Veterans of Henan who entered the Korean War ate potatoes and drank salt water, and lay in the snow for two days and one night

Veterans Zou Yuzhen (left) and Yuan Guozhang (right), two veterans who had also been on the Korean battlefield, met each other 70 years later to give each other military salutes

□ Top News Dahe Daily reporter Zhu Changzhen Wentu

If there is no country, where is there a home? This year marks the 71st anniversary of the Chinese Volunteers' war to resist us aggression and aid Korea, and with the movie "Chosin Lake" being screened during the National Day, the reporter once again turned the camera on this group of "the most lovely people."

Zhumadian two veterans Zou Yuzhen and Yuan Guozhang were busy with their own lives after returning to China and retiring from the army, and now their lives are calm. In 2020, the reporter went to interview two veterans, the two families are not far apart, they are not in the same unit, they have not fought together, they have met but they speak in Korean. As they spoke, the eyes of the two veterans were moistened, and they embraced each other, unwilling to separate for a long time. This year, with the hot screening of "Chosin Lake", the reporter once again chatted with the veterans about the years of battle, the US military aircraft in the movie made the volunteer army suffer a lot, the veterans as machine gun company soldiers, what kind of battlefield did they experience?

Talk to veterans

Frozen potatoes are eaten with their teeth scraped

Reporter: Have you ever eaten potatoes on the Korean battlefield? Zou Yuzhen: After eating, eat potatoes and drink brine. At that time, our country was poor, and we could not eat fine rice and white noodles like American soldiers on the battlefield, as well as beer and coffee, and we could only eat enough when we returned home after the war. Yuan Guozhang: After eating, (when eating) it is hot, the grain cannot be sent, the frozen potatoes cannot be nibbled, and they eat with their teeth, and when they are thirsty, they grab a handful of snow and fill their mouths. Reporter: Have you ever been ambushed in the snow? Zou Yuzhen: After lying in the snow for two days and one night, my weak body froze to death, and my body survived. Some have frostbite, some people have their feet and fingers amputated, and some of their legs have been amputated. Yuan Guozhang: Often lying on your stomach in the snow, lying there and not moving, often lying in the trenches is a day and a night, (fighting) Who dares to move? Reporter: Have you ever shot down a US enemy plane? Zou Yuzhen: At the Cheongcheon River Bridge, enemy planes were shot down, and there were many anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns. We had 20 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, 100 anti-aircraft artillery battalions. Yuan Guozhang: My troops have fought, aircraft, and artillery.

Veteran dictation

Zou Yuzhen: Commanded the fighters to shoot down the US aircraft

I grew up with a hard life, joined the national army when I was a teenager, and began to fight with Japanese devils. After the Japanese devils surrendered, I surrendered to the Eight Roads.

In 1949, I followed the troops all the way south and got the news that the Korean War was fighting. During this period, we heard our superiors say on the radio many times that although the United States is fighting north Korea, it is china that is next to north Korea, and our country cannot withstand the toss and must support the DPRK!

After we entered the Korean War, the unit to which I belonged at that time was a machine gun company of the first battalion of the Ninety-fifth Regiment of the Thirty-second Division of a certain army, which was responsible for air defense, mainly against American aircraft. Later, my troops went to defend Huishan for a day and a night, and the battle was extremely fierce, and our platoon leader was injured, so I was temporarily put in the position of platoon leader.

When I became a platoon leader, I felt a great responsibility, and at this time, the American fighter jets flew from the southwest. I didn't have time to study, so I quickly commanded. According to the command of my platoon leader before, he shouted at the walkie-talkie, "Five hundred in the southwest, eight hundred in height, put!" Then the shells "beep", "beep", "beep" and "beep" were fired out, and witnessing the plane being knocked down, my heart was full of a sense of accomplishment, and my whole body was trembling with excitement.

In 1953, we suddenly received an order to guard the Cheongcheon River Bridge. My units were all anti-aircraft machine guns with an attack range of 6 miles, and were mainly responsible for protecting anti-aircraft guns. On the side of the Cheongcheon River Bridge, we fought for 7 days and 7 nights, fighting, stopping the battle, we got off the car and changed trains, went to the division command post, and guarded the division command post for two years.

Although I was the acting platoon leader, I managed my soldiers fairly well, at least there was no accident, and the leader appointed me as the platoon leader.

Yuan Guozhang: The handsome-looking comrades-in-arms of the hometown died in front of their eyes

I was assigned to the 2nd Battalion Machine Gun Company of the 557th Regiment of the 186th Division of a certain army, and by 1950 I had become a cultural instructor.

According to the situation at that time, we made up some slips of the tongue: "Little devil, American soldier, there are three fears, one is afraid of fighting a field battle, the second is afraid of fighting bayonets, and the third is afraid of grenades to break him!" "After this slip-up, we all laughed. Smiling and smiling, the corners of the warriors' eyes were moist. Why do American soldiers have these three fears, this is what our fighters are good at, and they are afraid of them. In terms of equipment, American soldiers are better than us; in terms of conditions, American soldiers are much better than us. But we can't be afraid, we can't retreat, behind us, is our country, our relatives!

I have a very good warrior brother, his name is Hou Shunzhang, who is also our fellow in Henan, he looks very handsome, and now, he is definitely a big handsome man. We were resting in the ravine that day when american planes flew in, followed by American soldiers. Hou Shunzhang did not know what was going on, and inexplicably told me that the sound of gunfire was very good, he was stunned, he actually stood up, unfortunately was hit by the enemy and sacrificed. The battle was fierce, and when the battle was over, I crawled back, pulling him backwards as I climbed. When I was sure of safety, I couldn't help but shed tears and dug a pit on the spot to bury him. There was no tombstone, so I just planted a branch for him as his tombstone, and then hurriedly retreated. I didn't get off the battlefield until I got off the battlefield, and I didn't even have a chance to sweep his grave, and I didn't even forget where I buried him.

Since 1952, the war has not been so intense, but the small frictions on the front line have continued, and I heard that China has been talking with the United States until 1953, when we began to withdraw our troops.