Toy Rogan, a name that may have been forgotten by many, but in the 30s and 50s of the 20th century, he was a star in American boxing, and his fierce eyes and mighty body made countless opponents fearful.
However, when the boxer fought hand-to-hand with the Chinese Volunteers on the Korean battlefield in 1950, he really realized what true courage and strength were.
So much so that when he recalled it in his later years, Logan sighed: "I am very lucky to come back alive." ”
What did he go through?
The years of youth and frivolity
Logan was born in a street gangster family in the slums of New York, and since he was a child, he has grown an unusually tall and strong body.
He likes to solve problems simply and rudely with his fists, so he often bullies other children.
Gradually, Logan realized that a strong body was a gift given to him by God, and later learned from others that boxing can also earn money, so he began to concentrate on boxing training.
Every morning, Rogan goes to a boxing gym on the street and fights several rounds with the coach inside.
He learned various combination boxing and gradually mastered the skills of boxing under the guidance of his coach.
In the afternoon, he goes to the gym for weight training and upper body strength.
In the evening, Logan would study the opponent's weaknesses based on the techniques taught by the coach in order to gain an advantage in the game.
Junior Logan participated in various amateur boxing matches and soon dominated the neighborhood with his strong boxing style.
At the age of 17, he won the city's amateur boxing tournament.
Looking at the cheers and applause of the audience, Rogan's heart surged with enthusiasm, and he was determined to enter the professional boxing world and become the "boxing king" that impressed all Americans.
In 1930, Logan officially turned professional as a boxer.
In his first bout, he knocked his opponent to the ground in just three rounds.
Over the next two years, Logan won all of his records, winning 21 of his 21 professional games, 18 of which were direct knockouts.
Looking at the opponents who fell under the fist one after another, Logan felt extremely excited and proud.
His eyes are also becoming more and more fierce, often making intimidating expressions, trying to break the will of his opponent before the match.
In 1932, Logan finally won the national championship belt in professional boxing, and the whole United States was talking about the new champion, but Rogan's ambition went one step further - he began to attack the world championship.
In the ensuing fights, Logan defeated boxing masters from many countries, and finally won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in 1934.
That year, at the age of 25, he became a boxing superstar and was known as "the youngest world boxing champion in history", gaining fame and fortune.
However, the good times did not last long, and just when the Logan boxing scene was in full swing, the world situation was turbulent.
In 1939, World War II broke out in Europe.
The United States was still isolationist and strictly neutral, but the flames of the European war gradually spread.
In 1940, Germany defeated France with blitzkrieg lightspeed, and the army entered the capital Paris.
Realizing that sooner or later war with the Axis camp, the Roosevelt administration began to take action to aid Britain through Lend-Lease and begin arms expansion.
At this time, Rogan's father came to his side and seriously persuaded him to give up boxing for a while and join the American army.
"My son, the war is coming, this country needs strong young people like you, boxing is important, but defending the homeland is the top priority, put down your fists, take up arms, and contribute to this country with your powerful fists!"
Logan was hesitant at first, he had just reached the peak of his life and really didn't want to interrupt his boxing career, but he was also deeply touched by his father's determined eyes.
Joining the army to defend his homeland is exactly the responsibility of a man, and after some lobbying by his father, Logan decided to leave boxing for a while and choose to join the army.
In the fall of 1941, Logan officially joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
After basic training, he was sent to the Pacific theater of operations in preparation for island-deep operations against Japan.
The following year, Logan participated in the first round of U.S. attacks on the Solomon Islands.
In the hand-to-hand combat in these jungle canyons, Logan once again felt the thrill of boxing.
He was adept at attacking with bayonets, jumping up and stabbing down, killing many Japanese soldiers.
Rogan's troops successively captured Guadalcanal, Bougainville and other places, and gradually advanced to Rabaul, the base camp of the Japanese army.
In two years, Logan made great achievements, and he even became famous in the army, known as the "King of Fighters Warrior".
But as the war deepened, Logan gradually became bored.
Unlike the fierce battle imagined, many Japanese troops have lost their fighting spirit in the face of superior American equipment.
These crushing victories on the battlefield have lost their challenge to Rogan.
In August 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, the Pacific War ended, and Logan happily retired from the army and returned to boxing.
To his surprise, several years of retirement did not affect his strength.
In 1946, Logan regained his national heavyweight title, and his status in boxing was even greater, he was as strong as ever, defeating all his opponents and dominating the American boxing scene.
However, seeing that his reputation was getting louder and louder, Logan was stunned in his heart.
Perhaps after the baptism of war, the dull life of a boxing king lost its appeal to Rogan, and he began to go to nightclubs to find flowers and ask for willows, and drunk with supermodels all night.
Seeing Logan's fall, the media also began to report the nightlife of the "unruly boxing king", which caused a lot of controversy, but Logan seemed to be numb.
At this time, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, Logan was again notified to enlist, and this time, his eyes lit up.
Compared with the dull life of the boxing king, he is more willing to go to the exciting battlefield and be full of ambition.
However, it wasn't until he was in a hand-to-hand fight with a volunteer soldier in a sea of fire that Logan realized that he underestimated his opponent...
Brailled by volunteers on the battlefield
It was a winter morning, the north wind was howling, and the sky and the earth were blank.
The First American Cavalry Division led by Logan was moving rapidly north, preparing to cross the 38th parallel and launch another round of fierce attacks on the Sino-Korean border.
This ace force was exhausted after continuous fighting, but their superiors still urged them to fight again.
The convoy began its march at the break of dawn, its heavy military boots creaking through layers of ice and snow.
The sky was getting dark, but the surrounding fog was foggy, and the field of vision was only white.
The sound of horses' hooves and engines was mixed with the swearing of sergeants, and they all hoped that the operation would end quickly and return to the warm tent early.
At this moment, there was a dense burst of gunfire ahead, mixed with people's exclamations.
"Enemy attack! There is an enemy attack! His comrade-in-arms next to him, Seward, rushed over in horror, his face pale.
Logan was shocked in his heart, hurriedly picked up the machine gun and rushed out of the camp, only to see the artillery fire, thick smoke, and his comrades running around and shooting in a hurry.
"Where did these yellow-skinned soldiers come from?"
Logan was full of fear in his heart, they had obviously sent scouts to probe in advance, how could they have been suddenly attacked? The night before, they had all gathered together to play cards and joke, discussing how to easily defeat the North Korean army.
Unexpectedly, the situation was reversed in a blink of an eye, and the army actually fell into the encirclement of the enemy!
Gunfire rang out, and Logan could only shoot desperately across the river, trying to repel the onslaught from the opposing side.
He noticed that the "Korean troops" on the other side were all ragged and dark-faced, but they were fighting in the flames and smoke, and even though they suffered heavy casualties, they did not have the slightest intention of retreating.
"What kind of medicine did these madmen take wrong, and they are not afraid of death at all?" Logan couldn't help but scold.
"They are not North Korean troops, they are Chinese volunteers from across the Yalu River!"
At this moment, Logan saw a small, yellow-skinned man, covered in blood, his eyes red, covering his wounds and rushing across the river.
The guns on the opposite bank were raining down, but he still insisted on reaching the river and preparing to rush to the American position.
Logan was already stunned at the moment, and hurriedly shot at other American soldiers, but the offensive of the volunteers appeared fierce, and their first line of defense was quickly breached, and Logan and his comrades had to fight to the death to retreat to the second line of defense.
"Go to his defenses, we must fight back!" Logan shouted to his comrades, "It's better than being captured alive by them!" Rush with me! ”
Saying that, the World Boxing King's eyes shot angry light, raised his fist high, and was the first to rush into the battlefield.
The two armies entered a hand-to-hand fight, bayonets colliding violently with bayonets, sweat and blood.
Logan punched the nearest volunteer, only to be dodged sideways by the soldier, who gave the tall Logan a backhand blow to the temple.
Rogan, who had excellent physical fitness, only felt that the sky was spinning, almost unstable on his feet, and he immediately kicked his opponent's abdomen and punched again.
The two scuffled together in the cold wind like this, you come and go, and it is difficult to distinguish for a while.
Logan was horrified that he had never encountered such a difficult and hard-hitting opponent.
It is clear that his size and strength are superior, but the volunteer soldiers have obviously undergone a different kind of cruel training, and they are simply like having an "immortal body", and they can get up again and fight back madly after being defeated every time.
Gradually, Logan felt that his arms were sore, and the force of his punches became lighter and lighter; However, the offensive of the volunteer soldier became more and more ferocious, and his eyes were fierce and high.
In the end, he actually came to an over-the-shoulder throw and threw Logan heavily to the ground!
Logan only felt a loud noise, which shook his right arm and caused severe pain.
He struggled to get up, but eventually lost his strength and fell into the cold snow.
"You win." Logan shouted in a hoarse voice.
The volunteer soldiers did not take advantage of the victory to pursue, but carried Logan to the rear prisoner of war camp.
In this battle, Rogan's American First Division suffered heavy losses, and he was also taken prisoner.
Logan, who suffered a big loss from the volunteers, was not convinced at first, but as he learned more about this Chinese unit, he was greatly shocked in his heart.
During his time in the prisoner-of-war camp, Logan witnessed many volunteer soldiers dying.
Someone, in order to cover his comrades, clings to the enemy and dies holding his breath; Someone is seriously wounded and has to leave the last bullet for the enemy ... These scenes deeply shocked Logan and made him realize what true courage is.
After the end of the Korean War, Logan returned home safely, but he could no longer see boxing as much as he once did.
Logan shuddered at the thought of that painful hand-to-hand fight, and he chose to retire from boxing and live a low-key life.
Writing his memoirs in his later years, Logan summed up the war by saying: "It was the greatest luck to be home alive."
This encounter made the once empty-eyed American boxing king feel the strong faith power of the volunteers.