At the National Self-improvement Model Commendation Conference in May 2019, a young soldier attracted the attention of all walks of life, only to see that his eyes were covered with a white cloth, but the standard military salute was still awe-inspiring.
More and more people want to know the story behind him, and when his past really emerges in front of everyone, people find that this young soldier is a well-deserved model of the times.
The invisible military salute.
2015 was the year of the establishment of the mine-sweeping brigade, when Du Fuguo was only 24 years old.
At this time, he was already a 5-year veteran and knew the danger of minesweeping work, but he still didn't think so much, and resolutely joined in.
Friends discovered that his screen name was changed to "Conquer the Dead Zone" and later to "Thor".
Although he is serving in the army, there is a big difference between mine clearance and any other army work, and he can be regarded as a "halfway monk".
When he first joined the mine-sweeping brigade, he scored only 32 points in the first test, ranking first in the class.
This incident hit him very hard, because minesweeping is an extremely dangerous job, and the theoretical requirements will be very high, and if he really does not meet the standard, it is very likely that he will be transferred back to the original unit.
In order to keep up with the pace as soon as possible, Du Fuguo would write all kinds of mine-sweeping knowledge into notes and cards every day, and roll the books into his trouser pocket so that he could read them anytime and anywhere.
Every night after the lights go out, everyone has rested, so he moves a bench to the corridor and continues to tutor here.
Once, he and another comrade-in-arms were in the corridor to "ask and answer" together, but they didn't expect the staff officers of the brigade to happen to pass by, and the staff officers didn't know what they were doing, and they planned to report that they did not follow the bedtime order.
Day after day, Du Fuguo's results on the results registration form of the "Fourth Minesweeping Team" got better and better, from 32 points on August 4 to 90 points on September 19.
The instructor also said to Du Fuguo: "Connect the scores into a line according to the timeline, and that is a soldier's climbing route." ”
After having solid professional skills, what Du Fuguo has to do is to prove in actual combat that the later sentence "let me come" is definitely not only caused by courage, but also has countless days and nights of Du Fuguo's efforts behind it.
The Tianbao Port in Malipo County, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, is a beautiful land with a slope of 50 degrees, an altitude of 1,400 meters, an area of 80,000 square meters, and lush trees.
The war is over, but the danger to the common people has not been lifted, and the root cause is landmines.
Pan Jinliang, a 54-year-old villager, has a sad past: in 1993 and 2016, he was injured twice by landmines while working in the grassland, losing his left and right legs respectively.
Similar examples existed in the area, continuing until the arrival of the mine-clearing brigade.
Du Fuguo chose this place precisely because he heard the suffering of the common people, and he specially wrote a letter of petition: When I learned about the tragic incidents of the villagers living in the minefield being bombed again and again, my heart could not be calm for a long time, and I felt that this would become my mission.
It's not that no one has persuaded him: "You are still so young, there is still a long way to go, you must think carefully." ”
But Du Fuguo's answer has always been very resolute: "Everyone is afraid of danger, if I don't go up, other comrades-in-arms will want to go up, and it is also my honor to be able to do something practical for the people." ”
When the mine-sweeping brigade came to this area, it also found that the difficulties and dangers encountered in reality were far beyond imagination.
In the small minefield, everyone quickly searched for nearly 100 ** objects, the kind of explosives about the size of a basin can blow up the tank to pieces almost instantly.
From 2015 to 2018, Du Fuguo entered the minefield more than 1,000 times and removed more than 2,400 ** objects.
His comrades-in-arms all knew him, and in those years, everyone heard the phrase "You stand back and let me come" many times.
This optimistic and cheerful boy, with a big smile on his face every time he successfully defuses a mine, is getting closer and closer to the oath in his heart: if the minefield is not cleared, then he will never leave this battlefield.
In September 2018, a comrade-in-arms who had completed his service once asked Du Fuguo: "Will you leave?" ”
Du Fuguo's service should have expired in December of that year, but he said to his comrades-in-arms: "The work is not finished yet, I have to leave, who else can clear mines?" ”
The accident happened on October 11, and Du Fuguo was just 27 years old this year.
On that day, Du Fuguo entered the minefield as usual, and everything was no different from the past.
The equipment on his body weighed more than 20 pounds, and in the minefield, he walked slowly, carefully searching every inch of land, even a small mine, which could cause great damage to the human body.
After about 4 hours of entering the minefield, the sound of the fighters' detectors did not stop, and everyone seemed to have become accustomed to this sound, but unexpectedly, there was a mine suddenly.
The moment he felt the shock wave, Du Fuguo subconsciously pounced on his comrades-in-arms, and the flying shrapnel hit him directly.
After that, Du Fuguo lost consciousness.
After the loud ** sound, Du Fuguo's comrades-in-arms hurriedly surrounded him, and found that Du Fuguo's face was full of blood at this time, and his two arms were no longer shaped.
After emergency treatment, he was able to save his life, but he lost both arms and eyes forever.
For the first week, Du Fuguo remained unconscious, and when he was just a little conscious, the first thing he asked was: "How is the situation of my comrades-in-arms now?" ”
After learning that his comrades-in-arms were safe and sound, Du Fuguo completely relieved himself and began to pay attention to his recovery.
He did not tell others what he was thinking, and when his family was with him, he always begged his family to give him more food when he ate, so that he could recover from his injuries and return to the army as soon as possible, because the demining mission was not completely over.
Doctors and his family were afraid to tell him the truth, and the loss of his eyes and hands meant that he would not be able to take care of himself for the rest of his life, let alone participate in mine-clearing missions.
After a long time, Du Fuguo also realized everything, he was silent for a long time, and only said lightly: "Since this is already the case, then you can only face it strongly, please rest assured, because I am a soldier." ”
After the incident, the mine-clearing brigade and the local ** completed the handover work, which means that all the hidden dangers of that minefield have been eliminated.
However, his unit continued to submit petitions to the troops, which meant that they were going to a new battlefield.
A new life.
Ai Yan and Du Fuguo are brothers in life and death on the road to minesweeping, and the two have a good relationship on weekdays, and Du Fuguo's accident also made Ai Yan very sad.
He still remembers that when he first came into contact with the mine-sweeping mission, it was Du Fuguo who took him to work and taught him how to deal with dangers; Especially when he just walked into the minefield, Du Fuguo let him step on his footprints, and after encountering danger, Du Fuguo also let him leave alone.
In his impression, Du Fuguo has said the phrase "you go first, I'll come" many times.
He was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Soldier of Demining", and was also elected as the "Person of the Year Who Moved China in 2018", etc., and was awarded a first-class meritorious service in peacetime.
Du Fuguo is the winner of the August 1st Medal, in addition to getting a special bonus, his basic salary will be increased a lot, in the future, Du Fuguo's sons and daughters will get extra points in the college entrance examination, and there will be special treatment at work.
Everything on the Internet has never changed Du Fuguo, and he also knows that he can't return to the minefield, so he changed a goal in his heart: to be a self-reliant and self-reliant person.
The simple actions of ordinary people mean great pain to Du Fuguo.
Starting from walking and running, he gradually learned skills such as writing and broadcasting, and in this new period of life, he gradually found a way forward.
In the process of learning these skills, he also has to actively participate in ** training, even if the daily schedule is very full, Du Fuguo still enjoys it.
Especially in the process of learning broadcasting, Du Fuguo is very confident, his voice is gradually clear, bright, he once said to the reporter friends who came to interview: "I am still far from the level of professional broadcasting, but just like when I learned to sweep mines, even if I start from scratch, as long as I continue to persevere, I will definitely improve." ”
Knowing that Du Fuguo has been insisting on this matter, the army organs of the Southern Theater also purchased a set of broadcasting equipment for Du Fuguo and opened a special broadcast program for him, and now Du Fuguo also has a new stage in this life.
In the first program, Du Fuguo's broadcast title was "I just did what a soldier should do", he affectionately told how he went from joining the army to minesweeping and then to being injured and **, every experience he said hit the hearts of many people, and he gained a lot of loyal fans.
Every time, when Du Fuguo needed to broadcast, the warrior Zhang Peng would help him make various preparations, and over time, there was a strong brotherhood between him and Du Fuguo.
Seeing Du Fuguo's broadcast effect getting better and better, Zhang Peng was also happy from the bottom of his heart, and he also introduced Du Fuguo's "growth process" to others: "At first, someone read it and then Du Fuguo re-read it, and the effect was edited, but now he has given up this way, insists on memorizing the full text, and often works overtime until late at night. ”
Many people are interested in Du Fuguo's family, and everyone can't help but sigh: what kind of family education should be experienced to cultivate such an excellent child.
With the deepening of the reporter's interview, everyone learned that Du Fuguo also has a younger brother named Du Fuqiang, who is still guarding the borders of the motherland.
In January 2020, after his health was more convenient, Du Fuguo was finally able to go home for the Spring Festival after seven years, and he himself thought that he would finally have the opportunity to reunite with his younger brothers and sisters, but he didn't expect the sudden epidemic to disrupt all deployments.
Du Fuguo's sister is named Du Fujia, and she was a ** in a hospital in Guizhou Province at the time.
On January 27 of this year, Du Fujia's hospital issued a proposal, and she signed up for it as soon as possible.
The epidemic was raging, and the emergency department was overcrowded with patients at that time, so she not only had to take everyone's temperature and give injections to everyone, but also had to relieve the patient's depression at the same time.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to rest, Du Fujia also confided in his heart.
She said: "It's like a soldier who always wants to be on the front line, and now I have my own front line, and as a medical worker, I really want to share a little bit for everyone, and it's not easy for my colleagues." ”
On February 4 of this year, Du Fujia also applied to go to Wuhan.
His younger brother Du Fuqiang also did not return home, and during the Spring Festival of that year, he ushered in his first border patrol of the new year.
When he learned that his sister was likely to go to Wuhan to support, Du Fuqiang was also a little worried, and he also said: "I hope she must wear a mask, because she is a **, and she has more contact with patients, in addition, I am actually very worried that my sister's body is exhausted." ”
Finally, the two sisters and brothers had a chance to chat, and Du Fuqiang's sentences were full of advice.
Over the years, Du Fuguo has also been in people's attention.
At the beginning of December 2023, the 22nd batch of warfighters going to Lebanon for peacekeeping will take a plane to carry out a one-year peacekeeping mission.
In the team of comrades-in-arms to see them off, everyone saw Du Fuqiang wearing sunglasses, and the comrades-in-arms welcomed him and gave warm applause.
A female soldier said excitedly: "Fuguo squad leader, your 'let me come' always inspired me back then, and now I am also a member of the army." ”
Amid the roaring sound of the engine, the peacekeepers were in high spirits, and Du Fuguo solemnly saluted and wished his comrades-in-arms an early triumph.
In life, in addition to working hard to improve various skills, Du Fuguo is always concerned about the mine-sweeping career of the army.
Liu Xuefu was his comrade-in-arms, and when Du Fuguo was in the hospital, Liu Xuefu accompanied him many times, and he told Du Fuguo: "At present, we have revised and improved more than 30 standard operating procedures for mine clearance, and have passed the most stringent professional assessment. ”
After getting the latest protective clothing, Liu Xuefu also took it to Du Fuguo to try, and Du Fuguo was also very happy that day.
And this time, Liu Xuefu is also going abroad for peacekeeping, and the two brothers talked for a long time.
He promised Du Fuguo: "When we are together, I am your eyes and your hands, and in the future, I will tell you everything I see and do as it is, and share our feelings with you." ”
This separation, Du Fuguo will have to wait a year to share the story with this former comrade-in-arms again, they have all stepped on a new stage of life, and they will continue to shine in the future.
Reference. "Du Fuguo, a heroic soldier in demining, saw off his peacekeepers-in-arms People's Liberation Army Daily.
Du Fuguo became a radio announcer, and netizens praised it! What efforts did he put into his dreams? North Evening**.