The 97-year-old veteran set a goal on the 97th anniversary of the founding of the army, hoping to witness the glorious moment of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the army
2024-08-07
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"This year marks the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. I am also 97 years old. I want to live to be 100 and witness the glorious moment of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the army." On August 6, Meng Zhaoshen, a 97-year-old veteran of the 10th Retired Cadre Rest Home in Shenyang, Liaoning Military Region, said. In addition to Meng Zhaoshen, there is another 97-year-old veteran in the rest home, Bai Qinglin, who has been a member of the party for 80 years and has won the Independence Medal, the Liberation Medal, and the Third-Class National Flag Medal for the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. He joined the party at the age of 17 and regarded this experience as an important and supreme honor in his life. "I had a steel gun before I joined the army. From the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the War of Liberation, from the battlefield of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea to the military camp in peacetime, the weapons in my hands are constantly changing, but my belief in being loyal to the party and obeying the party's command will never change." Bai Qinglin said.
Veteran soldier Bai Qinglin:
He made many military achievements throughout his life
"If you fall behind, you will be beaten. But we only lag behind in military weapons and hardware equipment. Our morale and combat effectiveness are stronger than our opponents."
Bai Qinglin
Bai Qinglin was born in October 1927. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1944 and joined the revolution in October 1945. He served as a soldier, squad leader, clerk, deputy regiment commander, regiment commander, deputy division commander, division commander, deputy commander of the 40th Army, and deputy commander of the Chifeng Garrison District. He was awarded the Independence Medal, the Liberation Medal, and the Third-Class National Flag Medal for the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
Through the narration of this old soldier who personally experienced five battles in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, we seem to have personally experienced the scenes of the war back then...
On October 19, 1950, 23-year-old Bai Qinglin followed the Chinese People's Volunteer Army across the Yalu River and embarked on the journey to fight abroad in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. He served as the deputy company commander of the machine gun company of the 2nd Battalion, 355th Regiment, 119th Division, 40th Army of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.
"We are strong and high-spirited, crossing the Yalu River..." This line of lyrics best reflects the morale at the time and was a great encouragement to the young soldiers. Most of the soldiers were determined to win this battle.
In the first battle, the 355th Regiment where Bai Qinglin was stationed met the enemy head-on. He and his soldiers were ordered to use roundabout tactics to bypass the rear and launch a surprise attack on the enemy, causing the enemy to be in disarray. The two sides fought fiercely for a day and a night, and finally the enemy fled over the mountains in panic. The volunteers took advantage of the victory to pursue them and eventually captured more than 200 people.
Veteran soldier Meng Zhaoshen:
Integrate personal interests into national and ethnic interests
"I am 90 years old this year. Looking back on my life, I am fortunate to be a member of the People's Army." This is the first sentence written by Meng Zhaoshen in his autobiography "My 90 Years".
Meng Zhaoshen
Meng Zhaoshen recounted his war experience and urged future generations to learn more about revolutionary stories. "There are fewer and fewer people of my age around me, and our generation should record our personal experiences and leave them to future generations," the old man said.
In 1927, Meng Zhaoshen was born in Mengtang Village, Huayu Township, Jinxiang County, Shandong Province. In 1938, the Japanese army occupied Meng Zhaoshen's hometown and committed the brutal "Jinxiang Massacre". "I told my mother not to let me hide around, let me go to the army. My mother disagreed and said that if we die, we die together, and then she cried. My father took over and asked me, 'What kind of soldier do you want to be?' I said I wanted to be in the Eighth Route Army and fight the devils. After hearing what I said, my father told my mother that what the child said made sense, so let him go to the Eighth Route Army." From then on, Meng Zhaoshen embarked on the road of becoming a soldier, and this road has been on for decades.
Meng Zhao grew up from a soldier to the former deputy commander of the armored forces of the Shenyang Military Region. He has experienced a lot, but what he wants to talk about most is his comrades and compatriots who died in the war. He said that no matter how capable a person is, he can live a life without regrets only if he links his personal interests with the interests of the country and the nation.
Meng Zhaoshen told reporters that as a Chinese, mourning the victims of the Nanjing Massacre and all the compatriots who were brutally killed by Japanese invaders during the Japanese imperialist war of aggression against China, exposing the war crimes of the Japanese invaders, and bearing in mind the profound disasters that the war of aggression brought to the Chinese people and the people of the world, let us cherish today's peaceful and happy life even more.
Meng Zhaoshen said that the ancestors shed their blood, and the younger generation should be self-reliant, and the first thing is to understand history. "Without that history, there would be no peace and happiness today. As the younger generation, it is necessary and obligatory to take the initiative to understand history."
Li Yuan, reporter of Shenyang Evening News and Shenyang News All Media
Photo provided by the interviewee
Editor: Li Dan
