Editor Mei Zixiang's guide:
The compilation and printing of the book "Years Like a Song of the Automobile Troupe" was supported by the family of He Ying, the political commissar of the former automobile troupe, who provided a large number of historical photos. It's a pity that Political Commissar He Ying didn't see the book and passed away. He Ying's predecessor is a veteran of the railway soldiers, and he is one of the members of the road protection army when the road protection army was established in 1946.
He Yan is the son of Political Commissar He, and he is a little regretful that he did not recall his father's life deeds. But the compound of the automobile regiment he wrote was "set up for this photo" of the army compound of that era. The daily life of the compound, the troops' exercises, watching movies, theatrical performances, the friends playing, and even the common character of the children in the compound are vividly summarized, which is also accurate and fascinating.
Jiangmen Huzi, judging from the article, Mr. He Yan is frank, sincere, and filial, and deserves to be a good descendant of his revolutionary predecessors!
Memories in the compound of the car regiment
HE Yan
Time is like a speeding wheel, running over the ravine of memory, flooding with childhood memories.
My father joined the army in 1946 and served as a soldier in the Northeast Field Army Road Guard Army and Railway Column (that is, the predecessor of the Railway Army). He participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. We grew up in the army with our parents, and under the influence of our father, we have always had a special affection for soldiers.
When I was a child, every day when my father was commuting to work, I would occasionally look at the soldiers coming in and out of the regimental headquarters and the barracks, and sometimes they had to salute each other, and the sense of majestic ceremony was in awe from the heart. Therefore, whenever I am with my father, I will always be elated, dancing hand in hand, holding his big hand, feeling down-to-earth and proud.
Every weekend or holiday, movies are shown on the playground of the regiment headquarters. After eating early, the children took up their seats in the designated area for their families and waited for their families to arrive. Watching the companies walk in neat steps, the loud singing voice pierced through the clouds and resounded in the sky. They were so imposing that they surrounded the playground in a phalanx. At that time, it was called "running film", and several units of one copy were placed in turn, and there were special fighters responsible for picking them up. Before the movie is screened, there is often a singing competition, and the singing is wave after wave, the scene is exciting, and it is not lively! The joy is indescribable, and to this day, the song still seems to linger in my ears.
There is a propaganda team at the regiment headquarters, and they often rehearse and perform, and often go in and out of the auditorium (the canteen is changed). The female soldiers pay attention to their image, stand tall and concave and hips, walk up, look good, and often attract everyone's attention. It was an era of admiring soldiers, and I was really envious, jealous and hateful. I often wonder if I could wear a military uniform one day! Because he was still young and not qualified to join the army, he could only wear a "small military uniform" modified by his father after his elimination by his mother or made of military uniform fabric, and carried a yellow satchel on his back and proudly came to school. The classmates were envious, as if they were a glorious warrior.
I like the army's art show the most, all companies send representatives to the regiment headquarters to participate in the performance, and you can watch the show every day. In the seventies, entertainment was limited, there was no television, and listening to the radio (and assembling the ore radio yourself) would be at ease.
The most fun thing is to hide and seek, kick shuttlecock, jump rubber bands, roll hoops, and play spinning tops with your friends in the courtyard...... Whenever there is a movie or performance, it is really earth-shattering and joyful. Life at that time was very simple, as long as there was a little adjustment, I felt that it was delicious and endless.
In our school, right next to the family home, there are more than 40 people in the class, one-third of whom are children of the army (and other troops), and the local classmates are very envious, because we all wear military uniforms, military hats, and yellow satchels. As a child of the army, I have somewhat bred a sense of superiority and the joy of pride.
In the compound, the service cooperative, the health center, the barber room, the guest house and other living facilities basically include, you can meet the demand without going outside, and the fish and meat are also divided during the New Year's holiday, and there is even a family factory to produce popsicles. The range of activities is relatively narrow, and there is little contact with the outside world, which has created a relatively simple personality, and is not good at dealing with complex social relationships, simple and happy. Away from the hustle and bustle of the market, he rarely catches up with local trends, and is relatively isolated from the outside world. The unification of militarization and the distribution of life have also relatively reduced the psychology of comparison between people, and they are more sincere and kind. The restraint of military discipline has also allowed us to form good habits. He is not sleek and sophisticated, upright and chivalrous, speaks straightforwardly, and does not beat around the bush. The whole hospital knows which adult and child have an accident, and they will rush to help, regardless of each other, reflecting the warmth of the big family of the army. We have the blood of soldiers in our veins, and we have maintained the fine traditions of our fathers. Until now, he has not changed his original intention.
The sound of the military horn every day is to wake up and wake up and rest late. Listening to familiar tunes from an early age makes us rely more on it. Whenever at night, when I was playing with my friends and forgot to go home, when I heard the sound of the military horn with the lights out, or someone's mother shouting loudly, I would trot and return home. The morning light had not yet turned white, and the trumpets that got up woke us up from sleep again. In the rhythm of the trumpet, we grow up......
Time is flowing quietly like water, like a melodious pastoral song, graduating from high school in a blink of an eye. Previously, my father changed jobs to work in the local area, and the family moved out of the compound. Life is like a lonely journey, and one day you will leave the protection of your parents and face the complicated world alone.
Seventeen years of military camp life have strengthened my belief and goal in life, but the moment I got the enlistment notice, I hesitated and worried. On that day, I, who had never been far away, followed my parents, and my heart was still steady. They sent me to the station, and when they parted, waving their hands, my father's neat old military uniform, his charitable face, forever fixed in the back of my mind.
My father gave me a notebook and gave him his greatest wishes. Every day, I use it to record the bits and pieces of life, and collect the joys, sorrows, and sorrows in it......
He Yan, whose ancestral home is Shenyang, Liaoning, is a Manchu, a second-generation railway soldier, born and raised in the military camp. He joined the army in December 1980 and served in the Air Force for 42 years, and was awarded the "third-class meritorious service" three times.
Source: Mei Zixiang Book House official account
Braided hair: Iron Sword