China News Service, Linfen, August 1st: Shan Shengrong, a veteran of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea: I often see my comrades-in-arms with a dusty and blurry face in my dreams
Author Fan Lifang Hou Yaoqiang Zhang Yu
"During the Cheorwon blocking battle, our company held the position for 7 days, and we didn't know how many times the enemy's attacks were repelled. Until the last day, the company commander died, the instructor died, and the bullets ran out, leaving us 5 ordinary soldiers. Pushing on the bayonet, staring at each one with blood-red eyes, ready to rush out of the trenches and perish with the enemy at any time..."
Listening to the old man Shan Shengrong telling the story of the Korean War, his son and daughter-in-law burst into tears.
The old man's narration was also interrupted for a time due to repeated choking.
The 92-year-old Shan Shengrong has a strong spirit, clear ears and eyesight, and speaks loudly and loudly.
He is from Daning County, Linfen, Shanxi Province. Since February 1951, he has crossed the Yalu River to participate in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
"Only 5 of us"
Cheorwon, located in the north-central part of Korea, was an important hub for the movement of materials in the campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, where the large units of the Volunteer Army gathered and rested.
In order to hold on to this place, the Volunteers fought bloody battles for 14 days in the fifth battle.
Shan Shengrong's company was ordered to hold a position. After reaching the designated hill, the soldiers began to build trenches and bunkers.
In the early morning of the seventh day, it was just dawn, and the enemy troops rushed down from the opposite hillside in the dark.
"When the enemy slowly approached, the company commander gave an order, and everyone used machine guns, rifles, and grenades to repel the enemy's first attack, but a large number of enemy troops continued to swarm up under the cover of artillery fire." Shan Shengrong and the soldiers resisted stubbornly, but the enemy's offensive continued, wave after wave. Seeing that there were not many bullets and grenades, everyone picked up stones and smashed them.
In the morning's battle, the bullets and grenades were gone, the company commander and commanders were killed, leaving only five people in the entire company.
"At that point, the five of us were not afraid anymore, and all pushed the bayonet up, ready to rush out of the position to fight the bayonet with the enemy. At this time, the superior ordered to retreat and the large troops took over the position. The old bones are buried in North Korea." Shan Shengrong said.
"The kettle saved my life"
In Shan Shengrong's memory, the sunken bullet hole in a military water bottle he carried with him was engraved with a blood-soaked past, which became his life-saving "artifact".
In 1951, during a diversion retreat, United Nations planes flew in to drop bombs from time to time.
"The company commander ordered everyone to crawl on the ground, and a soldier slowly climbed up a stone squat, only to hear a 'boom', and one leg was blown a few meters away. Another bomb exploded not far from me." Shan Sheng Rong immediately covered his head, and there was a loud "dong dong" sound behind him. After the enemy plane flew away, he shook off the dust and stones from his body and found a bullet hole left in the kettle.
"When I returned to the station, my comrades gathered around to look at my water bottle. If it wasn't for it, my body would have been pierced by the bomb." Shan Shengrong recalled.
"Stay strong while sick, life hangs by a thread"
After the fifth battle, Shan Shengrong, who was adapted, rushed to the front line of Kaesong and took on the task of defending Kaesong.
Kaesong is located south of the 38th line in the central part of North Korea, with convenient transportation and a major railway artery running through the north and south of North Korea. It is a veritable strategic location.
Shan Shengrong's company is self-reliant on the front line of Kaesong, using local materials, digging caves, building an "underground Great Wall" connecting mountains and caves, and storing water, food and ammunition in caves, so that troops can live in caves all year round .
"After I entered the front line of Kaesong, I contracted chronic dysentery. I had diarrhea for a week. I couldn't eat for more than 20 days. I could only drink cold water. No way, I wrote a will and gave it to the company commander, and asked him to bring it back to the motherland to my relatives." Shan Shengrong said emotionally.
During that time, the enemy used a large number of aircraft and artillery to bomb the positions of the Volunteers. The choking smoke and dust filled the air, and the warheads carrying the flames flew recklessly.
Once, when the soldiers were eating in the air-raid shelter, Shan Shengrong, who was sick, suddenly wanted to relieve his hand. The enemy shells kept bombing outside the air-raid shelter.
"I don't think it's right. I climbed slowly to the entrance of the cave alone. The company commander was worried. He arranged for a soldier to take care of me, and he could pull me back in time in case of danger."
Shan Shengrong climbed out of the air-raid shelter and just found a hidden place when he heard the roar of artillery shells in the air, and immediately rolled back on the spot and climbed back into the cave.
It was later learned that the shell had landed on the small crater where he had squatted, and the surrounding area was blown into large and small craters.
For more than 70 years, Shan Shengrong has seen countless comrades in arms who will stay in North Korea forever in his dreams, "Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can still remember what the comrades looked like before they sacrificed, their faces are dusty and blurry. Qing..." The old man Shan Shengrong had tears in his eyes and his voice was hoarse: "For the victory, the volunteers who sacrificed were all good, and in the end they all walked away with a smile."
The comrades who fought side by side were buried in the mountains and jungles of foreign countries, and the raging war left an indelible memory on Shan Shengrong. "In the era of peace, you must remember the history well and cherish the present more." (End)