navy and their iron will to fight, and in that historical background, they all played a positive role in inspiring the confidence of the people of the whole country. It is precisely because of this that the state has given high honors to the heroes of this naval battle.
Five days after the end of the fighting, Premier Zhou received Kong Zhaonian and other representatives at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, but at that time, Mai Xiande was still being rescued, and Premier Zhou was extremely concerned about him. On December 3 of that year, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou received more than 4,000 naval deputies at the Great Hall of the People, and Chairman Mao also received Mai Xiande in the small parlor.
Chairman Mao received Mai Xiande
At that time, although Mai Xiande had been cured of his injuries, because the shrapnel invaded the brain after all, which left him with incurable sequelae, he would fall into a state of delirium from time to time, need to take drugs for a long time to maintain, and he even lost part of his memory.
Chairman Mao had already learned about Mai Xiande's situation at that time, and he encouraged Mai Xiande: "We must use the spirit of hard bones to overcome diseases, cultivate our bodies, and make new contributions to the people." ”
After this, Mai Xiande's advanced deeds spread throughout the motherland, and many media rushed to report on him, and his deeds were also widely publicized in films and literary works, making him a household name at that time.
Dong Biwu, Tao Zhu and other leaders went to the hospital to visit Mai Xiande
At that time, Mai Xiande was only in his early twenties, which was the style of youth, but because of the after-effects of trauma, the rest of his life would be accompanied by illness. But tough guys are tough guys after all, on the battlefield, and so in life.
In the recovery phase, Mai Xiande still maintained his true colors as a soldier, getting up every day when he heard the wake-up number, insisting on wearing clothes and folding quilts despite his mobility difficulties, and even participating in queue training.
His right hand was paralyzed, so he tried to practice writing with his left hand, but his right leg was not flexible, so he insisted on practicing walking. Although he has had a language barrier since then, he often hangs on his lips with three sentences, one is to learn from Comrades Lei Feng and An Yemin; the other is that I am a small screw; and the third is to serve the people wholeheartedly and thoroughly.
Mai Xian had to write with his left hand
This is our lovely warrior, no matter when, always put ideals and beliefs first, such a personality spirit, worthy of our admiration.
Considering that Mak Hyun Tak is still a young lad after all, and now needs to be taken care of, the organization hopes to solve his marital problems for him.
Although Mai Xiande's name spread throughout the country at that time, many young girls admired him to write love letters to him. However, after learning of Mai Xiande's physical condition, he couldn't help but hesitate. Mai Xiande himself said that he could not drag others down.
Even so, there is one person who is willing to accompany such a hero, and she is Li Yuzhi, the deputy director of the Shanwei Town Commercial Service Station. After careful consideration, Li Yuzhi said: "Marry Mai Xiande and accompany him for a lifetime." Li Yuzhi did not renege on her word, she not only really married Mai Xiande, but also really lived with him all her life.
Mai Xiande and his wife Li Yuzhi took a group photo
After marriage, even if Mai Xiande's body brought great inconvenience to life, she never abandoned it and always took care of her husband with all her heart. Because of the influence of her illness, Mai Xiande is sometimes moody and will have conflicts with Li Yuzhi, but she still has no complaints and no regrets. Later, the two of them also gave birth to a pair of children, the daughter named Mak Haishan and the son named Mai Haibin.
On the issue of children's education, Mai Xiande will tell children about his combat experience, which is not a kind of self-boasting, but to establish a heroic concept for children, telling them what a hero is and what a hero should do. He taught his children that they must love the party, the country, and the people, and always keep in mind the purpose of serving the people.
Mak Hyun got a family portrait
Mai Xiande not only said this to the children, but also showed them. He set two rules for the children: whoever does not do what he should not do outside in his name is not allowed to enter the house; whoever is outside is oblique and crooked, and is not allowed to enter the house.
In addition, in his spare time, Mai Xiande will always go to the army, factories, enterprises and schools to carry out revolutionary traditional education, tell the story of the army to young people, and help young people establish a good outlook on life and values.
Mak Hsien had to tell young people about patriotic education
Under the influence of Mai Xiande, his two children also entered the People's Navy. After graduating from the former medical college of the Navy, Mak Washisan was assigned to a hospital of the army and was awarded the third class for her outstanding work during the 2011 Universiade.
After graduating from the Naval Logistics College, Mai Haibin took the initiative to ask for assignment to first-line ships, and in the process of fighting typhoons in 1996, he was also awarded the third class for his outstanding performance. A pair of sons and daughters have successively joined the navy and successively won military merits, which is believed to be a great honor for Mai Xiande.
Such a glorious and harmonious family has also been praised by people. His family has been rated as a "glorious model family" and a "national five-good civilized family" many times, and his wife Li Yuzhi has also been rated as a "military model wife" many times.
As for Mai Xiande himself, the glory of the hero has never faded with time, he has won the "August 1st Medal" and "People's Hero" and other honors in recent years, and has attended major national celebrations many times, and this hero has never faded from people's sight.
Mai Xiande and his wife Li Yuzhi life photos
The story of Mai Xiande is a legendary deed, how much perseverance a person must have to persevere in the face of a broken skull, and to complete work that ordinary people may not be able to do in a healthy state.
Mai Xiande is a hero, a hero with a fearless spirit of sacrifice and an iron will. It is the ancestors of such a hero who, while dedicating their youth to the country, are still sowing the seeds of this spirit for the next generation.
The history of a country cannot lack the color of heroism, and China is also a country that has never lacked heroes. Heroes come from the people and serve the people, and it is precisely because of them that our history is alive and glorious, and the pace of our country and nation's progress is sonorous and upright.