You Guangcai was born in 1919 in a family of scholars, and when he was in elementary school, just in time for the September 18 Incident, his teachers took them to the streets to march and shout anti-Japanese slogans. From that time on, the idea of fighting devils took root in You Guangcai's heart, and thus laid the foundation for him to embark on the road of anti-Japanese resistance.
In 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident, when the radio in the school library, broadcast related news every day. You Guangcai is also very clever, he will listen to the news every day, and then write a big poster to post on the four gates and streets of the county.
Figure 丨You Guangcai
18-year-old You Guangcai felt extremely proud and often praised himself to people: I am a person who participated in the anti-Japanese propaganda!
In March 1938, the Japanese captured the county seat of Yixian County. You Guangcai knelt down to bid farewell to his old mother, took the only 6 oceans in the family, and went on the road with his companions to join the army.
However, when they reached Xuzhou, after hearing the gunshots of the Japanese, they decided not to continue to advance, turned around and walked south, and when they reached Fengyang, they could no longer hear the sound of gunfire.
But at this time, their money had been spent without a penny, so they continued to walk forward, and when they felt hungry and thirsty, they went to the people and gave a mouthful of food and drink. That's how I was able to hold on.
So from Shandong to Jiangsu, from Jiangsu to northern Anhui, and from Anhui to Henan, for more than ten days, before leaving, the shoes made by my mother were worn out of holes, or I had to continue to move forward.
After arriving in Huangchuan, Henan, You Guangcai applied for the War Cadre Regiment, that is, the Training Corps for Wartime Cadres of the Military Commission of the National Government.
Of course, if you want to enter the war cadre regiment, there are also requirements, first of all, you must be at the junior high school level, and you must pass the three examinations of mathematics, history, and geography before you can join the army. Fortunately, You Guangcai has read a lot of books since he was a child, so he took the exam with the mentality of trying it out, and the result was that he successfully passed the exam.
All those who successfully passed the examination were all incorporated into the "Wartime Work Cadre Training Regiment" of the Wuhan Branch of the Whampoa Military Academy, also known as the "War Cadre Regiment.". The teachers who gave them lessons were Premier Zhou and Ye Jianying.
After this period of study, You Guangcai relied on his wisdom and hard work to rank among the best. No longer the ambitious student he used to be, he has become a real warrior who can charge the battle!
In August 1938, the Battle of Wuhan began, and the cadres also moved west with the factories that transferred materials, and were eventually stationed in Qihui, Sichuan. What You Guangcai himself did not expect was that he would have the honor of staying in the school as the principal of the district.
Unfortunately, the regiment fell victim to the Kuomintang struggle and was eventually abolished in 1941. The remaining cadets were all merged into the 16th cadets of the Second Branch of the Central Military Academy, and You Guangcai was assigned to the 54th Army As a platoon commander and company commander in the Special Service Battalion.
In 1944, You Guangcai personally experienced the Battle of Xibao, and also personally felt what was called the exhaustion of mountains and rivers after the War of Resistance, which he had not thought of before. What he did not expect was that because of the lack of food and clothing, many soldiers secretly fled, and fled in groups of three or five.
In the face of this situation, they can only strictly supervise, but there will still be flaws, then there is no way, can only go to grasp, really can not find, can only go forward to supplement. But at the time, replenishing recruits was not so easy.
Many recruits are very young, coupled with physical materials, only 3 out of 10 people may barely meet the health standards, and they will face the dilemma of desertion at any time.
Later, You Guangcai recalled: "At that time, there were still many young people who did not know what the War of Resistance was and did not understand the importance of the War of Resistance, which was a very regrettable thing. ”
It is precisely because of this that when they later heard that they were sent abroad to participate in the war, they were happy in their hearts, and the treatment of the expeditionary force should be better than that of the Yunnan garrison, and there would be no desertion.
After two hours, they finally landed safely at Tingjiang Airport in India. But what he didn't expect was that the first thing they did when they arrived in India was to take a shower, and it was at Tingjiang Airport.
They set up a temporary bath at the airport, and while they were still hesitating, a U.S. officer took them to the makeshift bath, asked them to unload their backpacks and take off their uniforms, and they were sent to the bath.
But this bath is also time-limited, which they didn't know when they went in. After 20 minutes, as soon as the American officer blew the whistle, all of them immediately went out of the bath.
They thought there should be no other mess after the bath, but when they all came out, they knew that they still had to get a preventive injection.
You Guangcai also learned later that there was a reason why they were given this vaccination. In the later raid on Myitkyina, the commander of one of the detachments, Colonel, died of typhus on the march, but the Chinese officers and men were all unharmed, and the reason for this was because of the vaccine they had injected at the airport.
Figure 丨 Battle Cadre Regiment
After taking a shower and getting vaccinated, they all changed into new uniforms. Together with the new uniform, they were given a blanket, a mosquito net, a bottle of mosquito oil, and a mosquito mask.
The weapons were also replaced by American weapons, but they were no strangers to them because they had been taught to them by American officers when they were studying at school.
Everything was ready, just as they were leaving the airport. The scene in front of them made their hearts ache. When they went abroad, the troops prepared new uniforms for them, but at this time they were burned by a pile of raging fire.
You Guangcai's heart ached that although they were now going abroad to fight, they always represented the image of Chinese soldiers, so when he saw that their own military uniforms were burned, he was very sad, but later he understood that this was an indispensable measure for epidemic prevention at that time.
By this time they were already on a plane to fly to Mon Kwan, which is also a very important base in northern Myanmar, and when they arrived at the airport, they were pulled into the camp by a large truck. It was an empty and silent camp, and apart from being able to hear them, it was the chirping of birds in the trees.
Such a living environment is also the first time they feel, at the beginning they are still a little afraid, many people do not dare to go to the toilet alone, and even some people will have nightmares in the middle of the night and be frightened to wake up, people around them will hear him shouting, will also follow up.
After a long time, I slowly got used to it. Sometimes when the rainy season came, the ground was too wet to sleep, and they slept in hammocks, because the center of gravity was unstable, and many soldiers could not sleep at night.
But there is no way, this is what the marching army has to face. Later, You Guangcai also gradually got used to it, which was the norm.
It wasn't until I got to Burma that I got a little better, at least I didn't need to be hungry and could eat enough. At that time, their main food was canned beef from the U.S. military. Eating it every day will also be tired, and later when they eat canned beef, they will be nauseated and want to vomit.
Many people really can't stand it, so they go out to dig wild vegetables to eat, but there are very few wild vegetables nearby. Fortunately, the U.S. military will regularly airdrop food for them, and sometimes it will also airdrop ammunition and weapons.
How to distinguish it? It is to look at the color of the cloth board placed on the top. If it is a white cloth board, it is food, and if it is a cloth board of other colors, it is ammunition weapons.
Fighting in Burma, what impressed him most was the strength of the US military in all aspects. This is also where the disparity in strength between China and the United States lies.
The first thing that surprised him was the degree of mechanization of the U.S. military. Before that, they did not expect that the US military had begun to use excavators and bulldozers.
It is precisely for this reason that their projects are progressing very quickly, the troops are fighting while fighting, and the roads are being repaired at the same time, which can basically be carried out simultaneously. At that time, we were still using a very basic tool such as a hammer and a shovel.
The advantages of this mechanization allow them to progress very quickly and efficiently in many tasks. And they are also equipped with a special repair station to repair these machines. This also opened You Guangcai's eyes.
Moreover, the United States has done a good job in pre-war preparations, and they will grasp all the enemy's combat terrain and enemy situation before the war and make sufficient preparations.
They have a dedicated U.S. military liaison officer, who is mainly responsible for communicating the requirements of the Chinese and American armies and communicating the situation between the two sides. At that time, all supplies and supplies for the Chinese army were provided by the Quartermaster Office.
Moreover, all these supplies were delivered directly by the US military liaison officer, so that there would be no exploitation by the person in the middle, which was also what made Yu Guangcai feel very streamlined and efficient.
Before the Battle of Xibao, their hearts were itching, hoping that they could go to the front line to kill the enemy. One of the soldiers muttered, "Can't our secret service company go to the front line to fight?" Can you just sit in the stands and watch people fight? ”
Fighting on the front line has always been You Guangcai's wish. He decided to take the initiative to fight for this opportunity himself. One morning after the morning exercises, he went to the division commander and hoped that the division commander could grant his request.
The division commander thought it was a good thing and granted his request. When the officers and men of the company heard the news, they all jumped up excitedly. However, the truth was not as easy as he thought.
The battle situation was very tense, at first You Guangcai was still in the command post, but then he really couldn't help it, and directly took the trumpet soldiers and two messengers and jumped directly into the line of fire. But at this moment, they were spotted by the enemy, and the sound of bullets kept flying over their heads.
Suddenly, he obviously had bullets passing behind his back, and he turned his head to warn the trumpeters around him to be careful, but it was too late, and the trumpeters around him had fallen, and blood was flowing straight down his chest.
You Guangcai ignored the sacrificed trumpet soldiers, and rolled the rest of the people into a nearby depression, dodging the Japanese shells while continuing to advance.
At this time, a soldier accidentally stepped on a mine that the Japanese army had long laid, and was killed on the spot, and the rest of the soldiers were all killed, and Although You Guangcai was spared death, he was also seriously injured.
In the circle of the picture is You Guangcai
Shrapnel penetrated his body from his right rib, fortunately not in the internal organs, but left an "L" type scar. However, they completed their tasks and the troops returned to China one after another.
In May 1945, they returned home as the last expeditionary force, and looking at the people cheering for them, their hearts were excited and moved, no matter how difficult and difficult they experienced, at this moment, everything was worth it.
After the war, You Guangcai's company was also commended. For You Guangcai, they commented:
"Loyal and courageous, commanding calmly, and acting resolutely, on March 16, they broke through the enemy's strong position and pursued the enemy for several miles in one fell swoop, so that the enemy could not succeed and resist."
You Guangcai later recalled:
"When the war ended counting, our special agent company suffered more than 20 casualties. But what grieved me the most was the loss of a personal trumpeter, Zhou Yong, who was still very young, not yet 20 years old. At that time, the sniper's muzzle was aimed at me, but Zhou Yong blocked the bullet for me. He died for me. Every time I think about it, I grieve. ”
Figure 丨You Guangcai in his later years
In May 1945, their 50th Division returned from Lashio, Burma. When they arrived in Wuzhou, they were very happy to learn that Japan had surrendered, and they thought that Japan would be much better in the future.
In February 1946, You Guangcai and his troops boarded the U.S. Seventh Fleet landing ship from Kowloon, transferred to a train, and arrived in Shenyang in mid-March to prepare for the civil war.
On October 26, 1948, Yu Guangcai, who had been promoted to the rank of major at the time, was scattered in the Battle of Montenegro, and at this time he could no longer continue to fight, disguised as a commoner, and decided to return to his hometown to find his old mother and wife, whom he had not seen for many years.
Therefore, You Guangcai thought twice and chose to surrender. Soon after, he was sent to the PLA Officers' Teaching Corps for ideological reform. Here, he met Zheng Dongguo, Liao Yaoxiang, Zhou Fucheng and others.
You Guangcai, a veteran of the Huangpu War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression: Remembering the history of national suffering
In May 1949, You Guangcai obtained the "Certificate of Repatriation" and returned to Shenyang to reunite with his wife. But new problems arose, and You Guangcai could not find a job. Forced to do so, he could only hide his history, so he reluctantly went to Shenyang Xinyang Company to start a pile driver.
Later, he was also mixed into the carpentry of the General Affairs Office of the Northeast Institute of Technology in Tiexi District, Shenyang, as an apprentice, but when the past history was clarified, what awaited him was to be expelled.
At this time, his daughter had just been born, and it was the time when he needed money, he was forced to have no choice but to find a job again, and begged his grandfather to tell his grandmother to find a temporary job, and he had to pull thousands of pounds of goods to climb the overpass every day.
He often exhausted You Guangcai's tossing heart and spat out blood. Later, his wife really hurt him and called him to Beijing to study Chinese medicine, hoping that he could live a more relaxed life and not be so tired. You Guangcai also hoped that he could change his fate, but it seemed that everything did not develop as he expected.
Figure 丨You Guangcai in his later years
Chinese New Year's Eve 1959, You Guangcai was again sent to detention and sent to the shelter next door to the Lama Temple. The whole country is celebrating the arrival of the new year, but You Guangcai spent the New Year in desolation.
This is another six years. During this time, the wife filed for divorce. You Guangcai did not object, he could understand his wife, and no one would want to live with someone like him.
After the end of the labor camp, he returned to his hometown again, saw the old mother who had not been seen for more than 20 years, and he knelt in front of his mother and cried bitterly. He never imagined that he would meet his mother in such a capacity.
However, the mother refused to recognize him as a son and drew a line with him. You Guangcai, who was originally ready to honor his parents, could not get forgiveness from his mother. It was the biggest regret of his life.
However, You Guangcai signed up for the devolution, a person who holds three jobs, and is also raising pigs, and he is also digging up dung and planting cotton. The days are also full, every day is busy, go back to sleep upside down, and support yourself.
Later, with the English he learned from the US military, he became a middle school English teacher in the village. It wasn't until 1980, when the truth came out, that You Guang was treated as a member.
In 1988, he met his daughter, whom he had not seen for more than 20 years, and the father and daughter cried with headaches. In 1992, You Guangcai retired from secondary school. In 2008, she and two other comrades who had participated in the expeditionary force went to Yunnan together to revisit the battlefield of western Yunnan.
Seeing the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but shed tears, as if he was talking to himself, and as if he was saying to his comrades next to him:
"Even in my most difficult times, I have never regretted it, I have always believed that I have done nothing wrong, as a member of the expeditionary force, I am not ashamed, to be able to participate in the war against Japan, which is the most glorious thing in my life." 」