An explorer biography
Yan Jiangzheng
Founding Chairman of China Adventure Association
Honorary Chairman of China Adventure Association
In 1978, he participated in the first field scientific expedition
In 1993, at the beginning of the founding of the China Exploration Association, along the Hotan River, it crossed the Taklamakan Desert by unpowered rafting
In 1997, Hanks, an American pilot during World War II, arrived at the site of the fall of the C53 transport plane on the Hump route
Since 1998, the wreckage of the World War II "Flying Tigers" P40 fighter jet that fell in Dianchi, Yunnan Province, has been probed and searched
The "Peak Route", an air artery opened up during World War II for the strategic transportation of goods and personnel by China and the Allied forces, has made an indelible and tremendous contribution to reversing the anti-fascist war situation in the world.
It is the most difficult, climatic and costly air route in the history of world aviation – nearly 600 planes crashed and more than 1,500 flight crews disappeared and died. Captain Jimmy Thompson, who flew the Then Sino-American Joint Venture Air China No. 53 C53 transport aircraft, said he was not aware of the aircraft. Fox is one of them.
"Anyone who gave his life in the anti-fascist war deserves to be remembered and should not be forgotten."
Mr. Yan Jiangzheng, founding chairman and honorary chairman of the China Exploration Association, said with a heavy heart.
Yan Jiangzheng has long been responsible for and personally participated in the detection of the "Flying Tigers" P40 fighter during the "World War II" period and the search for the wreckage of the C53 transport aircraft and the remains of the pilot of AVIC No. 53.
01
The wreckage of Transport Aircraft No. 53 reappears
The 80-year-old American veteran has been waiting for 53 years for this moment
At 23:30 on the night of March 31, 1997, Yan Jiangzheng, then chairman of the China Exploration Association, received a phone call:
Gaoligong Mountain found the wreckage of the No. 53 C53 transport aircraft (hereinafter referred to as the No. 53 transport aircraft) of the Hump Route during the "World War II" period, located on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border, only more than 100 meters away from the border line, and a scientific expedition team needed to be sent to the scene to investigate.
The next day, Yan Jiangzheng organized an emergency meeting of the China Exploration Association. Participants agreed that these clues are extremely valuable for studying the history of China's War of Resistance. Therefore, the annual work plan was temporarily adjusted, and the search for the 'hump' crash was made the number one project of the association that year.
Soon, Hanks, an 80-year-old American man on the other side of the ocean, also learned the news.
Hanks was one of the pilots who came to China to support the "Hump Route".
In 1943, after the crash of Transport Plane 53, Hanks circled over Mount Gaoligong more than seventy times, hoping to find the remains of planes and comrades, even if they were clues.
In 1944, Hanks was commissioned by Fox's parents to go to Mount Gaoligong to find his whereabouts. However, due to the sudden malaria of two comrades in the company, they were forced to withdraw.
I didn't think that this difference was 53 years. But finding Transport Plane 53 and finding Fox became Hanks' long-cherished wish. Although Fox's parents have been dead for many years, Hanks has always remembered and wanted to give them an account.
Hanks contacted Yan Jiangzheng through Hua Renjie, then president of the Beijing Airlines Association, and expressed a strong desire to go to the crash site together to explore.
Yan Jiangzheng (first from right) and Hanks (first from left) meet for the first time
The old man's fist heart really gave Yan Jiang a problem.
"It is unconventional to take an 80-year-old man to Savage Mountain at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters for a standard expedition. Once any accident occurs, the accountability of all parties can only be borne by the China Exploration Association. ”
The swarming media is concerned only with the story of American veterans looking for the crash. Yan Jiangzheng needs to consider all aspects of the problem and take care of everything: how to ensure the health and safety of Hanks, the degree of eating and wearing, as well as transportation and travel.
As if to see Yan Jiangzheng's concern, Hanks clenched his fists and tightened his arms, letting Yan Jiangzheng touch the muscles on his big arms, indicating that he was very strong.
Yan Jiangzheng touched Hanks's pulse and found that there was a break. Hanks immediately explained that he had been like this since he was young and would not have a problem.
In fact, the hotel they stayed in Kunming was an 18-story building, and Hanks insisted on running up and down twice a day to exercise.
Hanks's eyes were full of begging and longing, and he didn't dare to look at him. But then I think about it, as an old American pilot who helped us and participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan, what did we take in return? Maybe it was to help him fulfill the wish that had lasted for more than half a century. ”
The China Exploration Association set up a special expedition to find the No. 53 transport aircraft, and Yan Jiangzheng served as the team leader. Explorer Ye Yan, who serves as a dual captain and a reporter accompanying the team; Han Wenbin, the second director of the China Aviation Museum, serves as an aviation aircraft maintenance expert; a camera assistant, a photojournalist, more than a dozen local migrant workers, and a group of more than 20 people.
For the safety of Hanks, Yan Jiangzheng assigned 4 people, including the accompanying doctor, the accompanying interpreter, and two armed police soldiers, who were specially responsible for taking care of them.
Armed with the geographical coordinates of the fall of Transport Plane No. 53, the expedition planned to exit from the town of Katama in Lushui County, take the Burmese side, and follow a simple road called the Skid Road to the Gaoligong Mountain crash site.
Yan Jiangzheng (first from right) and Hanks (first from left) meet for the first time
02
Such as walking on the "blade"
The torrential rain came, so cold that the internal organs trembled
The expedition of the China Exploration Association was about to depart, but it received a notice from the border guard station: According to the relevant regulations, the American Hanks and photographic equipment are not allowed to leave the country.
"The media retreated in droves, and some even posted and sang about the decline, with the title 'Hanks's Regret', saying that the old Hanks could not go to the crash site, but could only look at the mountain and sigh."
Yan Jiangzheng was not discouraged.
He met with his team overnight to study and determine a completely new route from the ridgeline of Mount Gaoligong in his territory to the crash site on the basis of a map of one in 50,000.
This line, the straight-line distance is only 7.7 kilometers, and no one has set foot on it before!
In fact, this 7.7-kilometer mountain road, yan Jiangzheng and his party have walked in the past few days, is full of twists and turns, thrilling.
The ridge of Gaoligong Mountain is dotted with a large forest of arrows and bamboo, which grows so densely that people cannot squeeze through it. Yan Jiangzheng told Deputy Captain Ye Yan that he would lead 3 migrant workers to form an advance group, first use a machete to open the way up the mountain, and use yellow wool lines to mark the road; Ye Yan, two days later, led a large army to follow and converge along the mark.
Yan Jiangzheng took the lead in dispatching the group and marched south from the Katama Yakou into the mountains. It didn't take long to find a motorcycle path built by the Japanese to transport supplies up the hill; a little further walk, after passing the first small high ground, we saw the position left behind by the Japanese army- there was a large bunker, the roof had been blown up, and there were trenches, machine gun bunkers, and single-soldier bunkers around it.
According to fellow migrant workers, the Japanese army arrested a group of migrant workers in several villages in Lushui County that year, came to Ma Yakou to repair the fortifications, and killed all the migrant workers after the repairs were completed. There was a migrant worker, because he wore a shoulder made of raw leather, he was not stabbed to death, and climbed in the middle of the night before he escaped down the mountain.
Continuing south, there is the no. 1 boundary pillar on the China-Myanmar border.
The ridges in this place are very steep, giving the impression of walking on a knife's edge, and where the slopes on both sides are large, they can reach 80 degrees.
"I'm worried if Old Hanks can come over because it's so narrow that no one else can hold him."
At this time, Gaoligong Mountain has entered the rainy season, the mountain is full of fog, and the visibility is up to five or six meters. Although I have a map in my hand, I can hardly see any landmarks and cannot be compared. Carrying GPS, it is often impossible to receive a signal in the dense forest.
Gaoligong Mountain is full of clouds
The next day, torrential rain struck. Although everyone had rain ponchos and outdoor clothing with waterproof functions, they were still wet under the rainstorm. The biting cold evokes the memories of Yan Jiangzheng's past—in 1983, he crossed the Doshonra Pass in the Eastern Himalayas; in 1992, on Mount Everest, when he returned to camp from the East Rongbu Glacier, he suddenly encountered heavy rain. It is a life-and-death battle with the game of losing temperature.
"The body is no longer just the spine trembling, the internal organs are trembling. If you stop or sit down, you will probably never get up. ”
Fortunately, the local migrant workers had experience, found a bunch of branches, set up a firewood stack more than one meter high, lit the gas stove for the picnic, and stuffed it under the wet firewood, which ensured that the fire was not extinguished by the rainstorm. Just like that, several members of the expedition stood in the midst of the torrential rain and warmed up to the campfire.
At this moment, Yan Jiangzheng did not know that the greater crisis of the expedition was waiting for him.
03
The military is distraught
The expedition was in the greatest crisis
If the hardships of the weather and terrain can still be solved by equipment and technology, the morale is low, and the military is scattered, it will test the wisdom, judgment and decision-making of the leader.
Two days later, the expedition's large force joined the advance group. Yan Jiangzheng found that many people had begun to show obvious fatigue. Some people even have scattered eyes and have to summon two or three times before they react.
"I know that some people are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Further back, the migrant workers also began to feel uneasy, did not listen to the command, and even deliberately took the team into the ravine, unwilling to walk along the ridge line. This is a headache. ”
A large force marching in the middle of a rugged mountain road
On the afternoon of the third day, Yan Jiangzheng, who was still leading the way in front with the advance group, was suddenly reported by the team members who rushed to the front: "Captain, the military is unstable, you have to go back." ”
According to Yan Jiangzheng's estimates, the straight-line distance from the crash site at this time is only 800 meters. During the march, although it was always cloudy, for about 5 minutes, he observed a prominent landmark, which was the Fox Pass where the No. 53 transport plane fell. He seized the opportunity and quickly used the old Black Mountain to make a positioning, making sure that there was no deviation from the trajectory, and his heart was solid.
From a technical point of view, Yan Jiangzheng is very sure of this trip. But how do you convince people to continue believing in themselves?
Yan Jiangzheng returned and found the large troops. I saw everyone gathered on a small platform, standing in a muddy water, while on a slightly higher slope next to it, a small tent was barely set up, and Old Man Hanks rested in it.
Hanks, probably remembering the failed search in 1944, asked worriedly, "Captain, am I going to repeat the same mistake this time?" ”
Yan Jiangzheng encouraged and comforted the 80-year-old man while thinking about how to control the current situation.
"Captain, are we on the wrong track?" We don't have much food anymore! A team member asked loudly.
As soon as they saw someone picking their heads, the migrant workers quickly began to exchange heads and ears, making noises and shaking in various ways.
Yan Jiangzheng understood that under such a special environment and situation, it was impossible to explain military topography to everyone in a short time, and could only emphasize the discipline of the expedition team, and first of all, it was necessary to strictly prohibit anyone from leaving the team - in the depths of the dense forest, taking a wrong step may never come out. As captain, he is responsible for everyone.
Two armed police soldiers took the lead in standing up and expressed their determination to obey the captain's command.
Vice Captain Ye Yan patiently reasoned with the migrant workers.
He Jie, a doctor who usually says little, said: "You have never been into such a big mountain and such a dense forest before, will GPS be used?" Does compass know how to operate? Do you know how to look at the map? At this time, if you don't listen to the captain and want to escape on your own, I can basically conclude that you will never be able to go home! ”
At this critical moment, He Jie relied on the influence and prestige he had in the local area in the past to play an important role in stabilizing the military spirit of migrant workers.
It was getting dark and the rain was falling heavier. Standing in the torrential rain and muddy water, roasting the campfire, after hours of communication, the expedition team finally came together and regained its strength.
"People have fear in the face of the unknown, and survival is instinctive, which is understandable. However, if it is not channeled and controlled, once this emotion spreads, it will be less to abandon the mission goal, and to more often than to suffer casualties. ”
04
Altitude pulmonary edema is imminent
Survive on a ham a day
Although people's hearts have stabilized, a new crisis has come - 80-year-old Hanks has a mild cold symptom.
Yan Jiangzheng remembered that when he was inspecting Hengduan Mountain in 1981, Peng Hongshou, a seventy-year-old professor at the Yunnan Institute of Zoology, died on the mountain because of a cold that caused alpine pulmonary edema.
The best way to defuse the crisis now is to quickly lower the altitude. Yan Jiangzheng immediately decided to go down the Burmese side.
Descending to an altitude of about 2,000 meters, an isolated house was found, and when I looked closer, it was actually a militia deputy company commander of the Kachin New Democratic Army, a fellow villager, who was driving a truck to pull wood in China.
Yan Jiangzheng was overjoyed, and immediately placed the large troops in his hometown, and chartered the car of the militia company commander, followed him across the border, went to China to purchase some material supplies, bought buns, rice, and various stir-fried vegetables, left the country overnight, and returned to the independent house in Burma.
That night's expedition finally had a full meal, and the team members confidently expressed their confidence that they would climb up again the next day and must see Transport Aircraft 53.
In fact, before setting off, Yan Jiangzheng expected to arrive at the crash site in 5 to 6 days, and prepare food according to 7 days - there should be a 30% surplus when the task is completed. However, the migrant workers committed empiricalism, believing that the straight line of 7.7 kilometers would soon arrive, unwilling to carry so much food, and were forced to leave some of the supplies in the Katama Yakou, resulting in the subsequent journey to reduce food and clothing.
"For a few days, Ye Yan and I ate only one of the smallest ham sausages each day."
Yan Jiangzheng thought that the crew of the No. 53 transport plane may have encountered a similar situation that year. If they survive the crash, it is very likely that they will not be able to get out of this dense forest because they have run out of food.
The second possibility is that they intend to return to the area controlled by the Chinese army, and can only go east to reach the Nu River, come out of the mountains, but are found and killed by the Japanese patrol.
The third possibility is that when crossing the Nu River, he was swallowed up by the river due to physical exhaustion.
In either case, there is little hope of survival.
Before leaving, Yan Jiangzheng instructed the team members to prepare sacrifices: a bottle of liquor; a can of Coca-Cola, which was distributed to american pilots that year; and two packs of Camel brand cigarettes. The flowers are a few blooming rhododendrons picked from Gaoligong Mountain.
The expedition plans to perform a simple memorial service after reaching the crash site.
05
Where are you?
"What we are searching for is flesh-and-blood history"
At 14:00 on June 21, 1997, the long-awaited moment finally arrived– the wreckage of the expedition's haunting Transport Aircraft 53 was in sight.
Hanks took the flowers and walked toward the wreckage of Transport Plane 53
The C53 is still clearly visible on the fuselage
It was in relatively good condition, but the nose cockpit and fuselage were fractured.
According to the terrain of the scene and the wreckage of the aircraft, Han Wenbin preliminarily judged that the propeller that was rotating at high speed at that time should have flown out and cut the cockpit and fuselage. When the plane fell, it was very likely to glide against a relatively gentle slope on the ridge, using the belly of the plane; after sliding, it bounced up and then shot down, and the tall rhododendron tree below pierced the entire right wing of the plane.
Rather than falling, transport plane No. 53 made a difficult forced landing on the ridge of Gaoligong Mountain.
"Find the No. 53 C53 transport aircraft" – this 53-year-long wish, today finally partially fulfilled, 80-year-old Hanks, the excitement overflowed.
Hanks smiled contentedly at the sight of Transport 53
The old man leaned over and kissed the fuselage, then turned to the cockpit, checked the switches, seats, and safety belts, and recited words in his mouth, perhaps for professional analysis, or perhaps muttering to himself. Immediately, a sad look appeared on the old man's face.
The scene was silent silently, and no one asked questions or communicated with the old man - Yan Jiangzheng had explained, don't disturb Hanks, give him some time, and enjoy the moment of "reunion".
Hanks, who came out of the cabin, looked around and couldn't find any trace of the remains or relics of his former comrades, and his thoughts turned into a sigh:
"This mountain is too big. Where are you? ”
No. 53 C53 Wreckage and Sacrifices
Time has lost a lot of things, and the end of the No. 53 transport unit cannot be restored.
In order to win the anti-fascist war, they were far away from home, and in this deep mountain canyon and snow peak glacier that stretched for more than 800 kilometers, braving the unstable plateau air current, they forcibly crossed the enemy's air blockade and disappeared here forever. This group of them is an ordinary but extraordinary group of heroes, worthy of eternal remembrance by the world.
Yan Jiangzheng has been asked countless times, what is the purpose of this inspection? Could it be to find a bunch of plane wreckage? If that were the case, there would be no need to take a series of risks and take the old Hanks with them.
"What we're looking for is not just a pile of cold metal scraps. What we need to search and excavate is the history of flesh and blood, the temperature of the details in the war. ”
"Regardless of whether Captain Fox is famous in his country or his hometown, but he participated in our Chinese War of Resistance and died in China, such a person, we should give him enough respect."
06
The hero's soul returns home
The pursuit of peace and justice is unforgettable
After the expedition and expedition, Yan Jiang asked photographers to conduct a visit to Fox's hometown in the United States.
It was Dalhart, a small town in the northwest corner of Texas, surrounded by ranches and no places of interest. The photographer photographed the railroad on which Fox left his hometown on the train fifty years ago— now scrapped, surrounded by grass and only foraging pigeons, visiting a nearby barn.
At Dalhart's museum, Fox's classmates and friends gathered to listen to Hanks's speech on the expedition and expedition. While the cameraman was filming, someone next to him quietly reminded: "The gray-haired lady in the crowd is Fox's girlfriend at that time." ”
Fox was an only child, and after the death of his parents, only a tombstone inscribed with "FOX" was left in the small town of Dalhart, flanked by the names of his father and mother. Hanks respectfully placed a fragment of Transport Plane 53, which he had brought back from the crash site, in front of the grave of Fox's parents.
No. 53 C53 Wreckage and Sacrifices
In October 2002, the bronze statue of Fox, planned and prepared by the China Exploration Association and inscribed by President Jiang Zemin, then the top leader of China, was solemnly returned to Fox's hometown, symbolizing the return of the souls of the Slovaks to their hometown.
At the beginning of the planning, many people could not believe that the Chinese head of state would give an inscription to an ordinary American soldier. Only Yan Jiangzheng said confidently: "95% is feasible, and the 5% is impossible because the secretary did not put this application report on the leader's desk." ”
On October 22, the "Hump Route" pilot Jimmy Lee, planned and prepared by the China Adventure Association and co-sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council of China and the Bush Presidential Library of the United States, was announced that the pilot of the "Hump Route" was planned and prepared by the China Exploration Association. The unveiling of the Fox Memorial Bronze Statue and the "Hump Route" Commemorative Photo Exhibition were held at the Bush Presidential Library in Houston, USA.
A large number of veterans of the United States veteran organizations, such as the China Airlines Association, the Hump Air Transport Association, the China-India-Burma Theater Friendship Association, the 14 Air Corps Friendship Association, and the Flying Tiger Association, all attended the event, and they were very touched by This humane arrangement in China.
Yan Jiangzheng (first from right) poses with a group of veterans of that year
In addition to Hanks, the bronze statue was unveiled, and there was a special friend Peter. He was one of the pilots who flew the same mission as Fox that year. Peter piloted the plane behind Transport 53 and witnessed it being swept down by a stream of air. Because of his passion for photography, Peter unexpectedly left the last precious photo of the No. 53 transport plane when he took pictures in the air.
Hanks (left) and Peter (right) unveil the red silk of the bronze statue of Fox
Yan Jiangzheng (left) and Hanks (right) pose with the bronze statue of Fox
On 24 October, during his visit to the United States, Chinese President Jiang Zemin made a special trip to Houston to take a group photo with former US President Mr. Bush Sr. in front of the bronze statue of Jimmy Fox, pilot of the "Hump Route," and delivered an important speech.
In December 2005, the Nu River "Hump Route" Memorial Hall was officially inaugurated in Katama Town and opened to the public. The wreckage of Transport Aircraft No. 53, which has been assembled and repaired, is placed in it.
Transport Aircraft No. 53 witnessed a shining page in the history of human resistance, two countries in different locations on the earth with different cultures, facing a common enemy, fighting side by side, and tempering their precious friendship.
With the passage of time, heroes, routes, and military aircraft may disappear, but the "eternal pursuit of human affection and friendship, peace and justice" shown by those fiery years will remain in the annals of history forever.