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huang zongde's recent photo. photo by jin xianbin

one afternoon in autumn, the reporter met huang zongde for the second time in one day at his home where he had lived for 38 years. different from the intensive interview with the media that morning in the activity room of the no. 4 retired cadre retreat in hedong, tianjin garrison district, the 93-year-old veteran took off his straight old-fashioned military uniform and put on a gray short-sleeved t-shirt and dark blue trousers. .

the commemorative medal on huang zongde's military uniform. photo provided by interviewee

huang zongde, a recipient of the "medal of the republic" and a hero with great military exploits - he participated in the war of liberation and the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea, and was awarded the "second class combat hero", the medal of honor for victory merit, and was awarded first-class and second-class merit once each. awarded the "first class flag medal" by north korea.

outside the spotlight, huang zongde, sitting quietly in a chair at home and holding a cane, looks no different from the elderly people around us.

from a mottled and faded green paint iron cabinet, huang zongde's wife wang jinhua found his meritorious service certificate. certificates of meritorious service from different periods were stacked together and placed in a thin white plastic bag.

using the old sofa opposite huang zongde as a "table", the reporter squatted down and looked through his meritorious service certificates one by one. the veteran was silent at first, until a reporter picked up a "certificate of collective merit" from the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea, and he mentioned the battle that took place in nanshan, zhuzidong, north korea.

during the jincheng counterattack in july 1953, huang zongde's company was awarded the second-class collective merit, and huang zongde was awarded the first-class individual merit for his heroic performance in the battle to capture the nanshan positions in zhuzidong.

after walking off the battlefield, huang zongde's platoon only had 3 people left, and his company only had 13 people left.

during the second meeting with huang zongde, the reporter did not mention his fallen comrades again. during the interview in the morning, whenever they were mentioned, the veterans choked with sadness and even covered their faces and cried bitterly.

growing up in peaceful times, enjoying the "fruits of victory" created by veterans and comrades with their blood and even their lives, how should we face the tears of heroes? in addition to gratitude and admiration, perhaps we also need to work hard to get close to the hero's heart.

on july 14, 1953, it was dawn at no. 5 position of zhuzidong nanshan - shangjiujing xishan.

at this time, several hours had passed since huang zongde, squad leader of the 6th squad of the 2nd battalion, 5th company, 220th regiment, 74th division, 24th army of the chinese people's liberation army, and two comrades from his brother's squad attacked the main peak.

after leaving the position guarded by two comrades, huang zongde went to clean up the battlefield and went to find his comrade liu jichang on the way. during the attack on the mountain the day before, the troops suffered serious casualties. huang zongde temporarily organized the remaining five members of squad 6 into two combat groups and launched an attack on the main peak in two directions. huang zongde and liu jichang were on the left. during the charge, a grenade exploded near them, and liu jichang was seriously injured.

the dying liu jichang was lying in a small bunker. when he saw the squad leader, he struggled to ask for water.

water can only be found in the bunker where the enemy camped previously. when huang zongde touched the third bunker, he suddenly heard movement in the nearby tunnel. as he continued to approach, the remnants of the enemy in the tunnel suddenly shot at him. one bullet flew past his head and knocked off his hat; another bullet penetrated his submachine gun magazine and hit his right chest. huang zongde ignored the pain and wanted to fight back, but the gun was broken and there were no grenades. he decided to retreat and called his two comrades on the mountain to fight the enemy together.

not far from the retreat, huang zongde suddenly saw 6 grenades and a large explosive bag tied to a fallen comrade. in an instant, infinite courage surged in his heart, and he issued a silent battle order to himself——

"i tied three grenades together and threw them into the tunnel. with a 'boom' sound, smoke and dust rose up at the entrance of the tunnel. while the enemy was panicking, i pulled out the fuse of the explosive package and stuffed it in. dust, sand, gravel, and shrapnel flew everywhere. it was blown down."

"i feel so happy!" taking advantage of the smoke, huang zongde approached the tunnel, only to hear constant coughing inside.

"surrender! treat the prisoners preferentially! hand over the gun and not kill!" huang zongde shouted over and over again in korean that he was already familiar with. "if you don't surrender, i will blow you up!" he stood guard at the entrance of the cave with a gun and issued an "ultimatum", ordering the enemy to come out and stand in line.

we are outnumbered, what should we do? huang zongde had an idea and blurted out: "class 5, class 6, come quickly..." the enemy believed it and threw out weapons one by one.

huang zongde, who was "one man in charge", captured 22 enemies by himself, and seized 12 carbines, 8 rifles, 4 submachine guns, and 2 walkie-talkies. for his heroic performance, he was awarded the title of "second class combat hero" by the volunteer army headquarters and received first-class merit.

at that time, huang zongde did not expect that the jincheng counterattack, including this battle, would be the last battle of the war to resist us aggression and aid korea. thirteen days later, the korean armistice agreement was signed. at this point, "the era when western invaders could occupy a country by just setting up a few cannons on a coast in the east for hundreds of years is gone forever"!

take a souvenir at the 38th parallel on february 15, 1954 (the first from the right is chief huang zongde)

countless "huang zongde" sacrificed their lives and fought bravely to win this "battle to found the country."

during the interview, the reporter kept thinking: how did huang zongde's brave and fearless heart shine with the wisdom to defeat the enemy? looking through his resume, a touching year came into the reporter's sight - 1949.

this year, china's time entered a new era; this year, huang zongde went to the battlefield for the first time.

in august 1931, huang zongde was born in a small village in rongcheng, shandong. when he was 12 or 13 years old, because of the difficult life, he had to do long-term labor: feeding livestock and carrying water every day, enduring the kicks of donkeys, bitten by horses, and gored by cows, without enough food and sleep.

huang zongde has long been fascinated by the troops led by the communist party. jiaodong is the earliest old revolutionary base area in shandong. huang zongde's cousin and cousin-in-law were both underground party members. under their influence, huang zongde joined the youth anti-japanese pioneers, delivering letters and serving as sentinels for the organization.

in 1947, three "young boys" who worked as long-term workers with huang zongde joined the army. he was unable to do so because "his foot was kicked by a donkey while working and he could not walk." it was not until december 1948 that 17-year-old huang zongde finally joined the people's liberation army and became a soldier of the rongcheng coastal defense brigade.

putting on the military uniform, huang zongde, who "will have enough to eat from now on", marched in a team "facing the sun" and entered 1949 with high spirits.

"a million-strong army crossed the river", huang zongde, who was incorporated into the 221st regiment of the 74th division of the 25th army of the people's liberation army, participated in the battle for the first time.

"i didn't know how to be afraid at that time." huang zongde recalled, "when we were crossing the river, the boat we were on was hit by a cannonball. i couldn't swim, so the battle team leader wang shuqian used his arms to help me swim forward. i had only one idea at the time : my life cannot be lost here, i am going to fight the enemy and liberate all of china!”

after crossing the yangtze river, huang zongde followed the troops to pursue the enemy all the way to langxi, anhui. it rained heavily one day, and he and his comrades dispersed to a fellow villager's house to take shelter from the rain. it happened that three kuomintang stragglers also knocked on the door. "i immediately became alert and asked my comrades to follow me to guard the door, and together they raised their guns and quickly opened the door. the three skirmishers were surprised when they saw us." the "look" between the two sides only lasted a short moment. the next second, huang zongde and his comrades rushed forward and subdued the enemy...

"asking for nothing but victory" gave huang zongde the courage to move forward; "the brave man wins when he meets on a narrow road" became the source of his strength to defeat the enemy.

huang zongde, who "captured the enemy for the first time", was awarded third-class merit. in june 1949, in an old temple in zhenjiang, jiangsu province, huang zongde, who had been in the army for seven months, raised his right fist and swore to join the communist party of china. countless nights after that, he dreamed back to this glorious moment again and again, reliving this happy year.

a few months later, new china was established - when the news came, huang zongde, who was preparing for the reunification of the motherland in fujian, enthusiastically embraced his comrades and shouted "long live the people's republic of china."

in august 1952, 21-year-old huang zongde crossed the yalu river with his troops "vigorously and vigorously", fighting for the dignity of the country, the independence of the nation, and the mission of peace. he and his comrades fought wherever the party pointed them, breaking through the "fire mountain" again and again, displaying national and military might.

from an ordinary soldier to a fighting hero, huang zongde's heart has always been closely connected with the party.

huang zongde took photos in the 1950s. photo provided by interviewee

huang zongde's eyes turned red, and tears suddenly welled up.

facing the admiring gazes of media reporters, the squad leader of the "sharp knife squad" who was unequivocal in fighting the war, who led the soldiers to clear the way ahead time and time again, and who still has three shrapnel in his body, covered his face with his hands and cried sadly. stand up.

the moment he mentioned his comrade and recruit pu zhonghua in the class, huang zongde's emotions "burst out of the dam." pu zhonghua died heroically in the battle to capture zhuzidong nanshan, the battle that made him a "second-level combat hero."

"i am not a hero. the real heroes are the comrades who sacrificed their lives for the country." huang zongde said.

on july 13, 1953, in nanshan, zhuzi cave, it seemed to get dark earlier than usual. huang zongde led six squadrons of soldiers to sneak into the vicinity of the enemy's outpost and have been holding on to the garrison pit for several days. it was midsummer and the rainy season. the humidity and heat were unbearable. the dry food i brought was sour and smelly from the rain, but i still gritted my teeth and ate it. "no one complained, and they consciously abide by the discipline. they dug lightly with shovels and dug with their hands, and dug out more than 20 small military pits, which can be used as a starting point for a platoon to charge." huang zongde and his comrades faced south korea. the defense line constructed by interweaving military minefields, barbed wire and firepower points was hailed by the enemy as a "model position".

at 21:00, the general attack finally began. after the attacking troops arrived at the departure area, the company commander asked huang zongde, who was suffering from dysentery and had a high fever, to come to the rear, but he insisted on leading the 6th squadron to take the lead. the barbed wire fence blocked the way and the demolition crew died, so they could only forcefully crawl through the barbed wire fence. when they broke through the sixth barbed wire fence, their legs were already bleeding.

the seventh barbed wire fence is located on a steep slope and is difficult to cross. the enemy's firepower became more and more fierce. just when everyone's attack was blocked, pu zhonghua, who had an abdominal injury, suddenly fell onto the barbed wire fence: "squad leader, squad leader, get over me..."

the officers and soldiers who reluctantly crossed the barbed wire fence, like fierce tigers, plunged into the enemy's formation and pulled out the "nail" of the enemy's outpost squad.

the air was frozen. huang zongde's choking voice made everyone present tremble. zhang ping, a doctor at the outpatient department who has worked at the dry rest center for 26 years, later told reporters: "the old leader still remembers the names of many comrades who died." when talking about the scenes of their sacrifices, each one is as clear as a long lens.

a few years ago, the cadre rest house compiled a "red historical file" for veteran cadres. huang zongde wrote affectionately: "i feel very happy and contented now, but at night, my mind is filled with the comrades who died in korea. who is like that, who lying there, arching there when someone died, i shed tears just thinking about it.”

from the heroes’ narrations time and time again, people learned that: huang zongde joined the army a year earlier and the three "young boys" who had worked together as long-term laborers died heroically in the battle of laiyang not long after joining the army; they carried him across the yangtze river with their arms. wang shuqian, the team leader and his party introducer, told him to "pay attention to safety" before a battle started. not long after, he was blown up by a cannonball...

"i feel i can't bear it." in huang zongde's heart, the heavy "medal of the republic" "should go to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives."

this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of new china and the 75th anniversary of huang zongde’s joining the party. when talking about the development achievements of new china, the veteran sighed deeply: "without the communist party, how could there be a new china? without the communist party, how could there be such a happy life!" when talking about his contribution, he said: "i am just a person in the sea. dripping water..."

after the end of the war to resist us aggression and aid korea, huang zongde joined the army in the cause of defending and building new china. this was what he and his comrades longed for together. huang zongde, who walked off the battlefield alive, was eager to realize the dream of his fallen comrades——

in 1960, when we were building a reservoir in tunliu, shanxi, huang zongde, the company instructor at the time, took the lead in digging mountains, breaking stones, and digging soil. there were no blood blisters on his hands, and layers of cocoons formed on his hands. after the company successfully completed its mission, huang zongde was awarded third-class merit. that reservoir still nourishes the people;

in 1963, a huge flood occurred in hebei, and a river between baiyangdian and tianjin burst its banks. the water flow was fast and the breach was getting wider and wider. in the absence of supplies and life jackets, huang zongde, then a ministry official, led his officers and soldiers to jump into the river, resisting the flood with their flesh and blood, and building an "iron wall and copper wall" to protect the safety of people's lives and property...

in november 1976, the 208th regiment held a celebration meeting for earthquake relief in fengnan, tangshan (the ninth from the right in the second row is chief huang zongde)

looking back in the long river of history, huang zongde, who compares himself to a "water drop", seems to be really destined to water: at the age of 18, the surging river witnessed the recruit huang zongde's first charge to "liberate the whole of china"; at thirty, he stood up against the clear spring. and billowing torrents, which bear witness to the burning passion of heroes fighting for the interests of the people.

lu shengfa, a veteran who was in the same rest house, joined the army at the same time as huang zongde, participated in the cross-river battle and crossed the yalu river together. in his eyes, this old comrade-in-arms was "as clean as water."

lu shengfa shared these moments with reporters: in the 1970s, huang zongde, who served as the political commissar of the regiment, was stationed in the company. someone pulled out a few green onions for him while eating. he immediately made a serious face: "are there any soldiers? there are no soldiers?" i won’t eat it.” in the 1980s, huang zongde’s son took the soldier promotion exam and his score was not satisfactory. someone advised him to be more flexible. huang zongde refused without hesitation: “this is not appropriate. communist party members have no special rights.” since 2003, huang zongde has served as a member of the party committee of veteran cadres of the cadre rest house. in the following 21 years, he was re-elected four times, and he was unanimously elected every time...

on the day of the interview, the reporter stopped at the small building where huang zongde lived. the autumn rain gently sprinkles on the red brick wall of the small building, and a nearby jujube tree is covered with red jujubes.

looking up, on the window sill of huang zongde's house on the second floor, a pot of green radish is spreading its branches and leaves. the raindrops fell on the windowpane, reflecting the crystal light, just like the heart of a hero.

(author: zhang peiyao, participating in the interview: zhang zhiqiang and meng wei)