In 1998, the children of a seriously ill elderly man approached the head of the 47th Army, who said that his father was Zhang Guofu, a special combat hero that the army had been looking for for many years. My father was now seriously ill, but the family was poor, and they really couldn't afford to pay for my father's medical treatment, so they had no choice but to find the old chief, hoping to get help from the army.
At this time, the leaders of the General Political Department learned that the original combat hero who had disappeared for more than 40 years was still alive, and he who had made great achievements in battle would now fall to the point that he could not even get the operation fee.
Therefore, the leadership decided: Immediately send Comrade Zhang Guofu to Beijing 301 Hospital, and set up a special medical team to treat him specially.
Zhang Guofu's life is full of legends, he was born at the age of 16 to capture the enemy lieutenant general, at the age of 19 he was named a special combat hero, and once accepted Chairman Mao's invitation to attend a family banquet. At the age of 20, he entered the Korean War, and the whole company was killed, leaving him alone to hold the position for seven days and eight nights.
But it was such an honor-filled fighting hero who, in times of peace, refused all the honors given by the organization. He did not seek dignitaries and dignitaries, took the initiative to fade the aura of heroism, and even hid his name, hoping that people would forget him.
Zhang Guofu was born in 1931 to a peasant family in Yushu County, Jilin Province, and from the warlord melee to the Japanese invasion of northeast China, the people here have not had a good day. Zhang Guofu's father hoped that one day the country would be rich and strong, and the people could live and work in peace and contentment, so he named his children "Guofu".
Because his family was poor and still owed foreign debts, Zhang Guofu helped his family to work from an early age, helping others to herd cattle and do chores to earn some wages. In those days, Zhang Guofu carried water, herded cattle, and cleaned during the day, slept in the cowshed at night, and got up to work every day before dawn.
Although life was very hard, Zhang Guofu felt very down-to-earth and very happy, because at his employer's house, he met a good friend, Renzi.
She has a good temper and a kind heart, and often quietly stuffs Zhang Guofu with small snacks, sometimes a baked potato, sometimes a candy. Zhang Guofu even felt that it was good to work in her family for a lifetime.
But fate pushed him forward
After Zhang Guofu's sister was looked at by the local bullies, she had to marry her. The sister resisted death and ran away, but the bully threw his anger on Zhang Guofu's father's head and arrested him.
It was not until he was imprisoned for more than a year that his father was released, and such a change made Zhang Guofu wake up to the fact that if he wanted to avenge his father and support his family, he had to find a place where he could truly make decisions for the people.
So Zhang Guofu joined the army, and at this time, overthrowing the Kuomintang reactionaries became the simplest idea for Zhang Guofu to join the army.
Before leaving, Zhang Guofu said goodbye to Lianzi, and he said the words that had been hidden in his heart, "Lianzi, brother is gone, you don't think about me, in case I am glorious, you can put me in your heart." Renko blushed and said, "I will always bless you, you must come back soon, don't forget me." ”
In this way, Zhang Guofu entered the recruit team. Due to his long-term farming, his physical fitness is very good, coupled with his willingness to endure hardships and is not afraid of tiredness, he soon stands out in the training of recruits.
In many trainings, Zhang Guofu's results are the first place, which gives him greater confidence in himself.
In 1947, the People's Liberation Army launched an offensive against the Kuomintang forces entrenched in the northeast. Zhang Guofu's unit was responsible for attacking Jiangmi Peak in the north of Jilin City, which was dangerous and easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Kuomintang troops attached great importance to this stronghold, because as long as it was held here, the People's Liberation Army could not enter Jilin City.
Kuomintang Lieutenant General Zhao Bozhao personally sat down and led heavy troops to guard the place. Due to topographical factors, the PLA fought this battle very hard, and the first echelon launched several charge attempts, but they were unsuccessful. Seeing that the casualties of our army were so heavy, and hundreds of soldiers paid the price of their lives after several impacts, Zhang Guofu was both sad and anxious.
The battalion commander was sacrificed, the company commander was also sacrificed, and Zhang Guofu, who was the leader of the combat group, decided to make a dangerous move, and he asked the platoon commander to fight: they must be removed from their command post, I rushed up with a grenade, and you covered me with firepower.
With that, he threw himself on the ground, crawling forward while looking for a hidden place.
Under the cover of the artillery fire of his comrades, he dodged the enemy's attack and approached the enemy command post with a loudspeaker. Next to the bunker, he first threw a grenade into it, and then took advantage of the smoke.
He rushed straight into the command post with a grenade.
As soon as he entered, Zhang Guofu shouted: "Lay down your weapons, or we will die together." ”
Before the people in the command post could wake up from the chaos they had just experienced, they saw a small soldier with a grenade and rushing in.
The people in the command post were frightened, and they had to raise their hands and surrender.
When the headquarters fell, the troops outside were naturally left unattended, and the entire defensive line was suddenly thrown into chaos. The Kuomintang troops were soon defeated, and the People's Liberation Army successfully conquered Jiangmifeng.
In this battle, our army won a great victory and captured the enemy headquarters, including Lieutenant General Zhao Bozhao and several others. Zhang Guofu, who had only been in the army for half a year, remembered his great deeds once because of his courage and strategy, and he was only 16 years old at this time.
Zhao Bozhao was afraid that he would never have imagined that he would be captured by a fledgling creep. After the war, the "Mengjin Bao" reported zhang Guofu's deeds of capturing the enemy lieutenant general alive, and Zhang Guofu immediately became a celebrity of the independent third division.
If this time Zhang Guofu is a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, coupled with good luck, then in the next Liaoshen Campaign, Zhang Guofu once again staged this familiar scene.
In September 1948, Chairman Mao ordered that the Kuomintang troops must not be allowed to escape from the northeast. The Liaoshen Campaign to liberate the northeast officially began, and when liao yaoxiang's troops were attacked, Zhang Guofu's troops were near the Hu family shack, and the two sides launched a fierce attack. Due to the fierce fire of the enemy, the Platon's dozens of charges ended in failure.
At this moment, when the troops once again blew the charge trumpet,
Zhang Guofu once again quietly touched the vicinity of the enemy's command post, and similar to the previous situation, Zhang Guofu threw a grenade into the enemy's command post.
The enemy commander was immediately overwhelmed by fright, and in the end, the People's Liberation Army successfully captured the Hu family shack.
Although it is somewhat regrettable that Liao Yaoxiang was not in the command post at that time, the victorious conquest of the Hu family shack accelerated the collapse of Liao Yaoxiang's troops. In the words of the US military experts, this is like a "hand of God" action, which is a stroke of God sent to Higashino.
After the war, the division commander happily praised Zhang Guofu as a "little hero", and at this time, Zhang Guofu was only 17 years old.
After the founding of New China, Zhang Guofu ushered in the most brilliant moment of his life, at the Heroic Congress held in Beijing in 1950,
78 special combat heroes were selected from the million army, and Zhang Guofu was one of them.
After the conference, the crowd took a group photo with the chairman, and because of his short stature, Zhang Guofu was arranged to the front row. Chairman Mao also personally pulled Zhang Guofu out of the crowd and asked him to stand with Premier Zhou Enlai and compare his height, which made Zhang Guofu nervous.
Looking at this young special combat hero, Chairman Mao couldn't help but feel curious, so he asked him: "Little comrade, how old are you this year?" Zhang Guofu replied nervously: "I am 19 years old this year." When the chairman knew that the little comrade in front of him was the little hero who had destroyed Liao Yaoxiang's headquarters, he was very happy, and together with several other bosses, he talked with Zhang Guofu for a long time before leaving.
The next day, Chairman Mao set up a family banquet to entertain four comrades among the special combat heroes, including Zhang Guofu.
At the moment of receiving the notice, Zhang Guofu couldn't believe his ears, this was a family banquet personally invited by Chairman Mao, what a great honor.
At the family banquet, Chairman Mao told the soldiers not to be polite, and to regard this place as their home, the founding of New China, you have made tremendous contributions, you are all heroes of New China. After eating, Chairman Mao also told them that in the future, they should continue to study, work hard, and strive to make new contributions.
Zhang Guofu excitedly assured Chairman Mao that he would continue to work hard in the future to make greater contributions to New China.
Many years later, Zhang Guofu still deeply remembers this scene in his heart, and every time he recalls this family banquet, he is excited, it is a glorious moment that he has remembered all his life.
However, not long after the time of peace, Zhang Guofu once again ushered in the opportunity to fight. On the Korean battlefield, the United Nations army led by the United States, in disregard of our opposition, brazenly crossed the 38th Line and burned the flames of war to our northeast border. In October, Chinese volunteers crossed the Yalu River to resist aggression with the Korean people.
Zhang Guofu's 47th Army entered Korea in April 1951, and two months later, the 47th Army was ordered to the Linjin River area to participate in the blockade against the Unjung Summer and Autumn Offensive. In October, the U.S. military launched a larger autumn offensive.
The U.S. army mobilized about 6 regiments of troops, placed hundreds of cannons on a mountain peak of just 4 kilometers, and their commander told the artillerymen: "This autumn offensive, there is no restriction on artillery shells, you can fire at will." ”
In this blockade, Zhang Guofu's task of the second battalion and five companies of the 420 regiment was to hold a nameless high ground.
At this time, no one would have imagined that the battle on this high ground would be so fierce, even more brutal than the battle of Shangganling, which was well known to posterity.
The enemy launched heavy attacks, dozens of aircraft took turns bombing, hundreds of cannons fired shells incessantly, and even used chemical weapons. In the eyes of the enemy, under such a fire attack, it is impossible to leave a living mouth on the other side.
But whenever they launched a charge, there would be Chinese volunteers who did not know where to come from, and they would fight back.
The battle was extremely fierce, and for Zhang Guofu, these few days were as long as a lifetime.
He watched his comrades fall one by one, hit by stray bullets and wounded by artillery.
No one flinched, even if there were only 10 people left in the company at this moment, everyone still held their positions. The enemy blew up the telephone line, the company could not get in touch with the regimental headquarters, and the food and water had long been used up.
In the end, the enemy's blockade of the high ground was even tighter, and Zhang Guofu was left with the comrades-in-arms of the whole company, but even so, he still held on to the position, and for seven days and eight nights, he forced the enemy to stop under the high ground.
Finally, the enemy retreated, and Zhang Guofu was seriously wounded.
He crawled back to the regimental headquarters command post covered in blood, and when he saw his comrades, he used his last strength and said hoarsely: "All sacrificed, on the position..." Before he could finish speaking, he passed out.
Zhang Guofu, who was seriously injured, was transferred back to China for treatment and recuperation in Changchun City. A year later, Zhang Guofu, who had recovered, returned to the army and was sent to the Hengyang Military Academy in Hunan Province for further study. Zhang Guofu was often arranged to make a report on the hero of the battle in the school, and everyone's eyes once again focused on him.
The hero's aura was so dazzling, even in such a short period of time, Zhang Guofu received countless letters from all over the country. But Zhang Guofu himself was not very happy, whenever the night was quiet, he would always think of the comrades who died on the position, the roar of the cannon, like raindrops of gunfire, always ringing in his ears.
So Zhang Guofu ended his studies at the military academy in advance.
He wanted to return to his hometown, to Renko's side, to find inner peace. "I should go back and give up the opportunity to learn."
The head of the unit was surprised when he received his application for a transfer, he did not understand that such a young combat hero, the future of the future is unlimited, why should he give up so easily?
But Zhang Guofu said:
Our comrades-in-arms were sacrificed, and only I survived, which is already a great fortune. How can I still have the face to enjoy the honor of the country by sacrificing the light of my comrades-in-arms?
I want to go home and work as a farmer, and I want to continue to build a new China, as I promised Chairman Mao. To be a self-reliant person is worthy of the country and worthy of my comrades-in-arms. ”
The head of the unit was impressed by him, so he stopped dissuading him and approved his application, so Zhang Guofu returned to his hometown. The local government knew Zhang Guofu's heroic identity and attached great importance to him, and they wanted to arrange for Zhang Guofu to work in the county office.
But Zhang Guofu felt that he could only do farm work and how could he do the work of the organs, so he refused. He didn't want to bother the government and decided to find a suitable job for himself. Not long after, he read in the newspaper that the Hegang Mining Bureau was recruiting workers, especially the urgent recruitment of firefighters.
Zhang Guofu felt that this job was very suitable for him, so he found the help of the local government for the first time and issued a letter of certification to "support the construction of mining areas".
At the same time, he changed his name to "Zhang Guofu". When the country needs it, he can give up his life and forget his death, and now that the world is at peace, he hopes to be able to hide his identity and live a peaceful life.
In this way, the hero disappeared, and Zhang Guofu entered the Hegang Mining Bureau and became a firefighter. He worked in this position for three years, after which he was assigned to a new post by the unit, responsible for escorting gunpowder.
At that time, the work of escorting gunpowder was very difficult, from the field to Hegang, it took several days to stay with the raw materials of gunpowder, the summer was hot, the winter was cold, and many people were reluctant to do this job.
His wife didn't understand him either, but Zhang Guofu felt that he was a soldier, and if even I was afraid of hardship and wanted to escape, then ordinary people would not be more unwilling. If everyone is like this, then who will build China in the future?
In this way, Zhang Guofu took his wife and children and lived here peacefully. For a long time, their family of seven was crammed into a small house of more than ten square meters.
No one knows that there is a special combat hero hidden here.
When Zhang Guofu's children grew up, they only knew that their father had once been a soldier. But on weekdays, when my father watched the "Shangganling" movie played on TV, he couldn't help but sob, and finally burst into tears. The children felt that the father should not be as simple as he had fought, as he himself said.
During a fortuitous business trip, Zhang Guofu's youngest daughter Dong Ni came to Xi'an, where her father said that the old 47th Army was stationed, and she decided to visit the honor room of the army.
The person in charge of receiving her accompanied her to check the information of that year, but did not find Zhang Guofu's name. But propagandists told her that their unit had a national special combat hero named Zhang Guofu, but unfortunately lost contact.
Looking at the hero's picture, Tony was stunned, this is the father.
After returning home, she told her family that Zhang Guofu's secrets that had been hidden for many years were exposed, and he took out the military medals he had treasured for many years and told the children his story.
But after speaking, Zhang Guofu hoped that his family could keep this secret with him, because he felt that
These military medals are not only their own, but also countless comrades-in-arms who have sacrificed, which is their common honor.
He did not want the troops to find him again, he just wanted to be a laborer in a down-to-earth manner, a person worthy of the dead comrades-in-arms, worthy of the cultivation of the party and the people.
After listening to Zhang Guofu's words, the whole family was red-eyed, they did not expect that their ordinary father was so great, and the children agreed to his request, and they wanted to let the father who had worked all his life enjoy the blessings.
Unfortunately, the sky did not go according to people's wishes, but after retirement, Zhang Guofu's body had problems.
He began to cough incessantly, and went to the hospital many times to be cured. Yes, the smoke from the battlefield left a hidden danger in his body, and then a long period of exposure to gunpowder caused serious damage to his lungs.
In 1997, he began to cough up blood, and after being sent to the hospital, he was confirmed to be lung cancer after examination. After being treated in Hegang for more than half a year, Zhang Guofu's condition did not improve in the slightest, but became more serious. The children wanted to send him to Beijing for treatment, but at that time, several children were laid off, and they could not afford to pay for the treatment.
Zhang Guofu also knows that the cost of surgery is very high
He felt that he had lived enough, so don't cure it, don't drag the children down,
But the children believe that even if they smash pots and sell iron, they must cure their fathers. It's just that such a large amount of money is really difficult to make, a penny is difficult to defeat the hero, in desperation, they had to go against their father's will, found the army, hoping to get help.
After receiving the news, the 47th Army immediately verified Zhang Guofu's identity.
It turned out that this combat hero, who had disappeared for more than forty years, was actually still alive, and he had never made any demands on the organization all his life, and now he did not even have the money to treat his illness.
After hearing zhang Guofu's legendary experience, the leaders of the General Political Department immediately decided to take him to Beijing and send him to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army and enjoy the treatment of deputy division.
However, after the identification of the expert group, everyone found that Zhang Guofu's pleura had been so thick that it was unimaginable that it was impossible to find any effective treatment plan, and only conservative treatment could be found.
Subsequently, Zhang Guofu's old superior also came to the ward to visit this critically ill hero. The comrade of the Political Department lay down in front of his bed and asked him softly:
"Old hero, you're home. If you have any requests, just say it, don't be embarrassed, if it doesn't work, let the children say it. ”
But Zhang Guofu shook his head, and he said in a weak tone: "I only have one request." The comrade in the Political Department nodded, waiting for him to continue.
Only to hear Zhang Guofu say in a gentle voice, word by word: "Hope... We... Party and... country... Well..." His tone was so calm, but so powerful, that just a few words made everyone in the ward blush.
These are soldiers who have been in the battlefield for a long time, and they can't help but shed tears at this time, they feel great admiration and pride for this combat hero of that year, this is the hero of the people.
The hero Zhang Guofu lay on the hospital bed, shaking his hands, and gave the last military salute to his comrades who came to see him, and then bid farewell to the world.