Zhengzhou, 24 Jul (Xinhua) -- Title: Always Stand With the People -- What A Brigade of the 83rd Group Army Saw and Heard About Fighting Floods and Rushing to Danger
Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Wanshu
Late at night, transport trucks full of officers and soldiers and emergency equipment drove toward Anyang; on the embankment, figures full of mud were fighting on the front line of the flood fight.
At 20:30 on July 22, after receiving the application for reinforcement from the locality, according to the order of the superior, a brigade of the 83rd Group Army urgently dispatched more than 100 officers and men and 8 vehicles to Xincun Town, Anyang County, Anyang City, Henan Province, to carry out the task of sealing the embankment of the Anyang River.
Affected by heavy rainfall, the water level of the Anyang River continues to rise, and the speed of water flow accelerates. At about 16:00 on the 22nd, a 15-meter-wide breach appeared on the embankment of the Sanli bend in the xincun section of the Anyang River, and the surrounding water canals have been flooded with sediment, and about 1,100 mu of farmland has been damaged.
In the carriages of the night, the officers and men took the opportunity to seize the opportunity to rest. The task of blocking pipes in the Long'an section of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project ended at about 19:00 on the 22nd, and many officers and men did not have time to rest, so they boarded a car bound for Xincun Town.
"There is no hesitation! Race against the clock! The 31 recruits on the car have been fighting in Long'an District for 10 consecutive hours, and they are still full of energy when they shout slogans.
"Everyone was very active, all the staff wrote down a letter of request for battle, and when they heard about the task, they all said that they wanted to go to the front line of flood control." Wang Jinguo, as the squad leader of the recruits, looked at these childish faces and was very relieved, "Don't look at them now, they are hairy boys, there is really no ambiguity in going to the battlefield." ”
After arriving at the mission site, the military and the local government quickly formulated a blockade plan after consultation, and planned to build a sandbag wall to block the river water. Du Shuangfei, a staff officer in training, quickly deployed the implementation plan, and the officers and men immediately launched action. Recruit Feng Wenqiang was the first to rush up, and the others carried one bag, but he had to carry two bags.
"When I can do it, I do more, and I am happy to do things for the masses." The rain washed away the muddy water on Feng Wenqiang's face, and the smile revealed was even more simple.
The sons and daughters of China do not love red clothes and love arms. There were also 3 female hygienists in the group, watching the soldiers race against the clock on the levee, and they couldn't sit still.
"Although we are hygienists, we are more of a soldier, and the people are the first in the face of danger." Zhang Xinfang picked up the sandbag and rushed to the line.
"Hearing that our department is ready to assemble on the front line of flood prevention, I am restless, I do not want to be trapped in the building, I covet the safety of one person, I am willing to work with the officers and men on active duty, together with the suffering masses, to save lives with their lives!" In the petition submitted to the organization by Song Feifei, a civilian military personnel, the words are loyal and the sentences are for the people.
Due to the large water potential, the cement block of the levee has been washed away, and due to the rainfall and the upstream river, the area of the breach is still expanding, and there is a possibility of collapse at any time during the repair process. Officers and soldiers stood on a pontoon bridge made of steel pipes and wooden planks.
"The backbone of the cadres stand forward! Recruit warriors lean back! In order to ensure safety, deputy brigade commander Xun Wenchao deployed the situation on the spot. The backbone of the cadres stood on the pontoon bridge to take on the task of building the sandbag wall, and the recruit soldiers lined up on the embankment to transport the sandbags.
After 22 hours of continuous struggle, by 19:00 on the 23rd, a sandbag wall with a bottom width of 10 meters and a height of about five or six meters had been built at the fracture site, and the task of sealing the mouth was successfully completed.
"The heroic soldiers of the 'Red First Division', the wind swept the battle flag from generation to generation." As a heroic unit that came out of Jinggang Mountain, this brigade has always inherited the spirit of the "Red First Division" and has participated in many tasks such as flood prevention and rescue, earthquake relief and relief.
"We will always stand with the people, and when the people reach a critical moment, we must be a heroic force that can be pulled, moved, resisted, and firmly guarded." Political commissar Wang Wenhong said. (Contributors: Zhou Yuan, Shi Baoqiang, Li Weixin)
Source: Xinhua News Agency