Volunteer veterans recall the Bloody Battle of Chosin Lake: frostbitten legs, shrapnel in the brain after 68 years

□ Chen Qixiong, reporter of Yangtze River Daily, and xu jing, Wang Xianfang, and Luo Chenxi

Today is the anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. On October 25, 1950, the 118th Division of the 40th Army of our Volunteer Army fired the first shot of "Resisting US Aggression and Aiding Korea and Defending the Homeland" in the Liangshuidong Mountain Area near the border between China and North Korea, and won the first battle.

Before this special day arrived, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily interviewed some veterans of the Volunteer Army who participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. They recounted their personal experiences in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

Zhang Pengjun, an 88-year-old veteran who was one of the first to cross the Yalu River, recalled:

"In the face of indiscriminate bombardment, we firmly believe that we will win!"

He joined the army in 1948, joined the party in 1949, participated in the Liaoshen Campaign in the War of Liberation and fought abroad to fight with the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and won the Liberation Medal, the Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service in Victory, the Commemorative Medal for the 70th Anniversary of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and the Medal for the 50th Anniversary of the Glorious Party.

On October 20, Zhang Pengjun said in an exclusive interview with reporters that in those years, he and his comrades-in-arms participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea without hesitation, just to strike at the enemy and defend peace.

■ When he learned that the first battle was successful, he jumped up happily

Zhang Pengjun introduced: After the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea began, the 505th Regiment of the 169th Division of the Northeast Military Region, to which he belonged, as the first batch of troops to enter the DPRK, crossed the Qingcheng Bridge from the mouth of the Changdian River and crossed the Yalu River to "explore the way" for the large units of the Volunteer Army to enter the DPRK.

Zhang Pengjun told reporters that he and his comrades-in-arms threw themselves into the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea with the conviction of victory, "We firmly believe that we will definitely win the war!" After entering the territory of Korea, I met the officers and men of the Korean People's Army who had retreated from the front line, and from them I learned that "the enemy that our volunteer army will encounter is by no means a soft persimmon." But they were still confident that the volunteers would be able to defeat the enemy. Sure enough, a few days later, on October 25, 1950, the volunteer army that entered the DPRK won the first battle and defeated the invincible enemy. Later, this day was designated as the anniversary of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

"When the good news came, we all jumped up with joy, and the confidence to defeat the enemy was stronger!"

■ Tired and vomiting blood, he took the initiative to return to the battlefield after recovery

In April 1951, due to continuous marching and overwork, he began to cough up blood and was sent back to the 36th Army Hospital in Mudanjiang, China for treatment. In August 1951, after recovering from his illness, he voluntarily asked to return to the battlefield. While on duty at the Pyongyang Volunteer Transport Station, he and a comrade-in-arms rushed to the front in a transport truck loaded with a large number of shells. Shortly after the car left Pyongyang, it was suddenly fired by four "Mustang" enemy planes, and he and his comrades jumped off the speeding car and rolled into a ditch on the side of the road. The car was blown up on fire, and in the smoke of the fire, the sound of shells exploding was deafening. Fellow comrades were injured in the legs by shell skins, and blood flowed. He quickly climbed over and used the first aid kit to help his comrades stop the bleeding, and then went to a nearby village to find someone to help, and together they carried the comrades to the hospital of the Korean People's Army for treatment. Unfortunately, the two drivers driving the car died heroically. In order to return to the front as soon as possible, he changed to another transport vehicle the next night and rushed back to the front troops.

Zhang Pengjun said: On the eve of the signing of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, in order to exert pressure on our side at the negotiating table, the US military dispatched planes to bomb our targets from time to time, but at this time the volunteer army was equipped with a large number of anti-aircraft weapons and had air supremacy in local areas, which could effectively shoot down enemy aircraft. On one occasion, the Volunteer Anti-Aircraft Guns shot down an enemy plane, and the pilot of the enemy plane parachuted to escape and fell near the garrison of his unit. He immediately joined his comrades in the fraternal unit in the operation to capture the pilots of the enemy aircraft alive.

Bloody battle at Chosin Lake, 90-year-old veteran Li Dongde recalled:

"The regimental commander was sacrificed, the comrades-in-arms were frozen into ice sculptures, and no one retreated!"

In the movie "Chosin Lake", there is a heroic volunteer army company, in the Chosin Lake blockade battle, in order to block the southward fleeing AMERICAN troops, ambushed in the snow -30 ° C - -40 ° C, was frozen into ice sculptures, more than 100 officers and men heroic sacrifice. It is understood that the prototype of this heroic company is the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion, 180th Regiment, 180th Regiment, 20th Army, 9th Corps, 20th Army, 60th Division, our Volunteer Army.

On October 20, at the First Dry Rest House in Wuhan, the reporter found the hero's comrade-in-arms, Li Dongde. At that time, as a guard of the 180th Regiment Headquarters of the 60th Division of the 20th Army of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, he participated in the brutal Bloody Battle of Chosin Lake with the regiment.

The 90-year-old Li Dongde, whose ancestral home is Ji County, Henan Province, joined the army in 1948 and joined the party in 1950, participating in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. After retiring from the former Second Artillery Command College, he has been recuperating at the Wuhan First Dry Rest Center.

■ Lie on the ice and snow, and set up an ambush next to the enemy's inevitable road

Li Dongde introduced that he was a guard at the headquarters of the 180th Regiment of the 60th Division of the 20th Army of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army. During the Battle of Chosin Lake, the cadres and fighters of their regiment, all dressed in thin cotton clothes, walked day and night, stepped on the thick snow, climbed over the inaccessible mountains, and successfully interspersed themselves into the area of Huangcaoling at the southern end of Chosin Lake to set up an ambush. The orders given to their regiments by their superiors were: Build fortifications on the spot, block the enemy on the spot, and not allow them to retreat!

There is a highway passing by the edge of Huangcao Ridge, which is covered by high mountain cliffs on one side and Wanling Cliffs on the other side. This road was the only way for the main marine division of the US 10th Army to escape to the south, and it was also the only way for the US reinforcements to go north.

Li Dongde remembered: "I and my comrades-in-arms lurked in the area of Huangcaoling on the ice and lying in the snow. In order to prevent ourselves from being exposed, we could not make a fire, but could only grab a handful of snow and then eat a bite of fried soybeans, fried noodles, or simply nibble on a potato to fill our hunger; we were cold and hungry, and we had to dig trenches and build bunkers on positions as hard as iron. But we all have no complaints, we just want to defeat the enemy! ”

■ The regimental commander died heroically, and the regimental chief of staff was also wounded

Li Dongde said that after five or six days of lurking, the battle finally began! The position where their regiment was located was attacked by the enemy from north to south. In order to escape, the US First Marine Division dispatched elite troops, with the cooperation of aircraft, tanks, and artillery, to launch wave after wave of crazy attacks. At this time, the position held by their regiment was the last checkpoint to intercept the enemy's escape from the Chosin Lake area. The cadres and fighters of their regiment are well aware of their mission.

Li Dongde said that there were too many comrades who died in this battle, and the battle was at its most intense, "Zhao Hongji, the regimental commander of our regiment, died heroically when he rushed toward the enemy with his guards; the chief of staff of our regiment was also wounded!" ”

Li Dongde said that due to the difficulty of supply and the shortage of cold protection means, the frostbite and attrition of their regiment were extremely serious: "Some people have frozen hands and cannot pull bolts and throw grenades; some people have frozen legs and cannot charge the enemy!" More than 100 officers and men of the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company of their regiment were frozen into ice sculptures and all sacrificed on the position.

■ "I'm going to go into battle and kill the enemy, please save my legs!"

Lee Dong-deok's legs were also severely frostbitten during the Battle of Chosin Lake. After the battle, he was taken to a field hospital for treatment, and doctors found that the skin and muscles on his legs and calves had died. "They hit my calf with sticks and I could hear a thumping sound coming from my calf, but I didn't feel the pain myself." The doctor tried to saw off his calf, but he refused, saying, "I'm going to kill the enemy, please save my leg!" The regimental political commissar who took him to the hospital also pleaded with doctors to find a way to save his legs.

After a conservative treatment, after a month or two, he felt a strange itch inside his calf. Doctors say this indicates that new granulations have grown on the calves. In order to make the granulation grow smoothly, he used his hands to peel off the necrotic skin and muscle tissue that covered the granulation bud layer by layer. Later, his legs and calves miraculously recovered. He immediately returned to his old unit and participated with the unit in the Fifth Campaign of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

■ The shrapnel in the head was not removed until 68 years later

In one of the battles of the Fifth Campaign, he ventured to a ditch next to his position with a kettle to fetch water for his comrades, when he was bombarded by heavy enemy artillery. He suffered a head injury and a fragment of a shell hit him in the head. He ran back to his position, bandaged it, and fought until the end of the fifth campaign before going to the field hospital to find a doctor to treat his wounds. "By this time, the surface of the wound has healed. Due to medical conditions, the doctor did not remove the shrapnel embedded in my head. It wasn't until 2019 that I went to the hospital and a surgical specialist removed a piece of shrapnel that had been in my head for 68 years. Shrapnel is the size of a fingernail. ”

Li Dongde said: Under the condition of poor weapons and equipment and logistical support, our volunteer army was able to defeat the ace troops of the US army in the Battle of Chosin Lake, which was determined by many factors. As a soldier, he personally believes that the main reason is that the volunteer army is a unit with iron general faith, iron general belief, iron general loyalty, and iron general discipline, so that the volunteer army can overcome all difficulties and defeat all enemies. It is only natural that our volunteer army can win the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea! ”

Source: Yangtze River Daily