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Wearing a deep blue-blue overalls, although the fabric has looked a little old after the baptism of time, it is still neat and new. A delicate and tough dark blue tie is restrained at the collar of the shirt, and a pair of shiny black leather shoes show the rigor of their owners.
In front of him was a tall and tall middle-aged man, who was sitting on the podium at the moment, staring at the eyes full of curiosity and anticrisy in the audience.
"Before that, I was an honorable soldier, a flag bearer with a great reputation. His voice was strong and full of pride. Those strong and powerful hands clenched slightly involuntarily, as if they could still feel the surging passion when waving the national flag in the past.
This man is Gao Hongfu, in his long and glorious 11-year military career, he personally raised and lowered the national flag more than 6,200 times, creating an amazing record of zero mistakes.
With his outstanding performance, he won the highest honor of "China's No. 1 Flag Raiser".
However, now he has said goodbye to his military career and transformed into an ordinary counselor, working hard in this school. What was once an eye-catching military uniform has now been replaced by unpretentious overalls.
However, from his upright body, we can vaguely see the demeanor of a soldier.
"Thinking back to the moment when I was in Tiananmen Square and the national flag was slowly raised, the pride and sense of mission in my heart are unimaginable...... Gao Hongfu lowered his head and gazed at the students affectionately, his tone gradually became solemn and warm, as if he had returned to that exciting moment.
At the age of 17, Gao Hongfu's dream of joining the military has long been unswerving. He was born in an ordinary rural family, and his parents were hard-working and simple farmers.
Growing up in such a simple environment, Gao Hongfu has cultivated the quality of perseverance since childhood.
More importantly, he has had a grand dream since he was a child - to become a heroic soldier and dedicate everything to the security of the motherland and the people. This dream seems to have originated from an inadvertent joke.
At that time, Gao Hongfu was burly, especially outstanding among his peers, and the people in the village unintentionally said that his body shape was suitable for joining the army. This sentence was like a spark that instantly ignited the passion in his heart.
From that moment on, Gao Hongfu's ardent thirst for military life became more and more surging, and he often took time to go to bookstores in addition to his busy work, flipping through all kinds of military books, and even if he needed to save money to buy his favorite books.
He had a deep yearning for the heroic and mighty military uniform, dreaming of being able to walk on the solemn parade ground with a steel gun in hand, and this dream was like a bright pearl, shining in his heart day after day.
Finally, when he was 17 years old, Gao Hongfu was full of enthusiasm for the motherland and a firm belief in serving the motherland, went through many tests, was successfully selected as a recruit, left his hometown without hesitation, and embarked on a journey to the prosperous and unfamiliar city of Beijing.
Gao Hongfu, who had just arrived, was assigned to serve in the Armed Police Corps. As a recruit, they are trained to be extremely rigorous, and both the daily standing, sitting, and handling of firearms must meet standard specifications.
Any slight mistake may incur severe punishment, however, Gao Hongfu did not have the slightest negativity because of this, but devoted himself more wholeheartedly, doing his best to complete every training task, and quickly stood out among his comrades.
Due to his outstanding performance during his time in the Armed Police Corps, Gao Hongfu was given a golden opportunity to join the ranks of the National Flag Guard. This decision completely upended the trajectory of his life.
As a new recruit, he was filled with nervousness and uneasiness when he first stepped into the Flag Guard. This team can be called the elite of the elite, and its rigorous style and arduous training are well known throughout the army.
Gao Hongfu knows that it will not be easy to gain a foothold here.
As expected, for the next 11 years, he devoted himself to the rigors of training to become a qualified flag bearer. The most basic military posture, forward stepping, gun manipulation and other actions are already familiar to ordinary soldiers, but in the national flag guard, these actions need to be extremely neat and uniform, and integrate with the comrades around them, and the standards are unattainable.
The more serious challenge is that they are allowed to blink once during the entire flag-raising process, and the rest of the time they have to keep their eyes firmly in front of them, and the slightest distraction or negligence will not be tolerated.
To keep their movements precise, they even pinned pins to their collars as a reminder to stay focused.
In order to effectively improve the strength of his right arm, Mr. Gao Hongfu would insist on holding a three-kilogram dumbbell every day and performing countless swinging exercises until his arms were sore, and he could hardly continue to persevere.
Sometimes, the overtraining even caused him to lose the ability to perceive his right arm completely, so that the next day, his arm could not be lifted at all. However, even so, Mr. Gao Hongfu still firmly chose to persevere, and in an extremely difficult environment, he always maintained perseverance and perseverance, and after many tests, he finally ushered in his share of glory - successfully promoted to a glorious flag raiser.
During his military career, Mr. Gao Hongfu spent 11 years realizing his dream of becoming a glorious flag raiser. Since then, he has forged a deep and close bond with the flag, raising and lowering it a staggering 6,200 times without fail, creating a brilliant record.
This amazing achievement is undoubtedly the result of his hard work and unremitting efforts behind the scenes. Before every solemn flag-raising ceremony, Mr. Gao Hongfu carefully checks the condition of the flag to ensure that it is clean and immaculate.
Then, he takes a deep breath and silently prays that he will be able to concentrate and make sure that every movement is accurate.
Whenever he held the national flag in his hand and slowly raised it in a vigorous and powerful posture under the illumination of the sun, watching the rising five-star red flag fluttering in the air, a strong sense of pride and mission would emerge in his heart.
Mr. Gao Hongfu knows that this national flag not only symbolizes the dignity of the motherland, but also carries the ideals and expectations of all Chinese sons and daughters.
With his outstanding performance, the 2009 National Day Parade became an important milestone in Mr. Gao Hongfu's life. Under the attention of the people of the whole country, he raised the bright five-star red flag high with smooth and graceful movements, and at that moment, the audience resounded with thunderous applause and cheers.
People deeply remember his name, Gao Hongfu, and affectionately call him "China's first flag-raiser". However, in his mind, this is only his responsibility, and honor is not the only goal he pursues.
The haunting scene took place on January 2, 2015, when a burly man dressed in civilian clothes silently bid farewell to every comrade-in-arms at the training camp of the Chinese National Flag Guard.
Their eyes were full of deep nostalgia and reluctance, because this brave and fearless man had spent 11 years as a soldier here! Yes, he was Gao Hongfu, the longest-serving national flag bearer in Chinese history.
His selfless dedication and loyalty have not only touched countless Chinese people, but also won wide acclaim from the international community. However, when he decided to leave the military, he was faced with a whole new challenge – how to find a new career direction.
During his long military career, although only 12 years were short, he had only three chances to return to his hometown and reunite with his loved ones. Returning to his homeland this time, he was finally able to enjoy the warmth of his family and do his best to filial piety to these two hard-working parents.
However, his honorary status has become a "sweet spot" in the eyes of many enterprises. As "China's No. 1 Flag Raiser", many companies have extended olive branches to him, and even did not hesitate to offer an astonishing price of one million annual salary to attract him to join.
In the face of such temptation, I believe that most people cannot resist it, but Gao Hongfu did not hesitate to refuse the invitation of these companies with firm determination and courage.
It turned out that he found that these companies did not sincerely want to hire him, but tried to use his former aura of "China's No. 1 flag-raiser" to carry out commercial speculation. Some companies even plan to use precious photos of his past flag-raising for advertising purposes.
In this regard, Gao Hongfu resolutely said: "I will never allow anyone to use the sacredness of the national flag to seek personal interests, this is something I absolutely cannot accept!"
Even in the face of the temptation of the other party to continuously increase the remuneration and offer a high annual salary of millions of yuan, Gao Hongfu was still unwavering and did not waver at all. In his eyes, it is natural to add luster to the flag of the motherland, however, it must not be used as a tool for human use, let alone the contamination of its dignity by any commercial interests.
Repeatedly encountered all kinds of temptations and incitements, Gao Hongfu always maintained a firm belief and categorically refused. He would rather give up such generous treatment than engage in activities that insult the dignity of the national flag.
This resolute and resolute character trait comes from the tempering of his years of military career.
After retiring from the corporate workplace, Gao Hongfu opened a new chapter in his life. He decided to devote himself to education, hoping to pass on the precious qualities he had cultivated during his military career to the younger generation.
Although he left the battlefield filled with gunpowder, Gao Hongfu never stayed away from the "combat post". After three years of unremitting efforts, he finally succeeded in obtaining a teaching certificate and became an outstanding counselor, answering students' questions.
Today, standing on the podium, the middle-aged man in a blue uniform is the former "China's No. 1 Flag Raiser" Gao Hongfu. Although he has lost his heavy army uniform, his tenacious and unyielding spirit and rigorous and pragmatic work style have long been integrated into his blood.
Gao Hongfu always did not hesitate to teach the rich experience he had accumulated in his military career to every student present. Sometimes he recounts the hardships of his military journey, sometimes he shares touching stories of tenacious struggle, and more often, he teaches his students the correct etiquette of raising the flag.
"Students, raising the national flag is not an easy task...... Gao Hongfu said earnestly, his big hands demonstrating the standard movements of raising the flag on the blackboard, "every action must be accurate, meticulous, and require a high degree of concentration." ”
Sometimes, the school also invites Gao Hongfu to be a guest lecturer at other institutions to personally show students how to properly fly the national flag. Whenever he saw the bright five-star red flag fluttering on the campus, his heart swelled with great pride and relief.
The brave man who was once revered as "China's first flag-raiser" has now completely bid farewell to the heavy military life and replaced it with light and comfortable workplace attire.
However, that fiery and affectionate patriotism, endless love for the motherland and deep respect for the national flag have always been remembered in the depths of his soul and will never fade!