The wind and smoke are billowing and singing heroes
——Reading "China-Laos Friendship Building a Monument".
Author / Defense Warrior
In the early 70s of the last century, a little boy wearing a red scarf, looking at a team, pulling anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, as well as various road construction machinery and heavy vehicles, drove towards the southern border area. What kind of team is this? Where are they going?
When the little boy grew up, he learned that this was a fighting unit that went abroad to help Laos and resist the United States.
This little boy is me. When I grew up, I began to pay attention to this period of history because of my work, constantly searching for information about this history, and actively writing a commemorative text for the meritorious deeds and heroic sacrifices of my predecessors in that war. However, I searched all the publishing units, even foreign publishing institutions, and could not find a complete introduction to the written materials of the struggle to aid Laos and resist the United States, which took place in the sixties and seventies of the last century, and more than 50 years have passed leisurely. I could only learn some information from casual conversations with veterans of the armed forces who had gone abroad, memoirs, and articles published on the Internet and in books and periodicals, but they were too fragmentary and not comprehensive enough. No matter how the international situation and state-to-state relations change, the history of aiding Laos and resisting the United States is an objective fact, and the veterans of the Laos Aid Force will not forget it, and the Lao people will not forget it.
Later, I got a historical monograph written by Mr. Cha Chunjin from my comrades-in-arms in Xiangchang, "Building a Monument to the Friendship between China and Laos", and I felt that the writing was smooth, the story was fascinating, and the pictures were inserted in it.
Through "Building a Monument to China-Laos Friendship", we learned that in an era of extreme national difficulties, we extended a helping hand to our neighbors who were ravaged by imperialist hegemony and fulfilled our obligations as a major country.
From 1964 to 1984, in order to support the Lao people's struggle to resist US aggression and save the country, the mainland set up a total of 110,000 troops from the major military regions and branches of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to aid Laos, including the army, air force, engineering troops, railway troops, and the Second Artillery Corps.
After all, fighting on foreign soil is different from fighting in one's own territory, where military supplies are completely dependent on oneself, and not a single grass or tree can be moved, and our officers and men are faced with many difficulties unimaginable to ordinary people; in the tropical jungles, they brave the frenzied bombing of enemy planes, the attacks of reactionary forces on the ground, and the attacks of bison, elephants, tigers, leopards, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and other animals, fighting and building roads at the same time.
The construction of six two-lane highways with a total length of more than 760 kilometers has made great contributions to the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Lao people to get rid of the interference of foreign forces, and has laid a good foundation for jointly building today's "Belt and Road", promoting regional economic development and enhancing China-Laos friendship.
In this sense, our road-building troops should be the pioneers of the "Belt and Road" construction.
Mr. Chunjin was born in Weishan County, Yunnan Province in 1943 in a Yi peasant family, joined the army in 1960, entered the military academy in 1964, majored in foreign languages, and successively participated in the Sino-Burmese border survey operation; aiding Laos in the war against the United States; In major battles such as self-defense and counter-attack operations, he has grown from a cowherd baby in the mountains to an outstanding cadre of our army. After changing jobs, he entered the Maitreya Red River Tobacco Factory as the chairman of the trade union.
Like many veterans, when he took off his military uniform, Mr. Chunjin would often think of the kapok blooming in the southern jungle and the arbor rhododendrons all over the mountains, as well as the clear river water, and the villages covered by coconut groves, betel nuts, bananas, and phoenix bamboos.
After retiring, Mr. Chunjin spent a lot of time looking for information on aiding the old and resisting the United States, visiting comrades-in-arms to recall the fighting years of aiding the old and resisting the United States, perhaps because he saw the diligence and perseverance of Mr. Chunjin, many veterans who entered the old age encouraged him to write out the past experience and leave it to future generations, and everyone hoped to be able to see their own youthful experience full of gunpowder in their lifetime.
During the War of Aid to Laos and the United States, Mr. Chunjin served as a translator in three anti-aircraft artillery divisions and an engineer battalion. His special work position enabled him to frequently go deep into various units and the villages where the troops were stationed, and he had contact with people from both the Chinese side and the Lao side, as well as the heads of command headquarters and officers and men at the grassroots level. His comrades-in-arms, including some leaders, said to him: "Chunjin, you have lived in a military academy with a high level of education, and you have worked beside the head of an organ, and you have a lot of information. ”
Teacher Chunjin did not forget the entrustment of his comrades-in-arms, and devoted himself to the research of historical materials on aiding the elderly and resisting the United States. In the process of writing this book, he not only consulted a large number of historical materials, but also went deep into Laos many times, returned to the place where he fought to verify the relevant historical materials, covering the political, military and diplomatic struggles of the 10 years (1968-1978) of the war to aid Laos and resist the United States. He spliced together the memory fragments in his brain about aiding Laos and resisting the United States with the oral accounts of his comrades-in-arms, and showed the hardships and sacrifices of surveying and mapping, road construction, bridge building, air defense operations, ground guard operations, and logistical support and support in the form of words and pictures to the readers, and also used a lot of space to introduce the century-old royal family of Laos, the political economy, natural scenery, military factions, and the historical background of aiding Laos and resisting the United States, so that we can understand the national conditions of Laos, and the historical background and far-reaching significance of aiding Laos and resisting the United States.
Through the author's personal experience of aiding the elderly for ten years, the book vividly and touchingly records every unforgettable battle, every unforgettable event experience, and those exotic scenery that repeatedly appeared in his dreams. It is precisely because of his kind of thinking day and night, morning and night, that his words and pictures have a strong sense of vividness, so vivid that they can bring people back to reality. Therefore, my evaluation of the book "Building a Monument to China-Laos Friendship" is a document that integrates historical authenticity and literary readability.
The value of historical documents is that it is more important to restore history as much as possible, especially the authenticity of war history. On 5 February 1970, the thirtieth anniversary of the Chinese New Year's Eve, our heroic antiaircraft artillery unit made a good start in its overseas operations, shooting down two enemy planes and damaging one, winning the first battle.
In the chapter "The Mighty Army", the author describes the process of the air battle on the Burmese Lang Bridge with delicate strokes. Before the antiaircraft artillery units were stationed, the local villagers were so frightened that they ran to the dense forest and air-raid shelters to hide when they heard the alarm of the enemy plane's attack, and they did not dare to go home until the alarm was lifted. After the antiaircraft artillery units were stationed, whenever enemy planes attacked them, they did not hide, but ran out to make a lively scene. When they saw the scene of our anti-aircraft artillery fighting in the air with the bayonets of the enemy planes, and saw the enemy planes being surrounded and beaten by the anti-aircraft artillery, the villagers pointed at the sky and kept shouting: "Kill him, kill him!" ”；“ It's dry, it's smoking! ”；“ The parachute came out, it was still pink, and he fell to death! ”；“ Ai Shen Kingman you! (Long live the Chinese brothers!) After the enemy plane fell, some villagers risked being bombed again by the enemy planes and ran to the place where the bomb exploded to pick up shrapnel wreckage, and they wanted to use the steel that the Americans gave them to make knives and farm tools. The local government also organized militia members to go up the mountains to search for the pilots of the enemy planes who had parachuted, and the mountains were full of soldiers and civilians searching for the pilots of the enemy planes, and the shouts of "Mo Ben Boka" (surrender the guns and not kill them) echoed in the jungle. This situation is really like a people's war being carried out at home. This historical data fully proves a historical proposition: We must uphold the glorious traditions of our party and our army at all times and mobilize the masses to rely on the masses, and the premise is to do everything for the masses.
In the chapter "5.14 Air Combat", the author first wrote that in the "5.5 Air Operation", after our army shot down two enemy planes, the rest of the enemy planes saw that the situation was not good, and they hurriedly threw the remaining bombs into the river and fled, and the fried river fish floated all over the river, and the local villagers were overjoyed to see the fish in the river, and they rowed all kinds of boats to the river to catch big fish, and watched the villagers humming a small tune and carrying 40 or 50 catties of big fish home, and the young anti-aircraft artillery of our army was both envious and curious, Because many warriors from mountainous villages have never seen such a big guy. Of course, the common people are happy, Mengkua is an important material transshipment hub in the north of Shangliao, and has always been the target of the US military's air blockade attack, and the US B-52 bombers have carried out coordinate bombing on Mengkua for several months, Mengkua was once a "broken wall," "full of devastation," "there is no green scorched earth everywhere," "the streets and villages are desolate, and few people are seen." After our army's antiaircraft artillery units were stationed, the enemy did not dare to attack and disturb them unscrupulously, and the common people returned to their homes one after another. The former bustle and prosperity are gradually beginning to recover.
On May 14, 1971, three batches of seven F-4 ghost fighters, flying at ultra-low altitude close to the river, raided the anti-aircraft artillery position of our Nampa River, and dropped a large number of air wave bombs, steel ball bombs, pineapple bombs, and sub-munitions, and our army's position was blown into a sea of fire, and our army's anti-aircraft guns also let out a righteous roar, and the explosion point of the shells opened out white fireworks in the air, and the plumes of smoke soared into the sky. Two enemy aircraft were shot down and one was damaged. Twenty-four officers and men of our army died bravely and were laid to rest in a foreign land. It is really because of respect for history that the author did not shy away from the cruelty of war, and the price paid in the process of adapting to it!
Subsequently, our army adjusted its air defense, won successive victories, deterred the enemy, caused the enemy to finally lose air supremacy, effectively guaranteed transport vehicles, continuously transported logistics and material resources to the front line, and the road construction project was carried out smoothly.
During US President Richard Nixon's visit to China in February 1972, Kissinger said in an interview about the situation in Laos: "Our US government has two things that we could not have imagined, one is that China has completed the construction of roads in Laos so quickly, and the other has not imagined that China's air defense forces will be so ......powerful."
In fact, what is unexpectedly is that the Chinese engineering troops not only carried out construction at great speed, but also fought with great success, and the engineering high-altitude aircraft company was flexible and fast, and the 648 Regiment shot down four enemy planes in three consecutive battles and three victories, one of which was the result of the high-altitude aircraft company of the 308 th Engineer Regiment. The details of these historical materials are very vivid and precious, and they are of great value for future research on the history of the War of Aid to Laos and the War against the United States.
In the chapter "The First Psychological War", the details of our army's-for-tat "psychological warfare" with the enemy were disclosed for the first time. The 705th Brigade, the antiaircraft artillery regiment of the 3rd Armored Tank Division of the Shenyang Military Region, was provoked by the CIA in the first battle after entering the old age, and it was a world-class psychological war. This example is of great reference significance for future research on psychological warfare in future wars.
On August 16, 1968, the engineering unit of our army went to Laos to build a road to support the Lao people's struggle to resist US aggression and save the country, and at the same time dispatched air defense troops, ground guard units, and logistics support units to cover and ensure the successful completion of the task of the engineering troops. The enemy began to spread rumors that the Chinese troops had invaded Laos, plundered the resources of the Lao people, and bullied and oppressed the Lao people. However, seeing that our army is strictly disciplined, that there is no offense in the autumn, and that the army does good things wherever they live, the enemy has taken advantage of the differences in culture and customs between China and Laos to make a fuss and distort and slander our army.
Soon after my troops entered Laos, a ridiculous and embarrassing incident occurred. The 705 Brigade stationed in Namo caught a wave (big daddy) who was peeking at the river to watch the officers and soldiers taking a bath, and after learning that it was a gossip that had been circulating in their village recently, saying that "the Chinese brother Momi has no genitals", it was very strange to hear these gossip waves, "There are only geldings and geldings in the world, how can there be geldings?" So he went everywhere to verify the matter, and others told him: "It's not that the Chinese brothers don't want women, but they don't have the ability." Before going abroad, they were all castrated. "Otherwise, why don't they look for a woman, and take a bath in a secluded place where no one is around?" Bo Tao still didn't believe it, and went to the head of the advisory group of a certain country stationed in their county to verify the matter, and the head of the advisory group did not want to see the Chinese, so he told Bo Tao: "The Chinese have very strong sexual power, and they would rather skip meals than live without women." "In the past, all the men who entered the palace to do things must be castrated, otherwise they will defile those concubines and maids in the palace." "China sends so many soldiers to you, if you don't geldle them and make trouble, their leaders will lose face." Bo Tao was still skeptical, so he ran to the river to observe and verify.
The political workers of the army explained to Bo Tao the truth that our army should observe discipline, respect national customs, and protect the interests of the people, and also told Bo Tao that the custom of Chinese is that men and women are different, and that bathing is to avoid each other, and those who spread rumors about the Chinese soldiers being gelded out are trying to smear the Chinese army and sow discord between the Chinese army and the local people. After hearing this, Bo Tao finally realized. Since then, he has propagated everywhere: "The Chinese army is very disciplined, and there is no offense in the autumn." Unlike French soldiers, Japanese soldiers, and American soldiers, they can't do without women everywhere they go, and when they can't find a young woman, even Mi Tao, who is fifty or sixty years old, will not let go. Later, with the assistance of the local government, the spies who spread rumors were found out, and the enemy's psychological war conspiracy was crushed!
"China-Laos Friendship Builds a Monument", the text is simple and unpretentious, without whitewashing and carving, and many details of the story, on the premise of maintaining factual accuracy, are written vividly and lively, full of revolutionary heroism and romanticism. The book also describes some of the situations in which the people's army under the leadership of the Lao Communist Party fought against the right-wing Lao army supported by the Americans. He also made special mention of the fact that after the end of the war, the Lao people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, healed the wounds of the war and rebuilt their homeland", corrected the erroneous practices of the ultra-left, "practiced a principled reform line", "regarded the development of productive forces as the central task", and "made friends diplomatically", stressed the situation of establishing good relations with neighboring countries, implementing the rural land contract responsibility system, developing urban industry and commerce, protecting and developing the private economy, and implementing the commercial and financial policies of "openness, competition, freedom, and legality". The study of the history of the revolutionary struggle in Laos is of reference value.
The historical materials of "Building a Monument to the Friendship between China and Laos" are strong and detailed, the stories are vivid, and there are pictures and maps to corroborate them, which provide a variety of specific historical materials for the study of this period of history.
At the same time, this book is also a red textbook that witnesses the friendship between the people of China and Laos and the deep affection between the people of all ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna and the children of the people.
Mankind is a community with a shared future, and its essence is: sharing suffering, helping the weak, resisting slavery, sharing freedom and peace, happiness and dignity, which is true internationalism. How can the friendship forged by the armies and peoples of China and Laos with blood and life be inherited and developed? How can peace and tranquility be maintained on the frontier? It is the book that raises questions that make us think about it seriously. Reading books makes people knowledgeable, reading history makes people wise, our reality today is born from history, reading this book, understanding that period of history, will help us not forget our original intention and forge ahead in the new journey of the new era.
The above is a little experience after I read "China-Laos Friendship Builds Spring and Autumn", when Mr. Chunjin was fighting bloody battles on the front line of aiding Laos and resisting the United States, I was still a little kid who didn't know anything, and I also had limitations on that period of historical research, and what I said was inappropriate, and I hope that my predecessors will correct and understand.
About author:National defense soldier (real name Duan Jinhua), male, Hani nationality, member of Yunnan Reportage Society. Born in Jiangcheng County, Yunnan Province in the mid-60s, he lived in the barracks of the Yunnan Border Defense Force since he was a child, served as a soldier in the Yunnan Armed Police Force in the 80s, and worked in the propaganda and cultural department of Xishuangbanna for a long time after retiring from the army. The chairman of the State Federation of Social Sciences (President of the State Academy of Social Sciences) occasionally touched literary writing in his spare time, and published prose essays and poems in the "People's Liberation Army Daily", "China National Daily" and "Yunnan Daily", mostly on the theme of frontier life, and the essay "I am a soldier" was selected into the "Chinese Minority Literature Series" (Hani volume).