The story behind a military medal
Wang Yufu
Time flies, and the flow is endless. During my military career, I have won many honors and awards, but only a small third-class military merit medal shines brightly in my mind. Although it is not so dazzling, it carries my deep emotions and precious memories.
On 14 September 1981, the Third General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) decided to hold a live-fire exercise in Zhangjiakou area consisting of the army, rocket force, air force, and many other arms, codenamed "802."
More than 100,000 people participated in the exercise, and thousands of armored tanks, thousands of artillery pieces of various kinds, and hundreds of planes were dispatched, costing tens of millions of dollars. It was the first large-scale military exercise held after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the number of participants and the scale of the exercise attracted worldwide attention. It is not only a test of our army's combat capability under modern conditions, but also a comprehensive display of our army's achievements in reform and development, which is of great and far-reaching significance.
At that time, I served as an instructor in the mechanical company of the 112th Division Independent Engineer Battalion, and I had the honor to participate in this military exercise of great significance in the history of our army.
During this military exercise, our battalion undertook the task of building a viewing platform for the exercise, and it was necessary to rush to the exercise site in advance. The unit set off early in the morning of 18 March, and company commander Shi Guangyuan was in charge of transporting machinery and equipment by train. After a day and a night of rapid marching, they arrived at their destination on the afternoon of the 19th, Guozhuang Commune, Xuanhua County.
The engineer company and the Zhouqiao company were stationed in Guozhuang Village with the battalion headquarters, and our company was stationed in a village called Wang Zhuangzi. Wang Zhuangzi is a small mountain village with less than 100 households, and there are two small mountain bags behind the village. Standing on the top of the hill and looking at it, the ravines, plains, and villages within a radius of dozens of kilometers can be seen at a glance, and the viewing platforms for the military exercise are set up on these two hills.
Looking at this nameless hill that has been sleeping for 10,000 years, I can't help but think: In the near future, this place will be changed drastically, and national leaders, senior commanders of the armed forces, and reporters from major newspapers, periodicals, and news units will gather here. It will record an important page in the history of our army.
The construction of a viewing platform with a length of 300 meters and a width of 30 meters requires that the two mountains be flattened and connected as a whole, and the earth and stone will be used, not to mention no less than seven or eight million square meters. The function of our mechanical company is to open roads for the troops in wartime, and we are experts in earthwork engineering. In this task of building a viewing platform, road machinery will undoubtedly play a major role.
According to the division of labor in the battalion, we went to the site to receive the task after the company provided mechanical equipment, the engineer company cooperated with the blasting, and the boat bridge company camped for manual work, and then all kinds of machinery and equipment quickly entered the construction site. With the sound of several explosions, a battle to open the mountain and split the rocks officially began.
For four months, from late April to late August, the cadres and soldiers of our company braved the scorching heat, fought in the sandstorms, went out early and returned late, and fought continuously on the bare hills. It was not until the viewing platform was completed and the ancillary facilities such as the road leading to the bottom of the mountain, the parking lot, the rest shed, the boiling water station and dozens of simple toilets were perfected that the troops withdrew from the scene.
Just the morning before the first rehearsal, the company commander was ordered to take the carpentry squad Sun Qinghui to the headquarters to carry out the mission. I called the correspondent Diao Zhaoxin to take a look, and as soon as the correspondent came out of the house, Staff Officer Liu, who was in charge of the construction of the viewing platform, had already come to the courtyard. I hurriedly went out to greet me, and before I could speak, Staff Officer Liu said with a nervous expression: "Instructor, there is an urgent task! The chief wants you to go to the viewing platform immediately." I didn't ask too much and went to the viewing platform with the car.
Originally, in order to facilitate the smooth evacuation of the observation vehicles of the exercise, the command temporarily decided to build a six-meter-wide circulation passage from the entrance of the highway to the viewing platform, and required that it be completed before the rehearsal.
The head in charge of the viewing platform was Deputy Chief of Staff of Shi Yang, who had left his post to rest, and he was an old chief who had come over from the war years. Knowing that the task is urgent and difficult, after explaining the task, he asked me seriously: "Time is tight, the task is heavy, can you complete the task?!" It was only 10 hours before dark, and it was not easy to open up a long road of five miles in such a short time! However, as far as soldiers are concerned, tasks are orders, and they have to overcome great difficulties by themselves. Although he was still muttering in his heart, he still said loudly: "Please rest assured, the chief, to ensure that the task is completed!"
In order to gain time, the chief asked the jeep to send me down the mountain. After returning to the company, he immediately summoned the comrades of the road platoon, briefly introduced the tasks and mobilized before the war, and seven or eight road construction machinery quickly drove to the scene.
Multiple machines working together could not be carried out, so we divided into two ways. There are two ravines at the bottom of the hill where the viewing platform is difficult, so I took two excavators and a loader to the viewing platform; Platoon Commander Shao Wenzheng took two bulldozers and a grader to the highway junction, and the project was closed from both ends to the middle.
Originally, the time was tight and the task was heavy, and it was very difficult to complete the task. Who knew that there was a problem again, it was still a sunny day just now, and suddenly the black clouds were overwhelming. Less than two hours after the start of work, it suddenly began to rain heavily. It was really a house leak that happened to rain overnight, and the boat was late and encountered a head wind. The road surface was watered by rain, the wheels were slipped, and some tire machinery was blocked.
Besides, I didn't expect it to rain, and we didn't bring raincoats, so I and Platoon Commander Shao stood in the rain to command, not to mention that our clothes were soaked by the rain, and we couldn't even open our eyes when the raindrops hit our faces. Some mechanical cabs are not well closed, and the manipulators have to work in the rain.
Huang Shirong, the leader of the first squad, is a veteran who enlisted in the army in 1973, with long shoulders and a round waist, and three bowls of noodles for a meal, and two steamed buns. I can eat and work, and I never know how tired I am when I work. The D-80 crawler bulldozer he operated was powerful and efficient, with a blade of three meters and three lengths, and two shovels were six meters wide. He saw that some machinery broke down in the rain, and in order to catch up with the progress, he didn't care about the rain on his body, and drove forward with full power. He worked for several hours in a row and did not get off the plane, and other comrades wanted to replace him to rest, but he always waved his hand and refused to get out of the car.
Xu Jianmin, a volunteer soldier who was the second squad leader who was digging and filling the ravines, was a well-known technical expert in the army and had won the first place in military competitions many times. I couldn't see his face clearly in the rain, but I saw the big arm and bucket of the excavator tossing up and down as flexibly and quickly as a human arm, and after a while, the bumpy ravine in front of me became a smooth road.
In this way, everyone has relied on the tenacious fighting spirit of fighting the sky and the earth, and has always insisted on working in the rain.
The rain became heavier and heavier, and Platoon Commander Shao sent a message to ask if he wanted to wait for the rain to stop before drying. I saw that the rain would not stop for a while and a half, and I was anxious, worried that I would not be able to complete the task before dark, and my anxiety was a little out of control, and I replied loudly: "I can't stop, and I can't stop the knife! In this way, the comrades insisted on working in the rain.
The chief of the viewing platform has been paying attention to our construction, and the construction site is under his nose, seeing the scene of our difficult work in the rain, he not only feels sorry for the soldiers' bodies, but also feels anxious about the progress of the construction. After less than an hour, the rain gradually thinned out.
At this time, Deputy Chief of Staff Yang, who was over half a hundred years old, ignored the muddy roads, accompanied by two staff officers, and walked to the construction site with umbrellas, and brought us several umbrellas. Seeing that we were all like chickens in the water in the rain, I was afraid that everyone would catch a cold and get sick, so I persuaded us to change our clothes and dry again. The leaders' concern further encouraged our fighting spirit, and the comrades present unanimously said: "Our own job is to open up a road for the troops, and this little rain will not stop us from completing our tasks!"
Perhaps God was moved by our determination. As he spoke, the rain stopped. At this time, the communicator shouted for lunch, so we took advantage of the meal time to go back to the company and change into dry clothes. After the meal, in order to gain time, we organized two sets of people, and the deputy squad leader Su Mingli, the soldiers Kong Xianhua and Shen Bo also joined in the rush to repair the road. Do people stop stopping. Finally, the whole road was opened before the palm light.
After the completion of the work, when I went to report to the chief on the loader, Deputy Chief of Staff Yang heard that the road had been opened. He excitedly shook my hand and said, "Comrades have worked hard, your fighting spirit and style deserve to be commended, and I want to take credit for you!"
On the day of the official military exercise on 14 September, I heard that Chairman Hua Guofeng, Hu Yaobang, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, and many other party and state leaders and responsible persons of the Central Military Commission came to watch the exercise. The cadres and soldiers of the whole company were very excited, because the viewing platform under their feet was built by us, and everyone felt honored and proud.
At the end of the exercise, the political department of the division awarded our company a collective second-class meritorious service, and the three soldiers, the platoon commander Shao Wenzheng, and I were also awarded a third-class meritorious service medal.
Decades have passed since the military left the unit, and many years have passed since the military exercises in North China. Whenever I see this military medal, I recall the scene of that large-scale military exercise. In front of me, it seemed that there was a convoy of armored vehicles rolling on the ground, a group of fighters fighting fiercely in the air, and the deafening sound of artillery fire was heard. I will also think of the respectable and lovely comrades-in-arms who fought with me at that time.
Now, the years have passed, and military life has become a beautiful memory in my life. That military medal is like a bright pearl in my life, shining forever, inspiring me not to forget my original intention, keep my mission in mind, shine brightly, and forge ahead.
Author's Bio:
Secretary of the 112th Division Communications Battalion Battalion, Deputy Instructor of the 112th Division Communications Company, Instructor of the Teaching Service Communication Company of the Beijing Military Academy, Instructor of the Mechanical Company of the Engineer Battalion of the 112th Division, and Deputy Battalion Officer of the Organization Section of the Political Department of the 112th Division. Deputy Chief of the Propaganda Section of the Propaganda Department of the Xia County Party Committee of Shanxi Province, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Miaoqian Town, Xia County, Shanxi, and Deputy Director of the Transportation Bureau of Xia County, Shanxi.
The article is from the official account of the 38th Army, thank you!