retired soldier ye weifa's "hero dream" of repeatedly saving drowning people at sea
2024-09-13
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beihai, china news service, september 13, title: retired soldier ye weifa's heroic dream of "being chivalrous and righteous" has repeatedly saved drowning people at sea
written by zhai liqiang
as a former navy soldier, ye weifa continued to spend his time with the sea after retirement, cherishing a heroic dream of "doing justice and doing good", and repeatedly saved drowning people in the sea. retired soldier ye weifa said in an interview recently: "when ordinary people are in danger, i will rush to the front without hesitation. this is the responsibility and mission that a soldier should have."
ye weifa was born in xichang town, hepu county, beihai city, guangxi province. he joined the navy in 2006 and was selected as an outstanding soldier twice during his service. in 2014, ye weifa took off his military uniform and ended his eight-year military career, leaving the submarine force galloping in the deep blue.
ye weifa said that perhaps influenced by his father and watching too many martial arts movies and tv shows, he has always had a dream of "traveling the world with a sword and doing justice". in 2016, he set out from beihai and rode more than 30,000 kilometers in more than 500 days, passing through 22 provinces in china, and became his own "hero".
in 2020, ye weifa became a "hero" again. in june 2020, ye weifa and his comrade xie bing rescued two drowning people together with other people while camping at the seaside. because of this rescue, ye weifa joined the beihai maritime rescue volunteer association, hoping to make more contributions.
"what i learned most in the army was to serve the people and to stand up at critical moments. in the beihai maritime rescue volunteer association, every time i receive a rescue message, i feel like i'm back in the army." ye weifa said that in the past four years, he has participated in dozens of rescue operations, big and small, and the one that impressed him the most was a rescue on august 17, 2020. on that day, he and his friend huang runbo used paddleboards to rescue a total of six drowning people in the sea.
ye weifa patrols the beach and reminds tourists to pay attention to water safety. photo by zhai liqiang
on may 6, 2023, ye weifa stepped forward again and rescued a drowning person in the big waves. according to ye weifa's recollection, at about 18:00 that day, he was chatting with friends at the sailing camp west of beihai qiaogang beach when he suddenly heard a girl on the beach calling for help. seeing this, ye weifa immediately ran up to inquire about the situation and learned that one of her friends had been swept away by the waves.
ye weifa said that it was the southwest monsoon season at the time, and there were strong winds and waves on the sea when the incident happened. the tide was at its highest. following the direction pointed by the girl, he saw the drowning person floating up and down in the stormy waves. the situation was extremely critical.
seeing this, ye weifa quickly took the paddle board and life jacket and swam towards the drowning person. after a struggle with the waves, he finally lifted the drowning person onto the paddle board and rescued him to shore.
due to his repeated participation in rescuing drowning people, ye weifa was awarded the "alibaba daily positive energy special award", "beihai city's bravery award", "beihai maritime search and rescue advanced individual award", and "beihai city's spiritual civilization construction contribution award advanced individual". in january 2023, he was awarded the title of "guangxi model of bravery".
"it is my belief that i will not fade away after retirement and stand up at the critical moment. every rescue is to save a family. it is worthwhile and glorious to do such a thing." ye weifa said that in the eight years in the army, he learned what dedication is. now that he has returned to the local area, he hopes to continue this spirit. (end)
