Let the Photos Return to the Heroic Unit! A Korean War Veteran "Sends Home" a Photo of Huang Jiguang
Huang Jiguang's wartime comrade, a Korean War veteran in his nineties, donates two old photographs to a unit of the Airborne Corps——
The hero's figure has never left
■ Lin Qingji, Gao Di, Li Jianqing
Li Pengchao, the 37th squad leader of the "Huang Jiguang Squad," reports to He Yixiu on the unit's current situation. Photo by Ma Zi'an.
"Today, I have finally sent the photos of my old comrade Huang Jiguang back 'home'!" Recently, inside the Special-Grade Hero Huang Jiguang Memorial Hall of a unit of the Airborne Corps, a video call gave rise to a bond of care and remembrance that spans time and space.
On the other side of the screen, 91-year-old Korean War veteran He Yixiu slowly rose to his feet and made every effort to stand straight. On this side of the screen, officers and soldiers of the Airborne Corps unit stood in neat formation and saluted solemnly — the old man was sending "home" two old photographs he had treasured for more than half a century, and once again telling the story of Huang Jiguang to the heirs of the hero.
On May 6 of this year, a unit of the Airborne Corps received a letter from Xinyang, Henan. The sender was He Yixiu, a wartime comrade of Huang Jiguang who had once served in the predecessor unit of this formation.
"I am already 91 years old this year, and there is one matter I have never been able to set my mind at rest about," the old man wrote in the letter. "I wish to donate the two photographs of hero Huang Jiguang that I have treasured to the old unit I have always kept close to my heart."
A commemorative stone inscription on the cliff face of Wusheng Mountain on the Shangganling battlefield. Archival photo.
The two old photographs are like keys that open the door to a bygone era. One is a commemorative stone inscription carved into the cliff face of Wusheng Mountain on the Shangganling battlefield: "Comrade Huang Jiguang, a Matveyev-type (马特洛索夫式) Special-Grade Combat Hero of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, gave his life for his country and shall live forever." The other is a photograph taken after Huang Jiguang's death, when his mother, Deng Fangzhi, came to the unit to visit her son's comrades — in the photo, Mother Deng sits side by side with two soldiers, her gaze resolute yet gentle.
In October 1952, the Battle of Shangganling began. He Yixiu, then serving as a clerk in the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Regiment, 45th Division, 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, was responsible for battlefield statistical records. He remembers clearly that at a critical moment when the unit's assault had been stopped, Huang Jiguang, dragging his already-wounded body, resolutely threw himself onto the enemy's firing position and used his chest to block the gun port. That heroic figure was forever fixed in his heart.
A stone carved as a monument, an immortal name. On New Year's Day 1953, the mountains were sealed by heavy snow. Bi Kaiwen, then serving as a cultural officer of the 45th Division, was ordered to lead six soldiers and, braving temperatures dozens of degrees below zero Celsius, climb step by slipping step to the top of the Wusheng Mountain cliff. They heated the rock face with fire and, hammer blow by hammer blow, chiseled into the hard stone, carving the hero's name deep into the mountain. Bi Kaiwen held firm in his heart: "As long as spring comes, this place will bloom with blazing red azaleas (金达莱) and wildflowers covering the hillside, to adorn this hero's monument."
Huang Jiguang's mother, Deng Fangzhi (center), visits her son's comrades at the unit. Archival photo.
These two photographs — one recording the heroic act of carving a name in stone, the other preserving the image of the hero's mother — were regarded by He Yixiu as precious as life itself. After returning to the country, from the fertile fields of the Northern Wilderness (北大荒) to the workshops of the Xinyang Glass Factory, the album containing the photographs was always with him. As the years passed, the old soldier's long-held wish never changed — to let the photographs return to the heroic unit.
Upon receiving the letter and photographs, a unit of the Airborne Corps immediately arranged for a dedicated person to respond and express gratitude, invited military history experts to assess the historical value and archival significance of the photographs, and located an eyewitness from that time, 96-year-old Bi Kaiwen, to reconstruct that chapter of wartime history. At the same time, considering He Yixiu's advanced age, the officers and soldiers decided to welcome the old photographs "home" through a "cloud reunion" (云端归队).
The moment the video connected, the gazes of two generations of soldiers — inside and outside the screen — met, and history and the present overlapped in an instant.
Private First Class Zhou Kai asked: "Elder He, what is the battle scene you remember most?"
He Yixiu's spirits suddenly surged: "When the bugle sounded the charge, everyone threw themselves forward with everything they had! Through a hail of bullets, not one person fell back!" As he reached the most stirring part, he swung his right arm forcefully, his voice resonant and powerful, and the three characters for "charge" rang out like thunderclaps: "Charge! Charge! Charge!" (冲！冲！冲！) The fighting spirit of more than seventy years ago crashed instantly into the hearts of every young officer and soldier.
Li Pengchao, who had served as the 37th squad leader of the "Huang Jiguang Squad," reported to He Yixiu: "Every time things get grueling at international competitions, the image of the old squad leader sacrificing himself to block the gun port rises before my eyes. As heirs of the hero, we have only the duty to charge forward — we have no right to give up!" He Yixiu nodded repeatedly: "No matter how perilous the road ahead, you must fight bloody battles (浴血奋战) just as Huang Jiguang did!"
On both ends of the screen, old and young, the vows of two generations of soldiers about "charging forward" reverberated and echoed.
"Each generation has its own Shangganling to hold, each generation has its own charge mission to shoulder." These words from the leadership of the Airborne Corps unit expressed the firm resolve of this formation to carry forward the heroic bloodline (赓续英雄血脉). Today, generation after generation of "torch-bearers" are advancing in the footsteps of the hero: there are training backbone personnel who take on the heaviest burdens under extreme conditions, and there are first-grade master sergeants (一级军士长) who innovate tactics to enhance the effectiveness of massed parachute assaults (集群伞降)… The hero's figure has never left.
When the video call ended, the two photographs were solemnly placed in the display case of the military history museum. The image of the hero's family, the chisel marks on the icy cliff, the charge vow that defied death… They are silent witnesses to history, and also like a bugle call to battle, inspiring the "torch-bearing" heirs of the hero to overcome every difficulty and press boldly forward.