Preamble:
"For the sake of victory, shoot at me!"
In August 1964, a movie "Heroic Children" with the theme of military service was released, and the movie became popular all over the country as soon as it was released, especially the classic line of the combat hero Wang Cheng in the film is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
It is said that art comes from life, in fact, the movie character Wang Cheng really has a prototype, and he is still alive today, but for so many years he has chosen to remain incognito and abandon the past.
It wasn't until a reporter repeatedly published newspapers looking for him that the old hero reappeared in the public eye, and his deeds were known to everyone. But why did he hide his identity, and what kind of story did he have behind it?
Become a prisoner of war
"Shoot at me! Shoot at me for victory!" In 1964, a military-themed film produced by Changchun Film Studio was released nationwide, and the film has been popular all over the country since its release, and its film clips have become a hot topic when people talk about it after dinner.
No matter how many years have passed, the inspiring words of the hero Wang Chengying, the hero of the movie, are still popular, this film is based on the heroes of the battle to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and depicts the heroic and fearless Chinese sons and daughters in that war era, the spirit of desperate struggle and tenacious struggle on the battlefield.
At the end of the film, Wang Cheng faced the situation that the enemy was outnumbered, and chose to let his comrades in the distance aim the artillery at him, chose to die with the enemy, and finally died heroically.
"I'm not dead, why don't you shoot at me. In 1966, when this black-and-white film appeared in Daling Village, Liaoning Province, the people in the village took out stools from their homes and walked to the village leaders to watch intently.
However, what they didn't notice was an old man sitting in the corner without saying a word, his eyes were full of grief, and after the crowd dispersed, the old man slowly walked home, his back looked so lonely and gloomy.
He muttered quietly alone, and only dared to cry when he got home, this old man was the prototype of Wang Cheng in the movie, but unlike the movie, the team in the distance did not fire at him, and he did not die on the battlefield, but became a prisoner in the hands of the enemy.
"Why are there so many American devils, I didn't die? I was captured?" Jiang Qingquan, who woke up in late April 1953, felt the pain in his body as if he had been run over by a truck, and even his head was dizzy.
Jiang Qingquan, who understood that he left the country, was very remorseful, why he didn't choose to pick up a weapon and rush up, even if he died, he could pull a few pads, but instead became a prisoner of war, but now it was too late to say anything, and he fainted again after a short period of soberness.
By the time he came to his senses again, he had been moved several places and ended up in a prisoner-of-war camp, his abdomen and head covered with the marks of shelling.
Re-return home
Fragments of the shell sank into his abdomen, and a fragment pierced his skull out of the corner of his eye, and he was so badly injured that he could only lie there, unable to solve even the most basic physical problems.
He also wanted to make a decision on his own, because in that era when the honor of a soldier was above all else, every soldier put his honor above his life, and now he not only failed to make meritorious contributions but became a prisoner, which made Jiang Qingquan accept.
Later, it was only under the persuasion of other comrades-in-arms in the prisoner of war camp that Jiang Qingquan gave up the idea of suicide, "We want to show the integrity of our Chinese soldiers, just like on the battlefield here." The words of his comrades-in-arms made Jiang Qingquan regain his strength, and the other party was right, every day in the prisoner of war camp was like being on the battlefield.
In order to torture the spirit of these volunteers, and to suppress the integrity of the Chinese volunteers and the momentum of the mainland, the US military launched coercion and temptation against the captured volunteers. "If you want, when you're healed, we can send you to Japan to start a new life, or we can go to South Korea. ”
Seeing that Jiang Qingquan was reluctant to speak, the other party changed his words, "If you are willing to return to China, we can also send you back." "But how could the US military be so kind, what they said about sending Jiang Qingquan back to China was to send Jiang Qingquan to the island of Taiwan instead of Chinese mainland."
The reason for this was to be able to publicize in the future that the volunteers would rather return to the island of Taiwan than to the mainland, so as to drive a wedge between the volunteers and the motherland.
Seeing that the plan failed, the US military began to torture them again, "I have thought about it, if they brand any reactionary slogans on me, I will bite my tongue and commit suicide, I would rather die than obey." Later, under various pressures, the U.S. military did not carry out this method of destruction.
Finally, in July 1953, the battle between the two sides stopped, and the prisoners of volunteers were sent back to the embrace of the motherland.
He was one of the screenwriters of "Heroes' Children", and at that time, as a war correspondent of the 23rd Army, he learned about Jiang Qingquan's heroic deeds from Lu Hongkun, the operator of the command headquarters, and wrote a report specifically for him.
Hide the past
At that time, at the end of the war, the soldiers cleaned the battlefield and did not find Jiang Qingquan's body, and everyone thought that he had died on the battlefield.
It was on April 18, 1953 that the soldiers of the 5th Company held their positions on the North Mountain of Seohyeon-dong to fight against the American troops.
The soldiers guarding the position went from more than 150 people at the beginning to only Jiang Qingquan, the walkie-talkie operator, and a few soldiers who were seriously wounded.
Jiang Qingquan, as the only walkie-talkie on the battlefield, was well protected by everyone, and every time he was able to report information to the headquarters accurately and in a timely manner, and then the headquarters would decide according to the situation.
It is precisely because everyone knows the importance of Jiang Qingquan that they will do their best to protect him, and the squad leader was unfortunately hit by a bullet from the US army in order to protect Jiang Qingquan.
But at that time, the U.S. army launched an attack again, Jiang Qingquan watched the seriously injured soldiers take out the "glorious bullets" and prepare to die with the enemy, he was sad and indignant in his heart, he saw that the enemy's distance was getting closer and closer, less than 50 meters, Jiang Qingquan picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted to Lu Hongkun, the operator of the command headquarters: "Fire at me, shoot at the fortress where I am located." ”
In order to attract the attention of the U.S. military, he changed his position back and forth, just to give other soldiers hope for life, Lu Hongkun heard such a request for the first time, although everyone in the command was moved by his words, but in the end they still did not fire at his position.
Moreover, at that time, our army did not have sufficient ammunition to support the requirements of fire coverage, so Jiang Qingquan fainted under the stray bullets of the American army, and when he woke up, he became a prisoner of war.
When they returned to the embrace of the motherland, they received a special commendation ceremony held by the army, but most of them kept their heads down, and the word "prisoners of war" deeply stung them. They can't look directly at this unbearable past, and compared with those comrades who died on the battlefield, they feel shameless to face.
Jiang Qingquan, who returned to the team, still couldn't accept these commendations, so he handled demobilization in advance and returned to his hometown alone while it was dark, and since then he has become an ordinary farmer incognito.
Even his family only knew that he had been a soldier, but they didn't know anything about it until 2010, when Hong Lu and Lu Hongkun inquired about Jiang Qingquan's situation after years of searching, and the three were able to meet again, and Jiang Qingquan's deeds were known to everyone.
"You're a hero, you can say that and make that choice at the last moment, how can you not be a hero. After several people talked, Jiang Qingquan learned the reason why he didn't shoot at him, and the two of them also learned why Jiang Qingquan chose to leave and choose to bury the past.
After nearly ten hours of long talking, he untied the knot in his heart, as if he had regained his life. The only request he made to the government was to get a commemorative medal to resist US aggression and aid Korea, as a way to prove his military identity and past.
Later, after the report, the old man Jiang Qingquan regained his military and party membership, his heroic deeds were known to everyone, those honors were deserved by him, and he was a well-deserved hero.