news

blooming youth without regrets at the outpost of the yellow sea

■yang haoran

my heart boiled with excitement when i learned that on national day, a five-star red flag would be raised on behalf of all the officers and soldiers of haiyang island.

yang haoran repairs aging wires during a line inspection. photo by mingsen

haiyang island is known as the "outpost of the yellow sea". it has become a tradition on the island to hold a flag-raising ceremony every major festival. but i didn’t expect that i would be lucky enough to become a flag-raiser shortly after completing the military training and arriving on the island. because for me, this is not only an honor, but also a special gift - october 2nd happens to be my 22nd birthday. far from home, i came to the front line of haiphong, where i felt the warmth of home.

i remember when i signed up to join the army after graduating from college, a comrade from the recruitment office asked me: "if you were assigned to a difficult place, would you be willing to go?"

"i am willing to go wherever the motherland needs me!" i answered decisively.

but defending the country's borders is not as easy as it sounds. starting from the new training base, i took a train, a bus, and a ferry. it took me three days to set foot on the island. entering the camp, the 16 characters engraved on the stone wall come into view: "defend the island and defend the country, take pleasure in suffering, start a business and make contributions, and dedicate yourself." the instructor told us that this island looks inconspicuous, but it is a supply station for many long-distance ships, and it will also become our home.

but this "home" is different from what i imagined before——

growing up in a plain area, i have a special yearning for the sea. after joining the army, i thought i would sail across the ocean on a battleship. but once i became a sentinel guarding the island, my daily work was repetitive and monotonous. although the sea was right outside my door, i always felt that the sea was far away from me, and the blue navy dream was also far away from me. when i first came to the island, i often tossed and turned at night and couldn't sleep.

my academic performance has always been good since i was a child, and i studied a relatively difficult interdisciplinary subject in college. before joining the army, i felt that with my abilities, i should be qualified for more challenging positions and help the army solve some technical problems. but on this small island far away from the land, apart from daily line patrols and ship support, there is almost nothing new, which makes me feel that it is overqualified.

but not long after, a line patrol mission poured cold water on me.

for me, the difficulty of this task is not to cross the mountains, but to operate the equipment. it requires precise control of the drone to fly and shoot, and the use of electronic instruments to detect the operating status of the circuit... i understand the principles, but the actual operation is not easy. simple, but with repeated mistakes, a strong sense of frustration surged into my heart. after realizing my shame and gaining courage, i decided to humbly ask everyone for advice and learn to improve my ability to perform my duties.

in the following days, the squad leader taught me over and over again, and my comrades also continued to encourage me and patiently practiced with me. in each mission, i became more and more proficient in operating equipment, and my sense of accomplishment and responsibility increased day by day. i feel more and more that on this small island, i can still bloom youth and realize the value of life.

after an educational lecture and listening to the touching deeds of "model of the times" wang jicai on guarding the island, i was deeply moved by his spirit of patriotism and dedication, and the belief in my heart became more firm: "wherever you take root, fight wherever you are, and you must defend the motherland." this territory!”

during this time, the squad leader always used the opportunity of line patrol to take me to the top of the mountain to practice flag raising. along the way, everyone sang "song of the yellow sea outpost" composed by the company's officers and soldiers. i touched the five-star red flag in my backpack and felt extremely excited, as if there was a heavy mission on my shoulders.

in the early morning of october 1st, i stood on the top of the mountain, pulling the rope to the rhythm of the national anthem, watching the five-star red flag rising slowly and fluttering in the wind, and tears overflowed uncontrollably.

the autumn sky was clear and the sea breeze brought the sound of distant sirens. i faced the ships at sea and saluted with a solemn military salute. at this moment, the majestic melody of "song of the yellow sea outpost" sounded in my mind again: "defend sovereignty, i have the coastal defense fortress; i will not give up an inch of land, and i swear to protect the mountains and rivers of the motherland..."

(compiled by fu kang and pla reporter wu anning)

(this article was published in the "grassroots fax" edition of "the people's liberation army daily" on october 2, 2024; cover photo source: the people's liberation army daily)

editor: su pei

source: people's liberation army daily wechat