The shell exploded next to Zhilin, taking away his close comrades and leaving him with lifelong wounds.
It was 1951, during the fifth campaign of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, enemy aircraft hovering over Korea dropped bombs on the ground, one of which blew Yu Zhilin's warhorses, grooms and correspondents to pieces, and the 25-year-old Yu Zhilin also fell in a pool of blood and was seriously wounded.
As a field surgeon, during the Liberation War, he performed 7 days and 7 nights of surgery in the Battle of Jinan; Later, he participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and in the fierce Battle of Chosin Lake, he and his comrades-in-arms treated more than 2,800 frostbitten wounded and wounded in 24 hours. However, this time he was wounded, and he was forced to leave the battlefield. After returning to China, he continued to fight in the front line of medical treatment on both crutches until he retired.
Yu Zhilin. Beijing News reporter Wang Jianning photographed
Today, the 96-year-old veteran's biggest wish is to live to 2027 and witness the 100th birthday of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which he is most familiar with.
At the age of 15, he seized his first gun with a "fake knife"
When Yu Zhilin was 10 years old, he lost his father. That year, in order to protect the widow and children of friends who died in the armed uprising, the father was caught and tortured by the Kuomintang reactionaries, and eventually died of kidney damage.
In the midst of the family's grief, the CCP underground found Yu Zhilin's mother. "I have a vendetta, I want to repay." The mother became the head of the underground transportation station and also allowed her son and son-in-law to join the Communist Party.
In 1939, the 13-year-old Yu Zhilin also became an important helper for his mother, familiar with the surrounding terrain, often shuttling through mountain paths to deliver letters to party organizations. Two years later, his mother handed him over to the organization, "You're old enough to do things like an adult." ”
In January 1941, Yu Zhilin was sent to a unit 100 miles away from home and officially enlisted, becoming the youngest soldier in the class.
In the first six months of his time as a soldier, Yu Zhilin spent almost every day in the war, sometimes falling asleep, and was shouted up to be immediately transferred. He stood guard outside the village, and his weapon was an iron-plated fake knife, made into the shape of a strong attack knife, which could not cut people, and could only rely on bright light to raise momentum; There was also a gun and three "bullets" — two of which were empty shells, the only real bullet to keep the enemy in the event of an attack.
Yu Zhilin remembered that that summer, his unit was ordered to defend the mountain in a battle, and he and his company comrades were lying in the first trench waiting for the charge, each with only four grenades. As a recruit, he only got two.
"The company commander would shout the slogan twice, and we would follow suit by throwing grenades twice. But I can't throw it all out, or I won't have a weapon. Yu Zhilin said that after he threw out the first grenade, before the company commander could shout the second slogan, he could not wait to jump out of the trench, and the second batch of grenades thrown by his comrades behind him flew over his head.
On July 24, 2022, in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, Yu Zhilin told a reporter from the Beijing News about his former career as a horseman. Beijing News reporter Wang Jianning photographed
It was a charge so brave that it was almost reckless. The 15-year-old boy only noticed that the gun on the back of the enemy on the opposite side was very beautiful, and it was a type 38 horse gun used by cavalry. Guns are a scarce resource, Yu Zhilin held up the "fake knife", rushed over to grab the gun, and the charge horn behind him sounded all over the mountain. The enemy fell down, and in this way, Yu Zhilin captured and possessed the first gun in his life.
"In addition to the gun, there was a red cowhide belt and a bullet box containing 30 rounds of ammunition." The memory of that scene was as clear as being frozen on film, and Yu Zhilin laughed, "That gun is really beautiful, incredibly handsome." ”
After that, Yu Zhilin took this gun and participated in one battle after another, and gradually learned to dodge and charge with the squad leader. He was never afraid, and prepared for the worst in his heart, "There is no danger in the battlefield, and I am ready to sacrifice at any time." ”
Japan's "most delicious meal" on the day of its surrender
In December 1941, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a directive to implement the "lean army and simplified administration", and 16-year-old Yu Zhilin transferred to the medical team of the army, starting from nursing, learning to change medicines, learning injections, and then learning to study in the Jiaodong Military Region Health School system, and soon grew into a skilled medical soldier.
During the day, Yu Zhilin and his comrades risked rescuing the wounded, and at night, they had to dig holes to hide the wounded--covered the openings with wood, covered with mud and grass to camouflage, leaving only a few small vents, even if the Japanese pulled the net sweep, they never found a single wounded.
In Yu Zhilin's memory, in 1942, the War of Resistance Against Japan entered the most difficult period. The Japanese swept frequently, and he had seen them open the stomachs of pregnant women. Once, Yu Zhilin and his comrades did not close their eyes for several days, breaking through the opening in the encirclement circle of the Japanese army, rescuing the wounded and covering the evacuation of the people. After the successful breakthrough, he fell to the ground and slept for two days and two nights, "It was the nursing staff who carried me off the battlefield." ”
On the day Japan announced its unconditional surrender, Yu Zhilin heard the news from the battlefield radio and was very excited. On that day, the troops gave each of them a pound of flour and a piece of meat, plus a handful of cowpeas, and everyone made dumplings, which was the most delicious meal in his life.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yu Zhilin was transferred to the 79th Division Hospital and became a field surgeon. In those days of gunfire, he couldn't remember how many people he had saved, but the one he remembered the most was a battle in September 1948 after the Battle of Jinan.
The battle lasted for 8 days, and Yu Zhilin stood on the operating table for 7 days and 7 nights. The wounded were constantly being sent over, and he and a partner took turns to take the main knife, during which they did not close their eyes once, and when they were hungry, they dealt with a bite of the canned silver carp handed by the nurse, thinking only that saving one more was one. On that occasion, he was awarded the second class.
In 24 hours, more than 2,800 wounded were treated
In December 1950, Yu Zhilin, as the hospital director of the 79th Division of the 27th Army of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and entered the Eastern Front.
Winters in North Korea are cold, temperatures can drop to more than minus 30 degrees Celsius, and many fighters wear only thin cotton coats, and their hands and feet are numb. "Many of the wounded had their fingers, ears, and toes frozen, and most of these fighters were in their 20s, and the youngest was only sixteen or seventeen years old, but none of them cried."
In the winter of 1950, Yu Zhilin (back row, first from left) with his comrades-in-arms. Beijing News reporter Wang Jianning photographed
During the Battle of Chosin Lake, the 27th Army he belonged to appeared in an "ice sculpture company". "The warriors all sacrificed, but still maintained a aiming posture." Until now, when it comes to this fierce battle, Yu Zhilin can hardly hide his grief, but at that time, he can only focus on the present - one day and one night, they have treated more than 2800 frostbitten soldiers.
In Zhilin, there is nothing more important than saving your life. In 1951, during the fifth campaign, Yu Zhilin's unit retreated to the rear, and one of the regiments was spotted by enemy aircraft, wounding dozens of people, 21 of whom were seriously wounded. Their clothes were burned and their wounds were bleeding.
"Originally we were ordered to leave at 5 p.m. But when I saw their injuries, I immediately reported them to the division and asked me to delay them for two hours before leaving—the wounded must be operated on immediately, or they would not be able to survive halfway. Yu Zhilin was very resolute, "As a warrior, it is my duty to obey orders, but as a doctor, it is also my duty to treat diseases and save people, and I must save them no matter how dangerous they are." ”
At that time, they stacked up the medicine box, put on the door panel they carried with them, laid out the tarpaulin, and did the operation on the spot. "Planes hovered overhead and dropped bombs, we hid in the pine forest, I just opened the knife, as if my ears didn't hear."
The operation was completed, but the stretcher team had already retreated, and carrying the wounded away became another problem. This was not Yu Zhilin's task, but he decided, "To save them." ”
On the way out, they encountered the steep cliffs, the people carrying the stretchers grabbed the pine trees in one hand and pulled the stretchers in the other, 5 kilometers of mountain road, they walked all night; After leaving the mountain, the road was bombed by the US army, and they could only pick a dead end and move forward in a twist.
Without eating, drinking, or sleeping, they went from 7 p.m. the previous night to 3 p.m. the next day, and 21 seriously wounded were safely taken to the camp, but three or four of the more than 100 people escorting the wounded were killed.
Not long after this life-and-death transfer, Yu Zhilin's right leg was injured. On the way to the hospital, he and a correspondent were forced to wait in the cave for more than two months before they found the nearest military hospital. After staying for another half a month or so, Yu Zhilin dragged his injured leg back to China.
Delaying the treatment, Yu Zhilin's injuries were repeated and repeated, and he was never good, but he still asked to stay on the front line of medical treatment, on crutches, and continue to treat patients and save people. In 2014, the old injury recurred and eventually his right leg was amputated. "Looking back on these decades, I never regret enlisting in the army, going to war, or being injured."
96-year-old "survivor"
Yu Zhilin has always called himself a "survivor", especially in recent years, the surviving comrades of the same period have left one after another, leaving him alone.
The ears are back, the prosthesis is always grinding and the wound is painful, and the 96-year-old can only move with a cane, and a pair of eyes can only see a vague shadow. But for the past, he remembers it very clearly.
Every night, he would eat two tablets to settle down and fall asleep, but always woke up in the early hours of the morning and then suddenly thought of something or a person. For example, when he was injured, the correspondent who died in the bombing was only 16 years old at the time, and everyone called him "Xiao Xuan". At that time, Yu Zhilin always protected him as much as possible, but after the smoke cleared, they could only find one foot of "Xiao Xuan".
"I often think of a battle, where the comrades who want to die are buried, and the younger generations still don't remember them. I couldn't sleep when I thought about it, and I dreamed with my eyes open. His son and daughter-in-law often advised him not to think about it, but Yu Zhilin "had to think about it at that time." He always refused to be called a "hero" by others, "I am not a hero, real heroes have been sacrificed." ”
He said that when he was a child, his family was poor and always had insufficient food, so they had to dig wild vegetables every day; I only have a pair of torn pants, and I pull out the cotton in the summer and stuff it back in the winter. When he joined the army, he had the simplest ideal - hoping that one day, everyone would have food to eat and clothing to wear, and the younger generations would no longer have to suffer. "Now, my original wish has come true."
Biography:
Born in 1926, he joined the army in January 1941, joined the Party in May 1943, and served as a member of the propaganda team, a hygienist, the president of the 79th Division Hospital, and the vice president of the 98th Division Hospital. Participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan; During the Liberation War, he participated in the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Jinan, the Battle of Huaihai, and the Battle of Crossing the River; Participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and was awarded the third class merit 4 times and the second class merit 1 time; He was awarded the Independence Medal and the Liberation Medal of the Third Degree.
Veteran Quotes:
Our previous wish was very simple, that is, to let everyone have food to eat, everyone to have clothes to wear, "high-rise buildings, electric lights and telephones", so that future generations will no longer suffer, and now these have all been realized.
Beijing News reporter Zuo Lin
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