Zhang Tingfa: Born in a poor family, he went through the Red Army's Long March and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and was known as the commander of the Air Force of the Republic of China. When he was only 15 years old, the Red Army liberated his hometown of Shaxian and embarked on the revolutionary road. During the Red Army's Long March, he almost missed out on the revolutionary ranks due to illness, but was fortunately assigned to another army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as Chen Geng's subordinate, the head of the combat unit of the 386th Brigade, and the head of the teaching group and combat unit of the 385th Brigade. During his tenure in the headquarters of the 129th Division, he was highly regarded by the commander of the division and was given the opportunity to personally impart cultural knowledge and message drafting skills. Initially, he served as chief of staff in the Sixth Column, and later transferred to the chief of staff of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army. In the process, he was also severely criticized by ***. ** The army led by him encountered great difficulties shortly after it was formed. In order to reduce the burden on the people, ** ordered to minimize the use of large vehicles, however, the chief of staff, Zhang Tingfa, did not receive this instruction, and no one else conveyed the order to him.
As a result, the troops encountered heavy rain when they set off, which made the car originally used by Chief Liu Deng unable to drive, so he had to hire seven large vehicles. Anger to see that there are still big carts in use. He directly questioned Zhang Tingfa why he did not carry out his orders, and why he still did this when it was clearly forbidden to use large cars. Zhang Tingfa felt very aggrieved, and even overturned the table while eating breakfast, angrily said that he would quit and decided to go back to Handan. In Liu Deng's army, everyone knew that Deng was quite stern, and many were a little afraid. I didn't expect anyone to dare to talk back to him, which is really unbelievable. **Said to Zhang Tingfa, you are arrogant, you dare to talk back to us, I criticize you a few words, and you still have objections. Then, ** affectionately said to Zhang Tingfa that we should think about problems from the standpoint of the masses in our work, and we cannot fight alone. We must try to reduce the burden on the people, and only then will the people support us. To undermine discipline and to detach oneself from the masses is tantamount to destroying one's future!**'s enlightening remarks made Zhang Tingfa suddenly realize, and he took the initiative to admit his mistake.
**The criticism of Zhang Tingfa is out of love for him and for him to grow better. Liu Deng's army continued to march towards Dabie Mountain, while Zhang Tingfa was assigned to the Tongbai Military Region as the commander of the Third Army Division. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Tingfa entered the Air Force very early and served as the first deputy chief of staff. After that, he served in the Air Force system for one or two decades, successively serving as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, and Political Commissar of the Air Force. Until 1977, Zhang Tingfa finally became the commander of the Air Force. Looking back on Zhang Tingfa's military career, it can be found that he does not have any special background, but no matter where he is, he performs well. Zhang Tingfa is a rare military talent, who started from the grassroots level and has been tempered in many positions, winning the appreciation of Chief Liu Deng. And after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he has been serving in the air force system, knowing the air force situation well, and finally rose to the rank of commander of the air force. In 1955, Zhang Tingfa was awarded the rank of major general.
In 1985, at the age of 67, Zhang Tingfa left the leadership of the Air Force, and despite serving as Air Force commander for many years, he regretted missing out on the mass promotion in 1988 and failing to rise in rank. Until 2010, the 92-year-old Zhang Tingfa passed away.