Yesterday, the history inn introduced Li Yannian, a famous general of the Kuomintang army, who experienced hundreds of battles and made countless meritorious contributions during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but was later sentenced to 10 years in prison by Chiang Kai-shek.
In fact, in our army, there is also a person named Li Yannian, although the battle merit is not comparable to that Li Yannian, but the honor is still excessive, in 2019 just awarded the first batch of "Republic Medal".
Born in 1928 in Changli County, Hebei Province, Li Yannian only joined the army in 1945, so he did not participate in the War of Resistance Against Japan, but in the War of Liberation, the Suppression of Bandits in the Southwest, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he was awarded the honorary title of "Hero of the First Class" after repeatedly making meritorious contributions.
Especially during the Period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, on July 20, 1951, the first battalion of the US ace cavalry division captured the 346 highlands, and the task of recovering this highland fell to Li Yannian.
Li Yannian knew that the opposite side was the Ace unit of the US Army, and if it was tough, there was no chance of victory at all, and it was necessary to fight a clever battle! Therefore, Li Yannian decided to attack at night.
Taking advantage of the night, Li Yannian led his troops to quietly touch the us army's high ground, hit the US army by surprise, and won a complete victory.
However, the US military mobilized artillery and tanks and launched a wild bombardment of the highlands, and Li Yannian vowed not to retreat, led the troops to repulse more than a dozen attacks of the US army, and built a great wall of steel on the 346 high ground with flesh and blood, and finally let the US army retreat without success!
In 1983, Li Yannian received a notice from the organization and resigned from the position of deputy political commissar of the Border Defense Division. After Li Yannian received the notice, he immediately handed over the work to his colleagues in the army and began to pack his own luggage.
When recalling this period of history, Li Yannian said: "At the beginning, some people also privately came to me and said that I was a combat hero, and I should use this status to make demands, to be a cadre for a few more years, or to let the organization promote it." But I solemnly refused, I said that when there is a war, wherever the party commands, we will fight, and now that we are older, the party will let us rest, and we will rest, which is the duty of a soldier. ”
After leaving retirement, Li Yannian did not idle, but has always insisted on reading books and newspapers, his wife once said: "Our old Li is chanting the six words 'live to be old and learn to be old' every day, every day to read, read newspapers, but also often get some small pieces of paper, saying that they are their own handwriting, so that the bedroom, living room is full of pieces of paper, very messy." ”
What is even more valuable is that after Li Yannian retired, he also donated all the medals he won in various battles to the military museum free of charge. Moreover, in ordinary life, Li Yannian never showed off his heroic deeds to others, and few people knew his honors.
In addition, in the 1998 flood and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Li Yannian also donated his own strength, and also organized his old comrades-in-arms to donate money to the children in the mountains of Guangxi who had difficulty going to school every month.
On September 17, 2019, the state announced the recipients of the first batch of "Order of the Republic", a total of 8 people:
Yu Min, Shen Jilan, Sun Jiadong, Li Yannian, Zhang Fuqing, Yuan Longping, Huang Xuhua, Tu Youyou.
At the time of the award, Li Yannian said:
"All these honors are not given to me personally, they are the praise of the state for all martyrs, and we must always remember these heroes who sacrificed for new China."
Of these 8 people, only Li Yannian and Zhang Fuqing were soldiers, and when they were separated, Li Yannian shook Zhang Fuqing's hand and said:
"For the sake of the party, for the sake of those comrades-in-arms who sacrificed, for the sake of our next generation, we must continue to fight until we are 100 years old, and we are more willing to hand over everything to the motherland."