Heroes, that's how they are made

The picture shows the scenery of the Grand Canyon in Linzhou, Anyang.

Image China

In Anyang in July, the ancient capital is gorgeous.

"Chief of the report: Li Changshun, former reporter of the Political Department of the 131st Regiment of the Engineering Corps of the Central Military Commission, salutes you!" The old man Wang Zhanshan, the recipient of the "July 1st Medal" in front of me, is the object of my military salute. Wang Zhanshan joined the army in 1947 and retired from the post of deputy commander of the Anyang Military Subdistrict in Henan Province in 1987. I joined the army in 1973. The same military career, let us see each other no stranger, a sense of intimacy spontaneously.

I talked to the old hero Wang Zhanshan. Wang Zhanshan, who is 92 years old, and Wang Zhanshan, who has been in the party for seventy-three years, is still full of spirit and clear thinking.

The militia is also a hero

Wang Zhanshan's legendary militia career brought me back to that war-torn era.

In April 1946, Qianying Town, Fengnan County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. A Kuomintang officer walked out of a grocery store. At this moment, an agile figure flashed out from the side of the gable, and a wooden pistol was placed on the officer's waist: "Don't move!" Go back! The frightened Kuomintang officer obediently came to the back of the room and was held back by the real pistol of our scout. The original wooden pistol was withdrawn, and at the same time the pistol of the Nationalist officer was drawn. The person who took the wooden pistol was Wang Zhanshan, a militiaman in Xiaozan Gongzhuang Village. Wang Zhanshan and the scouts escorted the Kuomintang officer back to the regimental headquarters, who turned out to be the combat staff officer of the enemy's security regiment. According to the information provided by the prisoners, the 48th Regiment of the military sub-district laid the siege of Qianying Town, which was stubbornly defended by the enemy. This is a great merit made by the militiaman Wang Zhanshan for the liberation of his hometown. After the war, the regimental commander happily said to Wang Zhanshan: "The young man is good! Reward you with something. As long as I have, I promise you. Wang Zhanshan said, "I don't want anything." I'm going to be a soldier. The regimental commander said, "Good! You soldier, I took it. ”

It was also this year, one night in early August, two heroic militiamen were welcomed in the green cornfield. One is Wang Zhanshan, a militia captain who was sent back to Xiaozan Gongzhuang Village due to need, and the other is a militia instructor. When they returned from a meeting in the district, they slept in the ground to avoid the enemy. Suddenly, the enemy soldiers who were searching in a dragnet pressed their bayonets against the chests of the two men and pressed them about the communists in their village. Faced with the enemy's bayonet, the two preferred to die. So the enemy escorted them through the streets to show the public, and drove the whole village to the temple of Emperor Wu, where they wanted to kill the two in front of the villagers. At this time, the gunshots suddenly sounded, and the enemy thought that the communist army was coming, and hurriedly occupied the favorable terrain to return fire. It was our army intercepting the enemy's loot along the road. As soon as the gunshots rang out, the villagers fled in a hurry, and Wang Zhanshan and the instructor also took the opportunity to run quickly. When he arrived at the North Wheat Farm, Wang Zhanshan jumped on the big stone and shouted to the villagers: "Run! The enemy heard the shouts and immediately opened fire on him. Wang Zhanshan jumped off the stone and ran quickly. In this way, he escaped from the clutches of the enemy. Unfortunately, the instructor was unfortunately captured by the enemy due to a leg injury and died heroically. This was the first severe life-and-death test that Wang Zhanshan endured in his life.

Tough years are heroic

In order to defend the land that the villagers had in hand, Wang Zhanshan once again actively signed up to join the army. In October 1947, he finally got his wish. Moreover, this time it was not a local unit, but the main force - the 7th Battalion and 7th Company of the 71st Regiment of the 8th Column 24th Division of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army. Finally, it is time for a large army to fight a big battle, where can I not practice my combat skills? Wang Zhanshan practiced his skills diligently, shooting, bomb dropping, assassination, blasting, and soil work, and was proficient in everything. Meritorious service is accompanied by a military training campaign. The company evaluated the merits, and Wang Zhanshan made a small contribution.

After the victory in the Liaoshen Campaign in 1948, the chief gave Wang Zhanshan a medal for hard struggle. If we want to say how bitter the troops were when they first arrived in the northeast, some of them can be said. When I first arrived in the northeast, I didn't have cotton clothes for winter, and in the weather of minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, frostbite on my ears, fingers, and toes was common. The weapons were rudimentary and backward, most of them were captured Japanese three-eight large covers, and there were not many light machine guns and even fewer heavy machine guns.

Therefore, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army mobilized the masses to rely on the masses and open up the situation with victory in battle and the division of land and land; one of the magic weapons for overcoming difficulties internally was to extensively carry out meritorious service appraisal activities to arouse the revolutionary heroism spirit of commanders and fighters. In 1947, the "Interim Regulations on the Meritorious Service Movement of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army" were also specially formulated, and the merits were divided into major and minor merits, and the medals were divided into wartime and peacetime. The medal won by Wang Zhanshan was not only for the hard work of bearing hardships and standing hard work in peacetime, but also for repeatedly completing the task of correspondents in the Liaoshen Campaign in the rain of bullets and bullets.

After the celebration meeting was held, and before the medal could be taken off, the troops received an urgent order to immediately pursue the fleeing Kuomintang troops. Wang Zhanshan smiled and said, "After chasing there, the enemy has fled." We were ordered to walk back, and on the way we met enthusiastic people, carrying baskets and baskets to comfort the People's Liberation Army. Ordinary people love their children and soldiers, especially the People's Liberation Army, which hangs medals on their chests. My arms were full of steamed apples, and there were so many delicious ones. ”

The people are willing to give anything to the People's Liberation Army, and can the morale not become more and more prosperous? With such a good father and fellow countrymen to support and cheer up as a backing, what kind of enemy can not be defeated?!

The "Jintang Bridge Company" bravely charged

In a group photo of the victories of the commanders and fighters of the "Jintang Bridge Company," the person who held high the red flag was Wang Zhanshan. During the battle to liberate Tianjin, Wang Zhanshan made one major meritorious contribution and two small feats, and a brave medal was hung on his chest. At this time, Wang Zhanshan had just turned 19 years old and was already a member of the Communist Party.

Wang Zhanshan was reluctant to talk more about his meritorious service: "There were 136 people in the whole company, and only 24 people took a group photo after the battle. Honor is exchanged for the lives of comrades-in-arms. ”

Wang Zhanshan's 7th Company was tasked with occupying the Jintang Bridge in Tianjin and cutting off the 130,000 Kuomintang troops who were stubbornly resisting in order to divide and annihilate them. The 7th Company attacked and punched all the way and rushed to the side of the Jintang Bridge. This was the core fortification of the enemy, guarded by a reinforced company, with 5 large reinforced concrete bunkers forming angles with each other, and more than a dozen small bunkers connected to the large pillboxes with traffic trenches. The 7 companies attacked many times, but they were blocked by the fierce fire of the enemy, and the casualties were very large. The mountain artillery battalion of the division headquarters arrived, and our artillery fired three shots and three shots, knocking out 3 large bunkers. The remaining two large bunkers, the 7th Company of Demolition Warriors rushed up. The two fighters in the first group and the two fighters in the second group both fell under the frantic machine gun fire of the enemy. The third group of Deng Baodian suddenly rushed up left and right, and the big bunker blew up another one, but Deng Baodian was also killed by the machine gun fire tongue sweep. The third group, Li Quanshun, picked up two explosive packets and rushed to the last big bunker. With two explosions, the big bunker flew into the sky, and Li Quanshun was also stunned by the violent noise. Amid loud noises and thick smoke, instructor Ma Zhanhai raised his gun and waved: "Comrades! Come on! Wang Zhanshan, who was a correspondent, followed close behind. Unexpectedly, the enemy remnants called a shuttle, and the instructor fell on the charging road. Watching his own instructor who joined the party and usually treated his comrades-in-arms like brothers sacrificed in front of his eyes, Wang Zhanshan's angry flames completely broke out, shouting: "Avenge the instructor!" "Then he rushed up with a submachine gun...

The Jintang Bridge was taken down. Tianjin, considered "impregnable" by the Kuomintang army, was liberated within 29 hours.

In front of my fearless PLA soldiers, there is nothing "impenetrable"!

Heroic and fearless volunteer hero

Wang Zhanshan, who participated in the Battle of Jincheng to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, was already a veteran of hundreds of battles and a platoon commander with wisdom and courage. After the mobilization meeting, Wang Zhanshan was the first to ask for battle, asking to participate in the most arduous and important combat tasks.

The fierceness of the Jincheng counterattack was completely beyond the imagination of Wang Zhanshan, a veteran soldier. The company had 146 men before the war, and only 6 remained after the war. Zhang Guanzuo, another instructor of Wang Zhanshan, also died heroically.

Wang Zhanshan's 404th Regiment, 3 battalions, and 7 companies were blocked in advance, and they seized the north mountain of Juli Room nearby. After the 2 platoons entered the position first, the enemy was aware. When Wang Zhanshan led the 3 platoons into the front and left sides of the position, there were already two enemy fire points blocked. Wang Zhanshan ordered the entire platoon to stand by in hiding and crawl forward to observe the terrain himself. He found a small tree. There is a way. As the sky began to darken, Wang Zhanshan hung a hat on the head of the tree, and a piece of wiping gun cloth to build branches, so that the shadow resembled a personal form. Sure enough, the enemy fired at the small tree at the same time at both points of fire. Wang Zhanshan took advantage of the smoke belt to run the whole platoon for a while, and none of the casualties reached the position. This is the first day.

The fighting on the second and third days was very hard. It rained heavily when crossing the bridge, and enemy planes could not bomb it. After the infantry crossed the bridge, the rain stopped, the enemy planes began to bomb in turn, and the river bridge was destroyed. As a result, our heavy artillery and logistical support were cut off in Jiangbei, and the 404th Regiment received artillery support and logistical supplies. The enemy was very arrogant, and before each attack, first the aircraft bombarded indiscriminately for 10 minutes, then the heavy artillery bombarded for 20 minutes, and then the infantry launched a fierce attack. Although the enemy's offensive momentum was fierce and fierce, it was repelled by the more courageous 7 companies of soldiers. However, because the ammunition could not be replenished in time, the losses of the 7th Company were also very large, the company commander was killed, the instructor was seriously injured, and the other cadres were either dead or seriously injured. After repelling the enemy again, the instructor who was hit by 3 bullets called Wang Zhanshan to his side and instructed the last words: "The company will be handed over to you." The position is left to you. People are in the position. ”

A thousand pounds of heavy burdens weighed on Wang Zhanshan's shoulders. The volunteer soldiers were not afraid of death, but the stones on the position were almost exhausted, and there was no ammunition to fight the enemy? Wang Zhanshan summoned everyone and said, "We are short of guns and ammunition, but there is still the enemy as the leader of the transport brigade." What are you afraid of? Wang Zhanshan sent 4 teams to look for things on the enemy position at night. Overnight, heavy seizures were made of light machine guns, rifles, bullet bags, grenades, ammunition, cans, compressed biscuits, cigarettes, etc.

The fighting on the fourth day was even more brutal. When the enemy came up, Wang Zhanshan commanded the soldiers to smash them with stones, and the enemy approached, using guns to blow up with grenades. The enemy charged more and more troops. However, the warriors of the 7 companies were also stronger in their will to fight, and the more courageous they were. The number of enemies killed on this day was far greater than the sum of the previous two days. However, the 7th Company also paid a great price, including only 60 wounded when they assembled at night. The seriously wounded went down, and the remaining men were lightly wounded, accounting for more than half.

Early in the morning of the fifth day, taking advantage of the fact that the enemy did not attack, Wang Zhanshan gathered his comrades-in-arms again and swore an oath facing the motherland: "Avenge the sacrificed comrades-in-arms!" People are in the position! "Then everyone tightened their grip on reinforcing the bunkers and widening and deepening the trenches. On this day, the enemy's bombardment was more fierce, all the repaired positions were destroyed, the hill became a ruin, and many comrades-in-arms were buried in the soil. Wang Zhanshan was buried twice, but was pulled out by his comrades-in-arms. Some comrades-in-arms pulled out and lost their temper. The enemy launched 4 fierce attacks in a row, each time breaking through the positions of the 7 companies, and was driven down by the soldiers of the 7 companies with bayonets.

In the evening, the 2nd Company of the 405th Regiment came to take the defense, and at this time, only 6 living warriors were left in the position of the 7th Company, and each one was injured in many places. Wang Zhanshan was seriously injured and fell into a coma several times. Wang Zhanshan and the others were escorted back to the battalion headquarters, and then transferred to a car and sent to the field hospital. Wang Zhanshan, who was unconscious, slowly recovered after several days of rescue.

After the war, Wang Zhanshan was awarded the honorary title of Combat Hero of the Second Class of the Volunteer Army and the Order of the National Flag of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, First Class. After returning to China, he was received by Chairman Mao.

The true colors of heroes do not stop at the battlefield

After interviewing Wang Zhanshan for the first time, after getting off the bus, I asked people nearby about the military sub-district dry rest house. An old man heard that I was looking for Commander Wang and gave me a thumbs up: "That old man, we all know each other, and we are used to thrift and thrift." Go out without taking a car, good riding is good to buy steamed buns. Ask him to buy steamed buns again? Don't eat something good? He always said that it would be nice to have a bun. Comrades in arms in war, where are the steamed buns to eat? ”

Wang Zhanshan's daughter Wang Xiuxiang confirmed the old man's words: "My brother has a two-eight straight beam bicycle that he does not ride, and the old man rides from the age of 60 to the age of 70. Later, I was afraid that he would have an accident on a big car, so I changed to a slanted beam small wheel bicycle and rode until I was 80 years old. Later, because he was too old, his family would not let him ride a bicycle again, so he did not ride. According to the regulations, he was given a car at the dry rest house, but he never had to send a car from the public. Once, my brother let the dry hugh house get out of the car in his name, and he knew about it, and as a result, the old man held a family meeting and severely criticized him, and no one in the family ever let the house send a car again. ”

Li Jiangang, director of the Dry Rest Institute, told me: "Commander Wang joined the revolution before the founding of New China, and his salary was not low. But he was reluctant to eat, to wear, to change furniture, but he was willing to donate and help others. Once he went to the Sanguanmiao Primary School to make a traditional education report, he did not see a child who used to pestering him to ask questions, and only when he asked did he learn that there had been a major change in the child's family. He sent 3,000 yuan and a set of learning materials to the child on the same day, and repeatedly instructed the child's parents not to delay the child's studies. Last year, in order to fight the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Commander Wang also paid a special membership fee of 3,000 yuan. For decades, poverty alleviation, flood prevention and rescue, fight against SARS, Wenchuan earthquake... Commander Wang himself could not remember how much money he had donated and how many special party fees he had paid. Although he has long been away from the battlefield, he has always been ideologically unable to leave his shoulders and horses from his saddle. During the renovation of the dry rest house community, the residents recommended that the commander Wang, who has always been upright and has retired, led a team to visit a construction company in Zhengzhou. At noon, the boss of the company wanted to invite him to dinner, but Commander Wang resolutely refused to do it and led everyone to a small restaurant to eat braised noodles. Commander Wang's words were very admirable to everyone - eating people's mouths is short. If there is a problem with the quality of the project, we will not be tough when we talk about the waist pole. ”

Officer Zhang Xin of the Cadre Rest Institute went on to introduce: "Commander Wang devoted himself to national defense education and cared about the work of the next generation, and after leaving the rest, he devoted all his energy to the education of revolutionary traditions. He served as an off-campus counselor in more than a dozen schools, such as Sanguanmiao Primary School, Second Normal Affiliated Primary School, Thirty-second Middle School, and Anyang Normal College, and worked tirelessly to talk about revolutionary traditions, heroic model spirit, feelings of defending the family and defending the country, and inheriting red genes for teachers and students, officers and soldiers of the army, and enterprise employees. For more than 30 years, Commander Wang has made more than 400 reports, funded more than 20 poor students, and helped more than 10 runaway teenagers to get on the right track in life. ”

Since his retirement, Wang Zhanshan has received many honors. In November 2014, he was awarded the honorary title of "National Advanced Individual for Retired Cadres" by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. In October 2020, he was awarded the commemorative medal of "the 70th Anniversary of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea by the Chinese Volunteer Army".

On the eve of "July 1" this year, Wang Zhanshan was awarded the "July 1st Medal" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He said very sincerely: "This 'July 1st Medal' was received by me for the instructors and comrades who died. They gave their lives to fight for the people. They deserve this medal the most. ”

The story of Wang Zhanshan, a veteran of the Hundred Wars, tells us: Heroes are made in this way. However, Wang Zhanshan never regarded himself as a hero. In his words: I am a veteran, an old party member, a common man. That's what a hero is. This is the great and ordinary hero.

When I parted, I once again raised my right hand in a dignified manner and saluted the old hero Wang Zhanshan. This is a salute to the recipients of the "July 1st Medal", to a generation of brave and fearless veterans, and to a selfless and dedicated communist! It is also a tribute to the spirit of perseverance!

Source: People's Daily