From a volunteer soldier to the chairman of a listed company, an 86-year-old veteran of the Korean War to Resist U.S. Aid and Aid Korea remembers the tragic years

  Author: Zhou Xiao male

Photo of Zhang Pei when he was young.

Photo courtesy of respondents

  When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out in 1950, 16-year-old Zhang Pei joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force and rushed to the battlefield. After the baptism of the war, he resolutely supported taking root in the frontier and building a new China, and grew together with a machine factory in Guangxi. And lead the company to become a listed company.

Zhang Pei also became the chairman of a listed company from a volunteer soldier.

Photo of Zhang Pei when he was young.

Photo courtesy of respondents

Enlisted in the Chinese Air Force at 16

  "These are the souvenirs I obtained after participating in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. It is a testimony of that prosperous time." Red glittering military medal, slightly outdated military certificate, heroic military uniform photos...because of a special history , 86-year-old Zhang Pei has always treasured these souvenirs.

  Knowing that reporters came to interview, Zhang Pei had already arranged the souvenirs neatly in advance.

On October 27, Zhang Pei looked at these "old objects" affectionately in the southern area of ​​Liugong's life in Liuzhou City, Guangxi, and gave a detailed and serious introduction to the origin of each military medal and honor certificate.

  Although he is over eighty years old, Zhang Pei's waist is straight, his face is energetic, and he still walks boldly and vigorously.

From the beginning of the military, Zhang Pei's slow and firm voice pulled us back to the era of war.

  When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out in 1950, the whole country was propagating to defend the country and recruiting volunteers to the frontline of the Korean War.

Zhang Pei was born in 1934 from Nantong, Jiangsu. At the age of 16, Zhang Pei joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force with enthusiasm.

"At that time, I only wanted to go to the battlefield. I didn't even think about the fear of death." Zhang Pei still remembered the situation of joining the army and going to the battlefield.

The graduation certificate issued by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Aviation School for Zhang Pei.

Photo by Zhou Xiaonan

Study hard and apply to fight on the front line

  After enlisting in the army, Zhang Pei wanted to kill the enemy in frontier positions.

Due to the urgent development of the anti-US aggression and aid to North Korea, the newly-built air force urgently needs ground crews.

In early October 1950, Zhang Pei passed the medical examination and was selected to study air force ground handling in the mechanic class of the Fifth Aviation School of Jinan Air Force.

  "We joined the army to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. Therefore, we have very tight time to study. We all lined up with schoolbags in class, auditorium, and dining hall. At that time, everyone was full of enthusiasm and wanted to go to the battlefield earlier. All the students in our class have written applications and applied to the front lines to join the war."

  In May 1951, the school decided to let Zhang Pei and other students graduate early.

Zhang Pei was assigned to the 34th Regiment of the 12th Air Division of the Chinese Volunteer Army and stationed at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport for training.

Although 70 years have passed, Zhang Pei still remembers his study and life that year. He remembers that he started learning from the inspection of the aircraft, and then gradually learned various regular maintenance, troubleshooting, and documentation of the aircraft.

  "We are well aware of the urgency of the war situation, and everyone will actively ask for more work, especially in the areas of independent discovery and troubleshooting." Although the actual combat experience is insufficient, Zhang Pei and his comrades who are eager to fight, seize a bit of time and study hard. .

Zhang Pei has won various medals and certificates.

Photo by Zhou Xiaonan

Get up at three o'clock in the morning and take charge of ground handling

  On March 19, 1952, Zhang Pei accompanied his troops to the Dagushan Airport in Liaodong on the Sino-North Korean border on the Yalu River, and formally participated in the battle to resist US aggression and aid Korea.

On the first day he entered the battlefield, Zhang Pei withstood the test of the extreme cold weather.

"Twenty degrees below zero, I feel the cold air digging into my pants. I can only stamp my feet and rub my hands to keep warm until dawn."

  Zhang Pei recalled that as a ground crew member, he slept in a shed with his comrades.

Make the pre-war preparations of the aircraft carefully and carefully every day to ensure that the failure does not stay overnight.

It is on standby throughout the day, and immediately assists the pilots to take off in combat as soon as there is an alarm.

  "At that time, the maintenance tasks were very heavy. I got up at 3 o'clock every day and made all preparations for the aircraft to take off. Every time the aircraft took off and landed, various inspections were required. There should be no mistakes and as fast as possible. Because At that time, we had few aircraft and many enemy aircraft. In order to confront the enemy, pilots had to fight frequently, ranging from two or three times a day, or as many as four or five times a day. They relied on ground handling to maintain the performance of the fighters and ensure that the fighters could take off at any time."

  Although the war was tense, Zhang Pei still used the space to study current affairs politics and discuss the issue of maintenance of wartime maintenance.

"We also carried out technological innovation. At that time, in order to solve the reliable fuel supply of the auxiliary fuel tank, we developed a simple and reliable ventilation inspection method, which successfully guaranteed the reliable fuel supply of the auxiliary fuel tank. This method was promoted and rewarded in the army."

Military merit certificate issued to Zhang Pei by the North Korean government.

Photo by Zhou Xiaonan

Experience the test of life and death

  Compared with the frontal battlefield, ground crews rarely see scenes of flames, but thrilling things happen from time to time.

One day, the eight fighters of Zhang Pei’s brigade were waiting for combat duty. The pilot was sitting in the cockpit and Zhang Pei was standing on the suspended ladder beside the aircraft, assisting the pilot to start and take off at any time.

Suddenly, two American F86 enemy planes flew to the airport and fired in the air. To protect the safety of the pilots, Zhang Pei and the mechanics consciously lay on the top of the cockpit to protect the pilots with their bodies.

"At this time, a Soviet aircraft returned. The U.S. F86 immediately caught up with the Soviet aircraft and fired. We escaped a catastrophe. Everyone experienced a life and death test."

  Zhang Pei clearly remembered that on December 2nd of that year, the 34th regiment pilots shot down an F86 enemy plane.

"Knowing that the enemy plane was shot down, we cheered excitedly and wept tears in our eyes. After the plane came back, we sprayed the first red five-pointed star on it, and then every time the enemy plane was shot down, we sprayed a star."

  Zhang Pei proudly said that it was precisely because of his outstanding performance in this battle that the whole regiment won the collective second-class merit, and he himself also won the personal third-class merit.

  "Our regiment also had several pilots sacrificed in the air battle. They are martyrs in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and will always miss them." At this point, Zhang Pei sighed with a sad expression.

Military merit certificate obtained by Zhang Pei.

Photo by Zhou Xiaonan

From volunteer soldier to chairman of listed company

  Because of his contributions in the war, Zhang Pei obtained a military service certificate issued by the Korean government and the opportunity to go to Beijing to participate in the National Day inspection in 1953.

  "I will go wherever I am needed. Everything is subject to the organization's arrangements." In 1959, Zhang Pei transferred to a local area to support the frontier and began to take root in Guangxi.

  In 1964, Zhang Pei entered Liuzhou Construction Machinery Factory.

Because of his natural hobby and interest in mechanical technology, Zhang Pei soon became a technical backbone in the loader development team.

In 1968, the Z435 loader passed the national appraisal. It was the first loader in my country to pass the appraisal, and then began small batch production.

  Influenced by his military experience, Zhang Pei integrated the spirit of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea into his blood, and passed on the technical experience accumulated in the military to his job.

  "He is almost obsessed with technology research, and he is persistent and serious in doing things. Although he holds a leadership position, he often works overtime with us until the early hours of the morning. He has a spirit of unwillingness to admit defeat, not afraid of hardship, not afraid of fatigue. Liugong's construction machinery is global He has contributed to the sudden emergence of the market." Liugong Chief Scientist Chu Changxiang commented.

  Zhang Pei has successively held the positions of design team leader, deputy factory manager, factory manager, and chairman of Liugong, and won honors such as the National Model Worker and the Lifetime Achievement Award of China Machinery Industry.

While serving as the third factory director of Liugong, he believed that the production capacity at that time had affected Liugong's development pace, so he decided to establish a joint-stock company and go public.

In October 1993, "Gui Liugong" was officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, becoming the first listed company in China's construction machinery industry and the first listed company in Guangxi.

  In 1999, 65-year-old Zhang Pei officially retired.

Speaking of retirement, Zhang Pei’s wife said: “He can’t stay idle. He retired a few years later and was hired as a consultant by the company after retirement. He always pays attention to the company’s dynamics and development.”

  In Zhang Pei's clean and simple home, the reporter saw his two reading glasses.

Zhang Pei smiled and introduced: "These two reading glasses are used for study every day. I wear one for reading and one for computers."

After that, Zhang Pei picked up a few books on the sofa, "I have the habit of reading books and newspapers every day, and I always pay attention to national defense and army building."

  "One generation has the mission of one generation. What young people now need to do is to do their job well." Zhang Pei expressed his wish in simple and plain words.

Zhang Pei and his wife watch TV news together.

Photo by Wang Yizhao