Heed the call of duty (Struggle for a hundred years to set sail on a new journey·" Recipient of the National Honorary Title of "People's Hero")

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

In the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, a medal lies quietly. The owner of the medal is Shen Liangliang, a soldier of the fourth batch of engineer detachments of the Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali (see photo, photo by Liao Hang). On May 31, 2016, local time in Mali, he was attacked by a terrorist attack during a peacekeeping mission, and he decisively commanded his comrades to shoot at the target, pushing them away at the moment of the explosion of the car bomb, and he was only 29 years old when he died. In September 2019, President Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree awarding Shen Liangliang the national honorary title of "People's Hero".

Knowing that the troops would go to Mali to carry out peacekeeping missions, Shen Liangliang submitted a petition to the company, battalion and regimental levels for two consecutive years, but failed to do so. The problem of lumbar disc herniation dragged his physical strength back. He made a detailed physical training plan for himself, and every day when others got up, he had already run 5 kilometers, rain or shine.

"I volunteered to join the peacekeeping brigade, and it was a call of duty." In 2016, Shen Liangliang submitted his application for the third time and finally passed the selection assessment with excellent results. On May 18, 2016, Shen Liangliang departed from Changchun Longjia Airport and put on a blue beret as he wished.

At about 20:50 local time on May 31, 2016 in Mali, Bian Long, the leader of the three-dimensional squadron of the engineering detachment, heard the urgent voice of sentry Shen Liangliang coming from the walkie-talkie: "Post No. 2 reported that vehicles from unknown places forcibly broke into the card, asking for support!"

Post No. 2 was guarding the gate of the camp, and Shen Liangliang noticed that a pickup truck was driving along the N8 highway in front of the post, and when it reached the edge of my perimeter cordon, it suddenly accelerated and turned, and hit the outer tire breaker, barbed wire and other defense facilities at high speed.

Shen Liangliang immediately gave an early warning to the combat duty room, and his comrade-in-arms Si Chongchang shot at the unknown vehicle according to law to prevent it from breaking into the camp. More than 10 meters away from the post, the terrorist vehicle hit the protective wall and fell to the ground, burning and then exploding. At the moment of the explosion, Shen Liangliang pushed Si Chongchang away...

From Shen Liangliang's warning to the explosion, it was only 37 seconds. "In the moment of life and death, Shen Liangliang and Si Chongchang stuck to their posts and dealt with them decisively, saving us all." Officers and men of the engineering detachment said.

Under the last few WeChat circle of friends before Shen Liangliang's death, his sister Shen Haixia left a message reminding him to pay attention to safety, but Shen Liangliang specifically instructed his sister, "Don't tell our mother, did you hear it?" ”

"In fact, he knew in his heart that soldiers must always be ready to die." Zhang Baolei, political commissar of the fourth batch of peacekeeping engineer detachments in Mali, said that in July 2010, when a flood occurred in the Second Songhua River in Jilin City, Shen Liangliang accompanied the company on a rescue and disaster relief mission, and witnessed the feat of veteran battalion commander Guan Xizhi sacrificing his life to save people, and his heart was deeply shocked; since then, Guan Xizhi has become his spiritual role model.

In the days of Mali, the bullet-scarred terminal buildings and the armed personnel everywhere on the road reflected the tension of the situation, but Shen Liangliang did not have the slightest fear, and he changed the signature of the WeChat circle of friends to "brave, brave".

After Shen Liangliang's sacrifice, the unit he worked in before his death immediately launched the call to "learn from Comrade Shen Liangliang", carried out study and practice activities, selected "Shen Liangliang pacesetters" once a month, swore an oath to the hero before performing the task, and reported to the hero after completing the task...

Recently, Shen Liangliang's former unit dispatched hundreds of officers and soldiers to the revolutionary martyrs' cemetery in the garrison to commemorate the "people's hero" Shen Liangliang. 20 recruits from Wen County, Henan, Shen Liangliang's hometown, solemnly promised in front of the Martyrs' Monument: "Learn from heroes and strive to be good soldiers in the new era!" Loud voices echoed over the towering Martyrs' Monument...

People's Daily (October 13, 2021, 10th edition)