The Black Hawk, which operates in the alpine, valley and jungle regions of Tibet, has a changeable climate and is highly prone to accidents.
On June 16, 1991, the Lunar Dragon Boat Festival, on this day, Lieutenant General Zhang Taiheng, then commander of the Chengdu Military Region, Lieutenant General Zhang Defu, deputy commander of the Military Region, and Lieutenant General Hou Shujun, deputy commander of the Military Region and commander of the Air Force of the Military Region, led the working group to investigate along the China-Nepal border. After inspecting the Zhangmu Border Crossing Border Company on the China-Nepal border, the working group plans to continue its inspection from Nelam to Shigatse and return home from the three "Black Hawk" helicopters that were boarded in Nelam. Commander Zhang Taiheng and others took the first helicopter piloted by Xing Xigui's crew; Deputy Commander Zhang Defu and others took the second helicopter piloted by Guo Fengren's crew; Deputy Commander Hou Shujun and others took the third helicopter piloted by Hu Dianyuan's crew. The first and third helicopters took off south one after another to fly in the valley, and the second helicopter suddenly encountered downdraft during take-off, and unfortunately crashed into the mountain in the process of turning 180 degrees to the right, and all 13 people on board were killed. The dead included Lieutenant General Zhang Defu, Senior Colonel Mao Haiqing, chief of staff of the Tibet Military Region (the order for the promotion of major general had just been issued but had not yet been issued), the four second-level ministers and vice ministers of the Chengdu Military Region, as well as staff officers and officers, captain Guo Fengren, co-pilot Aro, and air mechanic Li Xiantong. There are 2 generals, 6 school officers, 4 lieutenant officers and 1 non-commissioned officer.
Lieutenant General Piding
Lieutenant General Zhang Defu is also the second lieutenant general in the history of our army who died in a plane crash; the first is Lieutenant General Pi Dingjun, former commander of the Lanzhou Military Region and commander of the Fuzhou Military Region. On July 7, 1976, he was killed in a helicopter crash while directing military exercises in Fujian at the age of 62.
Lieutenant General Zhang Defu
Zhang Defu, born in 1928, is a native of Wendeng, Shandong. He joined the Eighth Route Army in June 1944 and the Communist Party of China in April 1945. He successively served as deputy squad leader, squad leader, platoon leader, company commander of the Northeast Democratic United Army, rotation training team leader, and deputy battalion commander of the Fourth Field Army. He participated in the battles of Anhai, Xinkailing, Sibao Linjiang, Liaoshen, Pingjin, and Hengbao, and was wounded 6 times. He fought bravely, commanded decisively, and made great contributions 7 times. In 1946, he was named a model of combat in the Battle of Anhai. From June 1950 to September 1952, he was a cadet at Central South Military and Political University. Since October 1952, he has successively served as the chief of staff, deputy regimental commander, regimental commander, division chief of staff, and deputy division commander of the 121st Division of the 41st Army. He was awarded the Order of Liberation of the Third Class. He was awarded the rank of major in 1955 and promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1962. In October 1968, he was appointed commander of the 123rd Division of the 41st Army, commander of the 141st Division of the 47th Army in April 1969, deputy commander of the 47th Army in June 1970, and commander of the Army in April 1978. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1980. In July 1985, he was appointed second deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Region. He was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General in September 1988. He was killed in a helicopter crash on June 16, 1991, at the age of 62.
In May 1988, the Black Hawk helicopter of our army crashed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Zhang Defu grew up poor, and when he was 14 years old, his father worked long-term labor for the landlord and died of exhaustion. At the age of 16, Zhang Defu, who was herding cattle, encountered a unit, and a platoon leader asked him if he wanted to be a soldier to fight devils, and he followed the team without saying a word. On the third day of joining the army, Zhang Defu fought a vicious battle with the Japanese army with his team. Because of his bravery in battle, he joined the army for less than half a year, and he became a squad leader. After that, Zhang Defu successively participated in major battles such as Liaoshen, Pingjin, Hengbao, and the liberation of Guangxi. Although his position was constantly promoted and he was injured many times, Zhang Defu still led by example, and in the battles of Sanxia Jiangnan, Sibao Linjiang, Tashan Blockade, Anhai, Benxi and other battles, he always charged forward, and the company he led was awarded the titles of "Shrine Mountain Company", "Steel Eighth Company", "Iron Hero" and other titles, and also won the collective first class merit; He himself has been honored with seven major meritorious deeds and seven small meritorious deeds, and has been rated as a "combat hero" and "combat model", and has won the Northeast Democratic Bravery Medal, the Northeast People's Liberation Army Bravery Medal and the Third Class Liberation Medal.
Zhang Defu not only charged forward when he fought, but also had both wisdom and courage and commanded decisively. In the Battle of Sibao Linjiang, Zhang Defu led his soldiers to repulse nine consecutive enemy charges. Zhang Defu's wife, Shen Shu, said: "The last company of people was sacrificed, there were only two people left, he was the company commander, and there was a cook, the bullets were all gone, there was no way, and finally the enemy rushed up again, but the troops behind them did not yet support them, in order to defend the mountain, after the Kuomintang soldiers rushed up, he asked the cookers to bring the cauldron for the troops to cook, the kind of cauldron that used to march, black and big, fell down from the mountain, fell very loudly, ping-pong ping-pong rolled down the mountain, the Kuomintang soldiers thought that what new weapons were coming." When the enemy was retreating, reinforcements came from behind, saved them, and saved the hill. ”
Zhang Defu
In 1952, the Kuomintang Homecoming Group occupied Nanpeng Island on the southern coast, and did nothing wrong on the island. Our army decided to retake Nam Phong Island. Shen Shu: "At that time, Zhang Defu was the chief of staff of the regiment, and the superior instructed them to demote them to a post to fight, he was the chief of staff, so he led a battalion, he became the battalion commander, the battalion commander was the company commander, the company commander was the platoon leader, the platoon leader was the squad leader, and so on. When they went there, the Kuomintang homecoming regiment knew that our reinforcements were coming, so they fled. After discovering that the enemy had fled, Zhang Defu led their battalion to run and charge, ran 30 miles to charge up, and captured more than a dozen prisoners..."
In order to improve his own quality, Zhang Defu attaches great importance to learning. After liberation, he successively studied at the Military and Political University of the Central South Military Region and the Beijing Military Academy. Since he had never read a book since he was a child, Zhang Defu cherished the rare learning opportunity, and graduated with full honors in every study, and won the title of "Learning Model". Zhang Defu not only grasped the study himself, but he also strictly demanded that the commanders and fighters "grasp the training while grasping the study." Whether he was the commander of the "Tashan Garrison Hero Regiment" of the 41st Army, or the commander of the 110th Division of the 47th Army and the commander of the 47th Army, he warned everyone: Only in this way can we rush, defend, and live hard when we start a war.
Zhang Defu governed the army strictly, selflessly with an iron face, and he also adhered to principles for his family and did not follow personal feelings. Zhang Defu's younger brother Zhang Degui: "My brother did not care about his family, once I led my son to him and wanted to become a soldier, he was the deputy commander of the Forty-seventh Army at that time, (let my son) be a soldier is no problem." As soon as I said this, he said: I can't help you with this matter, you go back to the local armed forces department to register, after passing the physical examination and political examination, the troops will naturally want you. When I heard this, I was very angry, and after only one day, I brought my son back. So many years after liberation, he went home once, and his stay was still very short. Now I understand the old man....."
Zhang Defu has a strong sense of time, and his schedule of in-depth investigation and research at the grassroots level is always full. In 1985, Zhang Defu was transferred to the deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Region, responsible for military affairs and equipment. In addition to the Ali area, all other camps in the military region have left his footprints. In 1990, Zhang Defu was transferred to the Chengdu Military Region as deputy commander. In less than 14 months, more than 8 months were conducted at the grassroots level, and most of the areas of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Tibet were carried out. In May 1991, he came to the Tibetan border frontier and participated in the engineering survey with illness in the cold and lack of oxygen. Lieutenant General Hou Shujun, former deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Region and commander of the Air Force, said: "The main advantages of this man are that he is simple, loyal, and practical. He was not in good health, and when he went to Tibet according to the actual requirements, his physical condition could not go; he went to Tibet to conduct a war readiness investigation, investigate the military situation on the front line and the construction of the future battlefield. On June 16, 1991, Zhang Defu unfortunately died on the first line of the frontier Neram.
The organization gave Zhang Defu a very high salary, and on June 27, 1991, the Central Military Commission posthumously recognized Zhang Defu as a revolutionary martyr. Zhang Defu's death, the wife is very sad, but she is also proud of having such a husband, she wrote four poems according to her husband's name: a lifetime of struggle, merit will last; The north and south fought wars for the benefit of the people.