"The mission is on the shoulder, and the blood is boiling. Towards Burma, step out of the country, save the honor of the country, and resolve to eradicate the enemy. "
On October 21, 2019, a 98-year-old lady, Fang Shouchun, passed away quietly in New York. Her experience in the Expeditionary Force marks the collective death of all the women who participated in the Expeditionary Force from now on.
This means that there is no longer a living "expeditionary Mulan" in the world. This female soldier was a member of the 38th Division of the New 1st Army, and her heroic deeds will always be remembered.
Fang Shouchun, born in 1920 in Changlinggang Village, Doufang Mountain, Xishui County, Hubei Province, was born beautiful, she was the savior of the wounded on the battlefield, and was known as the "Expeditionary Flower" and sharpshooter.
She invented a mine-laying method, using open and dark sentry and mine arrays, and successfully killed dozens of devil soldiers, including a lieutenant. Her heroic deeds were recognized by General Stilwell, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Forces in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, and she was awarded the rank of "Second Class Medic", which is equivalent to a lieutenant officer in a combat unit.
Although Fang Shouchun was born in a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and always dreamed of becoming a doctor who treated diseases and saved people, the outbreak of the Japanese army's full-scale war of aggression against China in 1937 made her dream come to naught.
Wuhan once became the center of China's affairs, politics and economy, and in May 1938, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on Wuhan. In order to defend Wuhan, Fang Shouchun bravely threw himself into the war and launched a heroic defensive operation with the enemy, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.
17-year-old Fang Shouchun, who served the country with enthusiasm during the Battle of Wuhan, was arranged to engage in nursing work in the 157 Military Hospital in Hengyang, Hunan Province with his medical foundation. After the Battle of Wuhan, she was transferred to the 46th Military Station on the front line and became a military doctor with the team, serving as a sergeant squad leader.
In the years that followed, Fang Shouchun traveled to multiple battlefields, experienced fierce battles firsthand, and provided medical assistance to the wounded. Her bravery and steadfastness demonstrate the fearlessness and national responsibility of the younger generation.
The No. 46 military station is located on the war-torn Changsha front, and undertakes the important task of treating the wounded and sick on the front line. A large number of wounded were transported to the station, some with broken legs, some with intestines flowing out of their stomachs, and in pain.
Here, Fang Shouchun met a 15-year-old baby soldier whose eyes were blinded by the enemy's blow up and his legs were blurred with flesh and blood. However, the child is very strong and never cries out in pain, just softly shouting "Mommy" when no one is around.
Fang Shouchun took on the task of taking care of him, staying by his side all day and night, cooling him down, and talking to him after the operation to prevent him from falling asleep. Through conversation, Fang Shouchun learned that his father died at the hands of Japanese devils, and his mother separated when he took him to escape, and they had an inextricable enmity.
Fang Shouchun is a kind-hearted doctor, and he is injuring a little soldier. However, due to the severity of his injuries, the little warrior was ultimately unable to save his life. Before he died, he asked Fang Shouchun to help him write a letter to his mother, telling his mother that he had not disgraced her and that he had avenged his father.
Fang Shouchun wept bitterly, and wrote a touching letter according to the request of the little soldier. Although his mother may never be able to see the letter, who can bear to refuse a little hero's dying wish?
In the process of writing the letter, Fang Shouchun's tears wet the letter many times, and after writing the last word, he had already stopped breathing before he could read it to the little soldier.
So, Fang Shouchun handed over the letter to the leader of the military station, and asked it to be kept with the little soldier's relics, in case the little soldier's mother looked for him in the future, this letter could also bring her some comfort and thoughts.
Despite the wars, the fall of many parts of East and Central China, the occupation of all China's coastal ports by the Japanese army, the cutting off of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway by the Japanese army, and the almost cutting off of China's access to foreign aid, Fang Shouchun still held on to his beliefs and did his part for those in need.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Yunnan-Burma Highway played an important role in the transportation of materials, and most of the international aid materials to China were transported from Myanmar to China through this road.
In order to ensure the smooth and safe passage of the Yunnan-Burma Road, the last international transportation route, the National Military Council formed the Chinese Expeditionary Force in February 1942, with a total of more than 100,000 people, to fight in Burma.
In this military operation, Fang Shouchun was transferred from the No. 46 military station to work at the Kunming Yunnan-Burma Highway Headquarters. At that time, the Chinese Expeditionary Force carried out recruitment activities in Yunnan and other places, inviting aspiring young people to participate in the war in Burma.
When Fang Shouchun heard that the Political Department of the Expeditionary Force was going to recruit a group of medical personnel to fight in Burma with the army, she did not hesitate to say that she wanted to go. The officer from the Political Department looked her up and down, then shook his head.
Seeing this scene, Fang Shouchun blushed and shouted.
Fang Shouchun, Qiu Runlan, Zhu Anna, Liu Bin, Zhang Kejing.
They were in their prime, but they resolutely put down their beautiful rouge gouache and bravely walked to a foreign battlefield full of dangers. They are ordinary women, but they are also extraordinary heroes. After undergoing rigorous training at the Ramgarh base in India, the five heroines were assigned to work at the Allied Hospital in Mgasikalef. The hospital is located in the border area between Myanmar and India, and is dominated by Indian female soldiers, as well as doctors and soldiers from the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries, and is ethnically diverse, including yellow, white, and black. Although the languages are different, some speak Chinese, some speak English or French, they all share a common wish: to fight fascism and protect peace. Despite the harsh environment, poor food and poor accommodation, these Chinese girls didn't care. They have only one belief in their hearts, and that is to do their best to heal as many warriors as possible, restore them to health, and kill more enemies!
During times of war tension, hospital guards were often staffed by medical personnel. Therefore, Fang Shouchun, a female ** from China, and female ** from other countries, must also pick up a gun on duty and stand guard for the wounded.
The Japanese army had long known that there was a hospital here, but because of the lack of a whip, they could not send a large number of troops to attack, so they could only send spies and spies to carry out covert sabotage work.
Therefore, it is very dangerous to serve as a sentry, especially at night. There was a case in the hospital where Indian female soldiers were raped and killed by Japanese spies and spies who touched them when they were on guard, and some Indian female ** were so frightened that they asked to be transferred.
However, Fang Shouchun recalled that when they arrived in Burma, General Sun Liren specially met with several of their female soldiers and said to them: "Don't be afraid of the Japanese, because we represent justice, and justice is invincible!" ”
How to fortify the outposts of the hospital to prevent female soldiers from becoming enemy targets? Fang Shouchun and the female soldiers worked out an ingenious method: set up a hidden sentry between the open and dark posts, and then planted mines between the light and dark sentry posts, and made marks that only their own side knew.
This way, even if the enemy is not detected by the outposts, they will be blocked by mines. Although the director of the Allied Hospital in Mgasikalev was a highly skilled Indian, he lacked military capabilities.
Chinese women show their courage and fearlessness and set an example for the world! Fang Shouchun and several Chinese female soldiers took the initiative to ask Ying to serve as experimenters to dispel the concerns of Indian female medical staff.
Fang Shouchun served as a secret sentry in the dark grass, holding his gun tightly, enduring the bites of mosquitoes and insects. When late night came, she accurately hit three Japanese agents, two were killed on the spot, and another tried to escape.
This action showed the courage and determination of Chinese women, and proved to the world that Chinese women are just as amazing! "
After the gunfire stopped, the dean arrived at the scene with several soldiers, and were greeted by three cold Japanese corpses. By examining the pieces of cloth sewn on the lining of his clothes, they confirmed that all three were Japanese agents, and the pistols and other items found in his pockets further confirmed this determination.
Fang Shouchun's ingenious strategy successfully ensured the safety of the hospital, allowing the medical staff to treat the wounded wholeheartedly without any accidents. This incident was highly praised by the Allied command, and Fang Shouchun was rewarded with third-class merit and reported her heroic deeds to the expeditionary force.
General Stilwell also came to the hospital in person, awarded her a medal, and was promoted to the rank of second-class doctor. In June 1944, the expeditionary force launched the Battle of Songshan, which opened the prelude to large-scale **.
Songshan Fortress was built by the Japanese Burmese Front Army, and after the fortifications were completed, the Japanese army secretly executed the people in an attempt to cover up the loopholes in the fortress. Matsuyama consisted of a main position, a middle position, and a group of seven strongholds, with a core of several fortified bunkers divided into three levels, the upper floor for firing and the lower layer for ammunition and grain storage.
The bunker was covered with steel plates 30 mm thick and covered by more than a meter of thick earth, which was difficult to destroy by artillery. The entire Songshan was hollowed out, and the underground transportation network extended in all directions, and it was called the "meat grinder" of the Japanese army, and any expeditionary force that dared to approach it would be strangled one by one.
During this battle, Matsuyama piled up a large number of corpses of Chinese soldiers, and the blood of the soldiers stained the soil red. Fang Shouchun took the initiative to sign up to join the rescue action team and became the only female member.
She fought alongside the men on the front lines, rescuing the wounded alongside paramedics.
As a military doctor, she understands that her body is very important; But as a fighter, she has long forgotten her gender. On September 7, 1944, after burning the military flag, the last Japanese troops launched a "jade crushing charge" against our army, and all of them were killed by us.
The Battle of Matsuyama was a complete victory. In the more than 90-day Battle of Songshan, Fang Shouchun rescued a total of 49 wounded, but this also left her with serious sequelae of ** disease.
After the war, Du Yuming met with Fang Shouchun, he patted her on the shoulder and said: "Fang Shouchun is not only an excellent female military doctor, but also a beautiful girl. ”
At some point after their marriage, Conway offered to take Fang Shouchun to the United States, however, Fang Shouchun rejected him for family reasons. Her father had just passed away, her brother was still a minor, and she had a grandmother who needed her care.
Although Conway went to the United States alone, Fang Shouchun decided to stay in China to take care of the elderly and raise his younger brother. Later, with the change of the situation, the founding of New China was proclaimed.
In the early 80s, when Sino-US relations were turning and Americans could come to China to invest and do business, Kang Shilin began to look for Fang Shouchun in China with her father's wishes.
After a series of twists and turns, they were finally able to reunite, and Kang Shilin also took her sister Fang Lili to study in the United States. In 1992, Fang Lili, who had already taken root in the United States, took Fang Shouchun to the United States, and since then, the old man has spent the rest of his life peacefully in the United States.
When Fang Shouchun's niece visited him in the United States, he gave her the medal he had received on the battlefield in Burma and asked her to take it back to China to donate. Sadly, the great warrior passed away peacefully at the age of 98 on October 21, 2019, at his home in New York.