Business card of veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
Gao Wangong was born in 1925, enlisted in the army in 1946, joined the Communist Party of China in 1947, and participated in the Laiwu Campaign, the Menglianggu Campaign, the Tushaji Campaign, the Liberation Kaifeng Campaign, the Huaihai Campaign, the River Crossing Campaign, the Liberation of Shanghai Campaign, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. He was awarded three first-class merits, four second-class merits, and seven third-class merits, and was awarded the "Combat Model" in 1952, the Liberation Medal in 1955, and was commended as a retired cadre of the advanced army by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Political Department in 2009. On April 27, 2022, Gao Wangong passed away at the age of 98.
Fought bravely and made many achievements
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Gao Wangong, who was stationed in Shanghai for training, took the lead in submitting a war petition. At the end of September, he moved to Andong City with the 26th Division of the 77th Army. Here, they changed into volunteer uniforms and crossed the Yalu River at 8 p.m. on November 19.
After crossing the river, the troops braved the severe cold of minus 38 degrees Celsius for four consecutive days and four nights, and fought the first battle of the DPRK at Hwangcholing in the north of Korea. The battle was extremely fierce, and the enemy fled in a hurry. Our troops took advantage of the darkness to touch the front of the enemy's position.
When the machine gun team led by Gao Wangong crossed the barbed wire, it accidentally touched the mechanism above, and the flares whistled through the night sky, and the enemy's machine guns strafed over, and six comrades were shot and died. Gao Wangong immediately ordered the 4th shift to lie down and hide. In order to suppress the enemy's firepower, Wang Kechuan, an expert in bombardment, threw three grenades with all his might, and the enemy's firepower was suppressed at once. At the moment when the fire was interrupted, Gao Wangong immediately ordered the whole squad to charge and started a melee combat with the enemy. After a night of fierce fighting, the banner of victory was finally planted on the position.
(Young Gao Wangong)
Although many enemies were eliminated, Gao Wangong's company also suffered heavy losses, including the company commander, instructor and two platoon commanders, a total of more than 60 people died bravely.
When cleaning the battlefield, the deputy instructor called Gao Wangong to look for the fallen comrades, wrapped their bodies in white cloth and buried them. Looking around, he found that a soldier named Fang Yutian was missing. Finally, half a leg was found under a blood-stained snowdrift, and a thumb was missing from the foot. Gao Wangong said with tears in his eyes: "If 14 people go up, 7 of us will come down." On the sixth day, I found a leg and told the instructor, this is Fang Yutian, and he asked me how I knew it was Fang Yutian? I said that in the Battle of Huaihai, I bandaged his toe. ”
After the battle of Kazuhari, their squad was once again rated as a model combat class. Gao Wangong was awarded a second-class merit and promoted to the second platoon leader. (Gao Wangong Meritorious Service Certificate)
Hold your ground for 38 days
At the end of February 1951, after resting and replenishing, the troops continued to march south, reached Xiongpi Mountain, and participated in the second campaign. Gao Wangong led the whole platoon of soldiers to fight back heroically, repulsing the enemy's charge again and again.
In order to effectively reduce casualties, each time the enemy shelled, Gao Wangong left only one soldier to look out at the dead corner of the artillery fire, and the others hid in the trenches and cat's ear holes. As soon as the enemy infantry approached, he commanded his soldiers to open full fire to meet them. In this way, they held their positions for 38 days, and they simply pinned the enemy out of the positions. After 38 days and nights of fierce fighting, the company suffered more than 60 casualties. Gao Wangong was once again awarded a second-class meritorious service and was promoted to deputy instructor of the 3rd Company.
At that time, the conditions on the battlefield were very difficult, and the soldiers were hungry, so they grabbed a handful of fried noodles and swallowed them down in the snow. Without salt and vegetables to eat, many fighters suffered from night blindness. In order to restore eyesight and prevent non-combat attrition, everyone boiled pine needles in snow water and drank them. At night, it was freezing cold, and the fighters huddled in a heap, wrapped in overcoats and warmed each other with their body heat.
After the battle of the heroic defense of the 391st Heights at Xiongpi Mountain, the troops took a short rest to replenish their men and ammunition. Gao Wangong was ordered to lead a reinforced platoon of more than 50 people to the 391 Heights to block the enemy's northward movement and cover the transfer of the main force. They were told by their superiors to hold out until 4 p.m. the next day, when green flares appeared in the sky and they could withdraw from their positions. The strategic location of the 391 Heights is very important, and it is the only way for the enemy to attack our rear in the north. Gao Wangong led the team to quickly prepare for battle. The next morning, enemy planes and artillery first bombarded our positions indiscriminately. Immediately afterwards, the enemy under the hill began to rush under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles. From a distance, it was dense and black. On the one hand, Gao Wangong commanded the soldiers to wait for the enemy in concealment, and on the other hand, he calmly observed the dynamics of the battlefield. When the enemy was 30 meters away, he decisively pulled the trigger and yelled: "Hit!" The whole platoon opened fire with all kinds of weapons, and the thick smoke of gunpowder filled the entire position for a moment. Soon, the enemy launched a second charge. This time, they attacked from both sides. Gao Wangong adjusted his personnel and firepower deployment in a timely manner and resisted the enemy separately. The enemy launched a third attack.
At this time, our army suffered serious casualties, and there were only more than 20 people left in the platoon. The enemy rushed desperately, the fighters were already red-eyed, they threw bundles of grenades and blasters at the enemy group, and in the violent explosion, the enemy fell in pieces. Gao Wangong and several other squad leaders took the lead, firing guns and bullets in unison, giving the enemy a head-on blow. Due to the favorable terrain and the support of a company of 60 mortars and 82 mortars, the enemy's third attack was successfully repulsed. Gao Wangong said that this blocking battle bought precious time for covering the transfer of the main force.
(Gao Wangong tells the story of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea for students)
On June 5, 1952, the troops returned home in triumph. After arriving in Changchun, they took a train all the way to Beijing, the capital of the motherland, and were cordially received by Chairman Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, and Premier Zhou. Before his death, whenever he recalled his comrades-in-arms, Elder Gao couldn't help but burst into tears: "After returning to China in 1953, I crossed the Yalu River and walked on the road to miss my comrades-in-arms. The comrades-in-arms who sacrificed their lives on the Korean battlefield have gloriously fulfilled the sacred mission entrusted by the motherland and the people, and all of them are heroes, and we will never forget them! ”
They are the forerunners before dawn
They use their bodies as knives
Sacrifice life and death in exchange for years of peace
They are the Chinese People's Volunteer Army
Fujian News Broadcasting: 100 episodes of the Voice of Fujian series of reports
"Retaining the Voice of Veterans of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea"
The mountains and rivers are safe, and the voice respects the heroes!
Material source丨China Military Television Network, Qilu Evening News