Wang Dejin won the certificate of "Special Meritorious Service for Crossing the River".
The honorary certificate issued by the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River to Wang Guilin
Wang Dejin's descendants visited the certificate that had been placed in the display case
75 years ago, he joined the "death squad" and crossed the river for the first time
87-year-old Wang Yisheng has been firmly holding a piece of paper wrapped in transparent plastic skin, and the four characters "People's Meritorious Hero" are prominently printed on the paper.
This certificate of "special merit" for the "special merit" of the battle of crossing the river issued by "Comrade Wang Dejin, a shipwright," is yellowish in color, and the 75 years of time have left many traces of damage on its edges and creases.
"My father was very faithful and reliable, and during the war years, he always carried important information at the major wharves, and although the ships were big and small, they all contributed to the party and the people!" Although it has been 33 years since Wang Dejin passed away, as long as he talks about his father's story of crossing the river, the elderly eldest son Wang Yisheng seems to have "crossed" to the battlefield where his father struggled, and he is full of energy.
In 1906, Wang Dejin was born in a poor rural family in Daijiahu (now Shen Village, Xihe Administrative Village, Qigou Town), Wuwei County. "My father had a hard time when he was a child, and he picked up the burden of life early when he was young. Recalling the hardships his father experienced when he was a child, Wang Yipeng still couldn't help but feel a flutter in his throat.
Around the age of 15, Wang Dejin helped cook on a large merchant ship, so he began to get into the boat industry. When he was in his 20s, with the financial support of his uncle, he bought a small boat with a load of about two tons, and his brother Wang Defa also bought a small board boat. The brothers took the mouth of Huangluohe Street as the base point, and went north to Dongguan Street, south to Cangtou Street, and east to Yuncao Street to transport merchants.
At the beginning of 1949, more than 200,000 troops of the 24th, 25th, and 27th armies of the Third Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army successively gathered in Wuwei, Jiangbei, and were stationed in Shushan, Xiang'an, Kaesong, Nihan, and Tanggou, and actively stood by to fight across the river. Wuwei (at that time, Wuwei included 4 counties of Wuwei, Linjiang, Wunan and Hudong) was located on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and most of the area was a water town, becoming the most outpost of the natural danger of crossing the river.
The gears of fate bite deeply at this moment.
At that time, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) approached Wang Dejin through the trade union and hoped that he would organize ships to send the PLA across the river. Although there were many scared people at that time, Wang Dejin's younger brother Wang Defa and shipmate Zheng Xianzhi were willing to go with him to lead the boat. After more than a month of training, they taught the soldiers to board the boat, row and steer the rudder.
Approaching the day of crossing the river, three boats headed by Wang Dejin crossed the river as "death squads". On the night of April 20, 1949, Wang Dejin served as the sailor of the first ship to cross the river, and when the ship sailed through the center of the river, it entered the circle of the enemy's flare, and was violently strafed by the machine gun in the enemy's bunker on the opposite bank, and the machine gun bullets flew over his head with a whistling of machine gun bullets. The fighters, under the cover of machine gunners, jumped ashore and struck the enemy like tigers. Seeing this, Wang Dejin put the machine gun on his shoulder and supported the machine gun with his body.
In the rain of bullets, Wang Dejin took the lead in sending the advance team of the People's Liberation Army to the south bank of the Yangtze River. Ignoring his pain and exhaustion, he continued to ferry PLA soldiers across the river for three days and nights, and successfully transported hundreds of people. Unfortunately, the No. 3 boat led by shipmate Zheng Xianzhi was hit by enemy shells, and all the soldiers and civilians were killed. On the third day, when Wang Dejin had not yet reached the north shore, some soldiers and civilians shouted, "Row quickly, the enemy warship is coming!" Wang Dejin heard the rumbling sound and the sound of enemy gunfire, and at this time it was too late to dock, so he had no choice but to cross the boat, jump into the water, and escape.
On the morning of April 18, the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River received a precious "gift" - a certificate of "special merit for crossing the river" that has been treasured for 75 years.
The 87-year-old Wang Yisheng and the 75-year-old Wang Yipeng took out their father Wang Dejin's "heirloom treasure" from the bottom of the box at home and placed it in a bright display case, which became a cultural relic admired by everyone, telling the great "people's victory" in this battle.
Judging from the information currently available, this is the only "special merit" award among the cultural relics related to the battle of crossing the river in the national collection.
The "heirloom" at the bottom of the box became a cultural relic
After this magnificent battle of crossing the river, on May 15, 1949, the celebration of the victory of crossing the river (Nihan Point) was held in the stadium of Wuwei County. At the celebration meeting, shipwright Wang Dejin was awarded the title of "Special Hero of River Crossing", won the title of "Pioneer of River Crossing", received a pennant of "Pioneer of River Crossing", and a sweatshirt printed with "Hero of River Crossing". The conference also awarded 296 first-class meritorious heroes, including Sister Ma Mao, 429 second-class meritorious heroes, 937 third-class meritorious heroes, and 499 fourth-class meritorious heroes.
Until his death in 1991, Wang Dejin never regarded himself as a hero who crossed the river, let alone reached out to the government to ask for anything.
In 1950, he joined the land reform team, served as a township instructor in 1952, worked as a custodian at the grain station in Qigou District in 1955, transferred back to his hometown in 1956 as a senior president, became the director of the pig farm of the People's Commune in 1958, and was transferred to work in the chicken and duck hatchery of Tianqiao Commune in 1966......
"My father's life is like an old scalper, he will do whatever the organization asks him to do, diligently, and never complain. Wang Yisheng and his younger brother Wang Yipeng were influenced by their father, and they also followed the boat since they were young, and when they grew up, the two brothers joined the army, and after they were discharged from the army, they both worked in their hometown as farmers. And this certificate has always been a "treasure" that inspires the whole family.
On the morning of April 18, at the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Battle of Crossing the River at the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River, Yang Shengbing, the person in charge of the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River (Anhui Hall of Fame), solemnly received this "heirloom". Yang Shengbing said: This certificate of "special merit" for crossing the river embodies the firm conviction and tenacious will displayed by the heroes of crossing the river represented by Wang Dejin, and is a vivid teaching material for conducting patriotic education. The memorial hall will fully excavate the stories behind the cultural relics and exhibit them to the public, so that the audience can better understand the red spirit.
Subsequently, the certificate was placed in the display case in the museum. Standing in front of the cabinet, the two Wang Yisheng brothers leaned forward and quietly read the familiar words illuminated by the warm yellow light again.
The moment he saw this certificate in the display case, Wang Dejin's grandson Wang Yubin shed tears. "I grew up listening to my grandfather's story of crossing the river since I was a child, and the award certificate is placed in the memorial hall of the battle of crossing the river, which shows the story behind my grandfather and thousands of heroes who crossed the river, and comforts my grandfather's soul in the sky. ”
"At home, this certificate is pressed against the bottom of the box, and we rarely take it out. I hope that the memorial hall of the battle of crossing the river can be well kept and inherited, and the red spirit can be passed on, which is the meaning of our donation and our goal has been achieved. Looking at the award, Wang Yisheng looked serious: "My father said that I should be loyal and patriotic, and I hope that this belief can be received by more people." ”
A certificate of merit tells about the "victory of the people"
"In the battle of crossing the river, on average, each PLA commander and fighter was supported by 10 ordinary people, and the victory of the battle of crossing the river was also a victory for the people. Regarding the donation of Wang Yisheng's brothers, Yang Shengbing, the person in charge of the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River (Anhui Hall of Fame), believes that the number of officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army and the people in front of the army is about 1:10 in the entire battle of crossing the river.
At present, the memorial hall of the river crossing campaign has more than 3,000 pieces of cultural relics, and the memorial hall collects the certificate of special merit for crossing the river from Wang Dejin, a shipwright before crossing the river, which is to strive to give more prominence to the theme of "people" in the exhibition.
"This year is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Battle of Crossing the River. Wang Gao of the Research and Preservation Office of the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Crossing the River introduced that this is the only "special meritorious" certificate in the information currently available in the cultural relics related to the Battle of Crossing the River in the museum.
Not long after Wang Yisheng and Wang Yipeng left their positions, a group of primary school students in school uniforms who came to visit walked to Wang Dejin's award, carefully identified the handwriting on it, and the teacher who led the team explained softly to the children.
"It's worth it......" Wang Guilin, Wang Dejin's grandson, couldn't help but say to himself after seeing this scene.
Hefei Tong client-Hebao all-media reporter Wang Shuhu/text Wu Hanlin Cai Yufeng/photo