As everyone knows, in order to boost the morale of the vast number of officers and men in the armed forces and set an example, the state often commends soldiers who have performed outstanding performance in the performance of their tasks and confers honorary titles such as special meritorious service, first-class meritorious service, and second-class meritorious service according to their merits.
Recipients of these honors are usually required to demonstrate excellence in the mission of their lives.
The first-class hero described in this article successfully completed an almost impossible task in a battle with fearless courage.
Subsequently, he continued to fight with the troops until demobilization.
However, years of fighting left him with multiple scars, including an enemy bullet in his left eye during a bandit crackdown.
Although he was rescued and out of danger, he was still left with serious sequelae.
In 1993, a septuagenarian first-class meritorious man underwent surgery for eye disease**, and the operation was successful, and he was discharged from the hospital unharmed. Due to the relevant national policy, part of his medical expenses can be reimbursed.
However, when his son was about to go to settle the bill, the old man suddenly stopped him, tore off the reimbursement slip and said sternly: "Don't you have any money at home?" How embarrassed is it to reach out to the country? ”
Who is this brave first-class hero? What kind of battle scenes did he experience back then? What kind of life did he live when he returned to the place?
Chen Xunyang, a combat hero who was twice awarded a first-class meritorious service, his story begins from the moment he joined the revolution. He was born in June 1920 into a poor peasant family in Gao'an, Jiangxi Province, with six elder brothers, who were often hungry and cold due to the large population.
At that time, China was in a state of turmoil, frequent wars, and the people's lives were miserable. Chen Xunyang's mother also died in the war, and the seven brothers were raised by their father.
However, his two elder brothers joined the Red Army for their ideals and lost contact with their families, while the other two elder brothers were arrested by the Kuomintang and there was no news, and the remaining two elder brothers were also tragically killed under the bombing of Japanese planes.
At the beginning of 1948, Chen Xunyang was the only one left in the family who depended on him and his father, but the house leak happened to rain overnight, and a few months later, his father became ill from overwork and died of illness.
The Chen family used to be prosperous, but now only Chen Xunyang is left.
Chen Xunyang's bad luck did not end when he was captured and joined the army. At that time, the Kuomintang army was losing and retreating on the battlefield, and its strength was overstretched. In order to make a last-ditch struggle, they began to recruit strong men into the army on a large scale throughout the south.
Chen Xunyang unfortunately became one of them, just like his two older brothers. At the end of that year, the Battle of Huaihai broke out. Chen Xunyang was dragged to the battlefield after receiving some basic training.
Under the command of Su Yu and others, the Chinese People's Liberation Army was like a bamboo, and won many victories in a row. However, Chen Xunyang, who had just joined the army, immediately became a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army.
At this time, Chen Xunyang had not eaten for two days, and the corners of his mouth were a little dry. How he longed for a full meal, but looking at the mountains of the People's Liberation Army, he dispelled this thought.
It turned out that as early as the first day he was forced to join the Kuomintang army, the Kuomintang reactionaries preached to him every day that the communist army was "doing all kinds of evil." They also said that they would shoot the prisoners.
This made Chen Xun Yang believe that it was true, and he was very afraid that he would be shot.
Just when Chen Xunyang was hungry, a PLA squad leader came over, saw him gobbling up, couldn't bear it, took out two nest heads and handed them to him. Chen Xunyang took it gratefully and swallowed it in a big gulp.
The squad leader smiled and said to him: "Don't worry, eat slowly, it's not enough, we won't kill the prisoners." After Chen Xunyang heard this, he had doubts in his heart, he looked around, and found that the other captured soldiers were also eating at ease, and he couldn't help but feel nervous, thinking that this was his "decapitated meal".
So, he shouted loudly: "I'm full, you can kill if you want, and in twenty years you will be a good man again!" Seeing this, the squad leader explained with a smile: "The People's Liberation Army will not kill prisoners, we are the people's team, and when you finish eating, you can choose to go home or join us, and if you go home, we will also give you travel expenses." ”
Chen Xunyang's heart was full of surprise, the People's Liberation Army really released some prisoners who wanted to go home, and they didn't kill any of them. He finally believed the squad leader's words. However, he was alone at this time, uneducated, and unable to survive when he returned home.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to choose to stay in the army and become an ordinary soldier in the 3rd Battalion of the 138th Regiment of the 138th Regiment of the 16th Division of the Erye Army. As the campaign progressed, our army captured a large number of Kuomintang troops and reorganized some of them into the PLA.
Many of these people stayed in the army to earn a living. In order to enhance their political consciousness and will to fight, the CCP instructed all units to carry out a campaign to complain about grievances.
One morning, the fighters of the 8 company completed the morning training and then gathered. The company commander said to the soldiers cordially: "Everyone is from a poor background, it doesn't matter, we are a family when we come."
What do you have in mind to say to your face? ”
At a grievance rally, PLA soldiers poured out their own experiences of being oppressed by landlords, losing their loved ones, and suffering a lot. One of the fighters, Chen Xunyang, was even more saddened by the death of Chen's parents and the death of his six elder brothers, and his story made everyone present cry with sadness.
Seeing this scene, the company commander personally wrote a spirit tablet for Chen Xunyang's deceased parents, and arranged for the soldiers of the whole company to hang themselves together. Chen Xunyang was deeply moved by this scene, and he strengthened his belief even more and decided to embark on the road of revolution for the sake of the people and himself.
In the three major battles of the "Water Heroes", the People's Liberation Army won the victory, and the Kuomintang forces in Jiangbei collapsed. However, Chiang Kai-shek still had illusions and tried to divide the river.
Faced with such a situation, Chen Xunyang decided to move on, and for the sake of the people's happiness and freedom, he firmly walked on the road of revolution.
After Chiang Kai-shek left the opposition, the Kuomintang conducted peace talks with our party on behalf of Li Zongren, but his intention was detected by our party. On April 20, 1949, the Kuomintang refused to sign.
The Commander-in-Chief ordered the People's Liberation Army to cross the river, eliminate the Kuomintang reactionaries, and achieve the liberation of the whole country. In the early morning of April 21, the battle of crossing the river began, and Chen Xunyang's 8th company participated in the battle.
The Yangtze River is deep and turbulent, the river is wide, and the Kuomintang army is large in number, well-equipped, and supported by ** and aircraft. And the PLA only has rudimentary ** and ordinary wooden boats, and the conditions are difficult.
In the battle of crossing the river, the higher authorities ordered the 138th Regiment to select 300 people to form a river-crossing assault team to first open a gap in the enemy's defensive line. In order to lower the **, the commandos need to risk their lives.
The fighters in the regiment knew that the task was difficult, but for the liberation of the country, they signed up one after another. Chen Xunyang is no exception, but he is not a party member, has never lived in the south, and cannot swim.
However, in order to select suitable fighters, the regiment put forward three conditions: communists, southerners, and swimmers. Due to these conditions, many people were not selected, but Chen Xunyang was finally selected.
Although he did not meet all the conditions, with courage and determination, he managed to become a member of the river-crossing commando.
Chen Xunyang was a brave PLA soldier who actively participated in training and always rushed to the forefront in combat. He even applied to join the party with a company instructor, and although joining the party required strict examination, he eventually became a probationary party member with his outstanding personal ability.
After the company commander conveyed the three requirements of the regiment commander, Chen Xunyang took the initiative to sign up for the battle of crossing the river. Although he could not swim, he still decided to join the commando. He expressed to the organization that if he could return alive this time, he hoped to be approved to join the party.
Considering that Chen Xunyang was the top soldier of the whole company, the company commander finally got the approval of the regiment commander after discussing with the instructor and let him join the commando. The 300 fighters have been selected and are ready to go.
Before leaving, Chen Xunyang was ready to sacrifice and exchanged mailing addresses with a comrade-in-arms with whom he had a good relationship, just in case.
In the early morning of April 21, the assault team crossed the river and rowed hard to the opposite bank, although the enemy detected and fired shells, but the soldiers did not flinch, Chen Xunyang led everyone to rush to the beachhead with all their strength, although dozens of soldiers were shot and fell into the water, he still persevered.
Chen Xunyang crossed the river six times to escort the soldiers forward, but during the last escort, the small wooden boat was hit by a cannonball, and he urgently grabbed a plank and rowed to the opposite bank with all his might.
In the end, the river-crossing assault team broke through the enemy blockade with its tenacious will, and the remaining more than 50 soldiers successfully landed, and after several hours of fierce fighting, finally seized the enemy's beachhead.
However, in the end, only 13 people remained in this team of 300 people.
After the liberation of Nanjing, the main force quickly passed through the Yangtze River and attacked fiercely all the way, occupying Nanjing, the stronghold of the Kuomintang, in only two days, and the battle of crossing the river ended successfully.
Chen Xunyang was also awarded the title of "Water Hero" by Erye, and successfully joined the Communist Party a few months later. In the southern and northern wars, although Chen Xunyang was injured many times, he did not stop advancing, but continued to follow the troops forward.
When the Kuomintang authorities saw the loss of the Yangtze River defense line, they immediately instructed their troops to retreat south and concentrate on building the Songhu defense line around Shanghai in an attempt to hold on. As the vanguard of our army, the 16th Army began the pursuit of the enemy immediately after crossing the river.
However, due to improper command and discouragement, the Kuomintang army was defeated all the way, and our army easily liberated many county towns along the way. However, the primary goal of the operation was to destroy all the living forces of the enemy army as soon as possible, and as a result, the 16th Army began a thousand-mile pursuit.
On 5 May, they discovered that a large number of Kuomintang troops were stationed on the Quzhou front, so the main force of the 16th Army quickly took action.
In the battle to liberate Quzhou, in order to assist the main force in conquering Jiangshan City, the 138th Regiment decided that Chen Xunyang's Eighth Company would be responsible for attacking the North Gate Bunker Group on the Xishan Heights outside Jiangshan City.
This bunker group is guarded by a platoon of elite enemy troops, and a large number of fortifications have been built, and the assault will be very large. In order to solve this problem, the company commander decided to adopt the method of frontal breakthrough of the first platoon, the flank detour of the second platoon, and the in-situ fire support of the third platoon.
The third platoon where Chen Xunyang was located was arranged to make a head-on breakthrough. In the battle, Chen Xunyang held an explosive bag, took the lead, crawled forward, regardless of the danger to his own life, even if his body was shot in many places, he persevered to the end, and finally succeeded in rushing to the enemy's bunker, struggling to blow it up, eliminating more than a dozen enemies in the bunker, and winning valuable time and opportunity for conquering the country.
After the continuous struggle of the soldiers, the 8th Company successfully captured the north gate of Xishan, and the main force of the 3rd Battalion followed closely behind and captured Xishan in one fell swoop. And the 8th Company did not stop advancing, successfully occupied Tiger Mountain and surrounded the railway station, effectively preventing the enemy's plan to flee south.
In the end, at 4:30 p.m., the 138th regiment successfully conquered Jiangshan City, this battle annihilated 5,625 enemies, our army was only less than 50 people, creating a classic example of conquering the county town with the strength of a regiment during the Liberation War.
Since then, Chen Xunyang has been following the army to fight in the south and the north, and participated in many battles such as the Enlargement of the Southwest, the Battle of Chengdu, the suppression of bandits in Yunnan, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
However, Chen Xunyang was repeatedly injured in order to charge ahead, but he always relied on his tenacious will and firm belief to join the battle again every time his old injuries were not healed, which made his comrades-in-arms full of admiration for him.
In early 1950, Chen Xunyang was unfortunately shot and wounded in the left eye by the enemy during a battle to suppress bandits in Yunnan, but even so, he still insisted on fighting with his wounds until the battle was won, but finally passed out due to excessive blood loss.
After several hours of rescue, although Chen Xunyang was out of danger, he was sent to the hospital at the best time due to the delay in the operation, and his left eye was left with serious sequelae. According to the instructions of his superiors, Chen Xunyang could have gone to work in the rear, but he decided to stick to the front line, and even almost died many times on the Korean battlefield.
It was not until 1955 that he returned from North Korea to his homeland, and then returned to his hometown after demobilization. Chen Xunyang did not forget his original intention, and after demobilization, he used the 300 yuan demobilization subsidy to support the construction of his hometown, and purchased two buffaloes to hand over to the cooperative to help local agricultural production.
Chen Xunyang not only performed well at the registration meeting, but also donated almost all the remaining money to poor families in the village, leaving only a little money for himself to buy daily necessities.
When he got married, he couldn't even find a decent set of quilts. However, he was not defeated by difficulties, but with a positive attitude and rich combat experience, he volunteered to become an instructor of the Workers' League.
During the four years from 1956 to 1960, Chen Xunyang always insisted on the front line of construction, regardless of the wind and rain, led the team to complete the construction of Bishan, Zhangshuling, Jiulong and other reservoirs and embankments, and was rated as a "model worker" by the county.
However, considering his physical health, the local ** is ready to transfer him to work in the Huangsha Nursery, which is an iron rice bowl, and it is also an idle errand, which many people dream of.
However, Chen Xunyang refused without hesitation, and chose to become an ordinary farmer, devoting himself to the construction of his hometown as an ordinary party member, and once again made new achievements.
Chen Xunyang always kept in mind what Yang Dezhi, the former head of the demobilized army, said to everyone: "Don't be proud of meritorious service, make persistent efforts, do a good job in the construction of your hometown as an ordinary party member, and make new contributions!" ”
Chen Xunyang, a simple farmer, has always demanded his children with his own strict standards, and his eldest son, Chen Bagen, has become a party member. He worked silently all his life and never showed off his exploits, and everyone thought he was just an ordinary farmer.
However, fate challenged him in 1993. At that time, 73-year-old Chen Xunyang was working in the field, and suddenly his left eye was in unbearable pain, and he tried to rub it vigorously, but found that he could no longer see clearly, and unfortunately fell to the ground.
His son, Chen Bagen, panicked and immediately rushed his father to the hospital. After examination, the doctor found that Chen Xunyang had an old injury to his left eye**, which could be life-threatening if not removed immediately.
Despite this, Chen Xunyang still chose the simplest way to continue to serve the villagers and silently dedicate his strength.
When Chen Xunyang heard the seriousness of his condition, he felt very uncomfortable. He didn't expect his father's eye to be so badly injured, and his father never told him the cause of the injury.
He asked the doctor several times if there were other ** methods, but there was no better option at the moment. Eventually, the doctor performed an eye removal operation for Chen Xunyang. The surgery was so successful that it took him less than a month to recover and prepare for discharge.
The whole process cost 630 yuan, which was a considerable expense at the time. Fortunately, there was a policy at that time that the elderly over seventy years old could be reimbursed for a part of the ** expenses.
When Chen went to settle the expenses, the hospital informed him that he could be reimbursed part of the expenses. He immediately went back to the ward to get the bill for the treatment and told his father the good news.
However, when Chen Xunyang heard the news, he immediately snatched the bill from his son and tore it up without hesitation. Chen Bagen was very surprised by this, but he didn't ask any questions, considering that his father had just recovered his health.
Although Chen Xunyang and his wife's family are not wealthy, they are resolutely unwilling to reach out to the country. After Chen Bagen finally understood his father's position, he immediately went to the front desk of the hospital to pay the full amount.
It wasn't until 2019, when the relevant state departments collected information on local veterans, that Chen Xunyang took out his demobilized soldier card and 23 military merit medals.
At that time, the local residents learned that this "old man Chen", whom they had always respected, turned out to be a first-class meritorious hero who had made great achievements. Although Chen Xunyang has been "incognito" in the countryside for 64 years, he still pays attention to national affairs.
When the new crown epidemic broke out in 2020, Chen Xunyang, who was already 100 years old, also donated 2,000 yuan to ** for the anti-epidemic work of the local community.
For the old man Chen Xunyang, who lives a simple life, this 2,000 yuan is by no means a small amount.
Chen Xunyang lived a happy old age in the company of his family. He once said: "I have been loyal to the party all my life and am not afraid of sacrifice." Now it is to follow the party wholeheartedly, be worthy of the faith, and be able to suffer losses in everything you do. ”
The new copy retains the core idea of the original copy, but expresses the views of Chen Xunyang in more concise language. The new copy emphasizes loyalty to the party, following the party, and expresses not being afraid of sacrifice and persistence in faith.
At the same time, the new copywriting also added the emphasis on being able to afford to do anything, further expressing Chen Xunyang's concept of life.