preface
In the Korean War Zone in 1951, five female volunteer soldiers mysteriously disappeared during an operation, as if hidden into darkness. Neither the body nor the trace has been found.
Fifty years later, an American journalist stepped into China with a few photographs to unravel the mystery of that year.
So, what happened then? Where exactly did these female warriors go?
A dusty past
This woman, Mary, flew across the ocean on the 50th anniversary of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and traveled thousands of miles to the Chinese capital.
After the plane landed, she quickly headed to the Beijing Military Museum, apparently she was not here for sightseeing, and there must be urgent matters to deal with.
Why did Mary, an American journalist, travel thousands of miles to China? Does she have a special bond with China? Perhaps the yellowed photo in her hand may reveal the answer.
It turned out that she was a female reporter accompanying the US military, and she told the volunteers everything she had seen, and she never imagined that these female soldiers would choose to end their lives in this way. For these brave female warriors, her heart is filled with endless respect and respect.
So, what happened on the Korean battlefield? What happened to those female soldiers?
The female soldiers evaded the pursuit of the American army
In 1950, the US military defied our military's warning and openly burned the war to the banks of the Yalu River, posing a serious threat to the lives and property of the mainland people.
In order to defend the territorial sovereignty of the mainland and protect the people from the flames of war, the central government decided to send volunteers to Korea to participate in the war. As soon as the volunteers arrived in Korea, they dealt a severe blow to the arrogant American troops, completely shattering the illusion that the American army would end the battle on the eve of Thanksgiving.
The U.S. military at that time did not expect that the Chinese volunteers would have such a strong combat power, and they could only be constantly forced to retreat.
As a result of the ongoing defeat, the top leaders of the American army were forced to step down, and Ridgway became the new leader. Compared with his previous generals, Li Qiwei was more stable and mature, and in the following battles, he also found some weaknesses of the Chinese volunteers.
Since the change of commander in the US military at the end of 1950, the command of the "United Nations Army" has adopted the magnetic tactics proposed by Ridgway. First of all, the abandonment of Seoul was used as bait to attract the volunteers to go deeper, and then suddenly launched a fierce counterattack, which severely damaged the offensive of the volunteers to the south, and our army suffered huge casualties and losses.
At that time, because the front was too long, our army logistics could not keep up, and the American army began to launch a full-scale large-scale attack on us.
In order to protect the strength of the army, General Peng Dehuai ordered a temporary retreat. While protecting the logistics personnel, the organization also ordered several female medical personnel to escort the seriously wounded soldiers to retreat first, but unexpectedly, they encountered American attacks on the way.
At a critical juncture, instructor Wang Wenhui made a decision. She took two female hygienists to lead away the US military, and although Wang Wenhui and others were heroines, their courage and determination were no less than those of men. Armed with weapons, the three bravely countered the American attack, and with their familiarity with the terrain, they managed to throw off the pursuing American troops and leave them behind.
In the enemy surrounding, there are also two brave women, Sun Nana and Li Yili. The two of them were trapped in the encirclement of the enemy, but with the support of Wang Wenhui and three others, they managed to escape.
On the way to escape, I met a pregnant woman
Dawn approached, and the five men became increasingly anxious in the face of the pursuing American troops. At this critical juncture, they found a cave. The situation was urgent, and they didn't think much about it, and immediately took refuge in the cave.
The Americans quickly chased them to the vicinity of the cave, but instead of entering the cave or firing at it, they seemed to suddenly become patient and simply surrounded the cave.
It turned out that it was Mary who stood up, and she persuaded the leaders of the American army, on the grounds of capturing the volunteers alive and boasting of their achievements, to stop the storming and only besiege the five.
The flight along the way left the five exhausted, and there were only some food rations left in their hands, which could only barely support for a while. It was still dark, and they had to wait until dawn to find another solution. Just as several people were about to look for a resting place, they suddenly noticed that there was a change in the cave.
Deep into the darkness of the cave came the sound of breathing. After slowly approaching, they found a pregnant woman. The woman was so frightened when she saw several people that she hugged her stomach and chanted words in Korean. It was later learned that the woman's husband had gone out looking for food and had never returned. The outside world is chaotic, and perhaps her husband has been killed.
Wang Wenhui and others learned that the pregnant woman had reached her due date and was about to give birth. In order to calm her emotions, Wang Wenhui and others kept saying to the pregnant woman: "We are the volunteer army, we will take you out safely." ”
At the same time, the American army also found the cave, and they not only surrounded the cave, but also shouted inside, trying to persuade Wang Wenhui and others to surrender. The two sides thus reached a stalemate.
Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere was too depressing, Li Yili, who had a foundation in painting, offered to paint portraits of the other four comrades-in-arms. In this way, even if they are sacrificed, the countrymen will remember their existence.
In this way, after a few days of stalemate, after the American troops still had no intention of retreating, they decided to risk breaking through. But at this time, North Korean pregnant women were frightened and began to give birth.
In an emergency, the female soldiers used the remaining medical supplies on hand to successfully stop the pregnant woman's bleeding and help her give birth smoothly.
The emergence of this new life made several girls burst into tears and became more aware of the preciousness of life. After taking good care of pregnant women and babies, they made their own decisions.
Would rather sacrifice than be a prisoner of war
At this time, the US military sent a female reporter who could speak Chinese to negotiate, in fact, hoping to persuade Wang Wenhui and others. Faced with this situation, Wang Wenhui and others no longer continued the stalemate and agreed to surrender. The premise is to ensure that pregnant women and babies are safely transported to the rear area, and the US military did not play tricks. When they saw that the pregnant woman and baby were safe and sound, the female soldiers sorted out their appearance and walked out of the cave shoulder to shoulder.
The American female reporter went into the cave and found several portraits of female volunteer soldiers. She had just picked up the portraits when she heard an explosion outside.
It turned out that the volunteer soldiers had made a fraudulent surrender just to ensure the safety of pregnant women in North Korea. They had long been determined to sacrifice themselves, and the moment they boarded the American military vehicle, they detonated explosives, hoping to die with the enemy.
The U.S. military and female journalists present were shocked, they did not expect the Chinese soldiers to be so spineless.
She did not give the portrait she picked up in the cave to the ensign, because she knew that if it was discovered by the ensign and others, they would definitely tear it up, after all, the American army did not want to see the heroic deeds of the volunteers being praised by the world.
As the last testimony, these portraits must be well preserved and returned to their original owners when the two countries are at peace. With this conviction, 50 years later, Mary went to China and fulfilled her wish.
epilogue
In order to defend the glory of the volunteers, the female soldiers gave their lives. The blood of his youth was sprinkled on a distant land and won the prestige of New China, and it was these heroic sacrifices that brought us the peace we have now.
In order to praise the spirit of the five soldiers who would rather die and never surrender, the film "Female Soldiers on the 38th Line" directed by Wang Xiaomin was released in Chinese mainland in 2000.