One day in February 1965, the sun was just right, and the wind was blowing was mixed with a hint of coolness.
At this time, Wu Hongfu and the veterans were standing in front of the camp with their heads held high. Yes, they are ready to retire.
Before officially retiring from the army, due to the particularity of work, the combat hero of the Air Force, deputy division commander, and old battalion commander of the Second Battalion Yue Zhenhua asked them two things: "As soldiers, we are serving the people . After you retire, you must not leak the military secrets of the missile troops, and 2 must not make special requests to the local government. Can you do it?"
"It is guaranteed to do it!" Wu Hongfu and the veterans answered in unison.
In order to make them more profound, the battalion commander asked one by one.
It is because of these "two cannots", Wu Hongfu kept his mouth shut for 37 years without mentioning his past military experience.
Even though the family was poor and extremely financially struggling, even if the secret period had passed, Wu Hongfu never made special requests to the government as a veteran. Even if the government takes the initiative to provide him with convenience, he will always decline in one sentence: "We must provide these conveniences to those who need them more."
So, who is Wu Hongfu? What kind of contribution did he make in the army? What kind of life has he lived in the past 37 years?
Wu Hongfu
After joining the army, he made the first-class merit in
September 9, 1962, at 7:30, in Nanchang, Jiangxi, an enemy reconnaissance aircraft U-2 hovered at a high altitude.
Wu Hongfu and his comrades who discovered the enemy plane quickly entered a first-level alert state.
8:25, after waiting for a long hour, the enemy plane finally entered the firepower range of the Second Battalion. This was the first time the Second Battalion encountered an enemy reconnaissance aircraft. They wanted to use the missile to destroy the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft.
As the enemy plane gets closer, Wu Hongfu on the missile command vehicle stares at the cursor lit up on the screen. It is the trajectory of the enemy plane's operation. He quickly calculates the launch distance, kill range and route shortcuts... and then passes these data to the command center without hesitation.
The command center that received the message immediately fired three missiles in the direction of the enemy plane. With the commander's order, the three missiles rushed into the sky with flames instantly!
Wu Hongfu was very nervous. This was his first time to encounter a reconnaissance plane. His data determines whether it can shoot down an enemy plane, which is very critical. Although he believed in his calculations, he still stared at the cursor on the screen. After a few seconds, with a loud "bang", the enemy plane was blown into pieces and the cursor on the screen disappeared.
Wu Hongfu then breathed a sigh of relief and was overjoyed. This was his first time to shoot down an enemy plane. His heart was filled with tension and pride.
It is precisely because of this that Wu Hongfu and others were promoted early, and he was promoted from sergeant to sergeant.
At that time, Wu Hongfu was only 21 years old.
pulls the time back three years ago. 18-year-old Wu Hongfu joined the army with passion and became a map of the command company of the Second Battalion Command.
He had trained and missile targets on the Gobi Desert in the northwest. During a training session, he was accidentally thrown out by a truck, causing a fracture of his nose bridge. His comrades looked at him with constant blood flow and said worriedly: "Go to the infirmary. This fall is too fierce. Don't leave any root cause behind it."
But Wu Hongfu endured the severe pain and said calmly: "It's not a problem, it's just that it looks serious, and you can't delay training no matter how much." In this way, he persisted until he returned to the army.
In training, Wu Hongfu never gave up. In the face of hard training, he always enjoyed it.
1963, after a year, the enemy's reconnaissance plane became "brained", and it could always successfully escape when it was about to be bombed. The only way is to launch the missile at a close range, compress the original 18 seconds to 8 seconds, and use the "near-fast tactic" to deal with enemy aircraft. This is an arduous task for Wu Hongfu and the others.
They ran all over China and conducted countless experiments on the open spaces of the motherland. They were full of confidence and eager to let the enemy know their power and wait for the next enemy plane to appear.
Finally, on November 1, they waited for the opportunity in Shangrao, Jiangxi. Wu Hongfu quickly marked the enemy U-2 reconnaissance aircraft , sent the calculated value to the command center, and said confidently: "No matter what you calculate, follow my value! It will definitely work!" The commander of
followed Wu Hongfu's opinion and issued an order without hesitation. Three missiles rushed into the sky like rockets, and everyone held their breath, success or failure was the first to take place. With a "bang", the enemy planes split into pieces again, and everyone cheered, and they admired Wu Hongfu very much.
"Close-Quick Tactics" was successfully implemented for the first time! Wu Hongfu made an indelible contribution, remembered the first-class individual merit, and the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion were awarded the first-class collective merit, and were also awarded the title of "Hero Camp".
After retiring from the army, they worked hard and steadily
In February 1965, they were honored to be discharged from the army. The battalion commander asked them "two cannots". Wu Hongfu kept it in mind, and he did not apply to the army for the assessment of the disability level due to his nose injury.
After returning home, the family asked Wu Hongfu: "What do you do in the army? You have also received good news of your contribution."
He said seriously: "Don't inquire about the army. If others ask, you will say that I cook for others."
The family looked at the serious Wu Hongfu, and probably understood that the work needs to be kept confidential, so they stopped asking. When others asked, they only said they were cooking by chores, and no one knew Wu Hongfu's experience in the army.
After Wu Hongfu retired, he relied on some of his family to support a family of people. Although he lived in poverty, he was very happy. In the face of a difficult life, he actively faced life and helped others.
Wu Hongfu
Once, a young woman in the village was hospitalized and had to buy a Chinese medicine far away. Wu Hongfu didn't say anything, and rode his old bicycle with a "squeak" sound to buy medicine. When he came back, it was already the next day during the day.
The villagers were very grateful and thanked him repeatedly, and wanted to pay him hard work, but he said, "Your family is not rich, they are all from the villagers. If you do a favor, you will give money to the outside world." Wu Hongfu refused to accept anything.
1976 Tangshan Earthquake , Wu Hongfu's eldest sister passed away forever in this disaster. He was a soldier and was assigned a task by his superiors to participate in the earthquake rescue and river digging project. He endured the grief of losing his relatives and worked with his comrades for three months to successfully complete the task assigned by his superiors.
For the construction of the village, Wu Hongfu also took the initiative to take on the task of cleaning up the garbage dump in the west of the village. When he saw someone littering, he would go up to stop it, making contributions to protecting the environment. After a period of time, the environment in the village improved, and he still went to clean it up every day.
Wu Hongfu
htmlOver 0 years later, a sudden illness caused Wu Hongfu's parents to be paralyzed in bed and unable to take care of themselves, which made this already poor family even worse. Not long after, Wu Hongfu's seven-year-old son was accidentally injured while playing with his companion, causing his left eye to be blind. Later, heavy rain fell from the sky, destroying the adobe house where the family lived.Unfortunately things came one after another, putting the burden of life on his shoulders and his wife. In order to reduce the burden on the family, the eldest daughter only went to the second grade of elementary school and the second daughter graduated from junior high school.
My son was admitted to high school after graduating from junior high school, but his family was too difficult. The self-reliant son inherited his father's personality of not being afraid of hardship. He worked in the construction site and studied, and then he got into college half-work and half-study.
Even if it is so difficult, Wu Hongfu never makes any demands to the government. He relies on his hard-working hands to maintain the livelihood of the family. In order to make more money, he has gone to the bean curd factory to work for others and has also picked up garbage in the garbage dump.
But life does not favor this kind person. His wife suffered from overwork and was ill in bed due to overwork. So the family became Wu Hongfu alone to support him. He took care of his sick family while taking care of his sick family while working hard.
His wife didn't want to add burden to him, and once told Wu Hongfu: "Don't worry about me, you are so tired alone."
But Wu Hongfu, who has deep feelings for his wife, said firmly: "I will take care of you for one day, and you have never enjoyed a blessing after following me. Now you let me ignore you, I can't do it. I have been a soldier. What's this hardship? "
Even though his family is so difficult, he has never thought of asking the government for help. He firmly remembered his great military achievements in his heart and carved the "two cannots" of the battalion commander into his bones.
Wu Hongfu
Don't forget his original intention
One day in 2002, Wu Hongfu went to the street to buy some daily necessities as usual. Before passing by a book stall, he was attracted by a book "World Military". He stopped. When he turned to a certain page, his eyes suddenly felt a little wet. He saw that it was printed on it: A Second Battalion of a certain Air Force unit shot down the US-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in one fell swoop...
At this time, Wu Hongfu realized that the matter about the troops had been declassified. He trembled and took out the wrinkled money from his pocket and bought the magazine. After returning home, he looked at the words on it in a daze and said to his wife slowly, "I was in the army, and it was this kind of plane I was fighting... I made military achievements."
The wife finally knew the truth and couldn't help crying. She was happy for her husband who had been silent for 37 years. This kind of fighting side by side with her comrades can finally be said, and this honor can finally be seen again...
Wu Hongfu and his wife
Wu Hongfu's deeds were finally known by everyone, and the villagers were shocked. This old man who said he was just a fellow soldier in the army had once shot enemy planes on the battlefield and made a first-class contribution, but in the past 37 years, he had not mentioned a word...
When the villagers saw Wu Hongfu's hard life, they advised him: "Old Wu, you have lived a difficult life. Let's go to the government with your military merits and say, "Are you going to arrange a similar job, we are not going for nothing. It's not good, why don't you go?"
Wu Hongfu said: "I am used to enduring hardships, and it's very good now. The honor of military merits is achieved through hard work with my comrades. How can you get the benefits because of making merits? This is not possible."
Later, Wu Hongfu's deeds were known by the government. In 2014, the Air Force's surface-to-air missile forces held a literary and artistic performance of "Along the footprints of heroes", and staged a sitcom drama "Loyalty" with Wu Hongfu as the protagonist. Everyone was impressed by the spirit of this veteran.
Wu Hongfu saluted on the stage
After the scene drama ended, Wu Hongfu, who had changed into military uniforms, stood in the spotlight on the stage. Although he was gray in his hair, his figure was still upright. He bowed deeply to the audience below. When he looked up again, the audience stood up and saluted him. At this moment, his eyes were filled with tears... After the performance of
, Wu Hongfu came to the army with the leaders. His calloused hands carefully stroked the new equipment. He couldn't help but sigh that the country was getting better and better, the times were still improving, and technology was still developing... The wrinkled face was filled with a kind smile...
After returning to the village, the villagers respected the old man very much and called him "Old Wu".
But he complained: "What Mr. Wu, I am an ordinary old man who has been a soldier for several years. Let's call me Lao Wu, it's kind."
Although Wu Hongfu's deeds were spread, he still adhered to the concept of hard work and hard life, and also taught his children to work hard.
In November 2018, Wu Hongfu was named "The Most Beautiful Retired Military Personnel ". Among these 20 representatives, he is the only farmer.
"The Most Beautiful Retired Soldier" Wu Hongfu
On November 10, he came to Great Hall of the People to attend the award ceremony. The moment he entered, he felt very friendly.
He said: "More than 50 years ago, I was still a young soldier at that time. I was received by Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and Zhu Dedi here, and took photos with memorials. During the years, I don't know where the photos were left." After the award ceremony, the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of the Ministry of Military Commission, and the Political Work Department of the Military Commission held advanced deeds reports on the most beautiful soldiers. Wu Hongfu's experience and his hometown dialect were loved by the audience, and some of the audience were moved by his deeds and couldn't help but burst into tears.
After becoming famous, Wu Hongfu always kept in mind the words of the battalion commander and engraved the sentence "As a soldier, you should serve the people" in his heart and practice it into practical actions. He did not ask the country for anything, but was flattered by the country's attention.
He said: "I am just an ordinary veteran, doing what I should do, but the country pays so much attention to me. I should do better."
Over the years, Wu Hongfu has made many patriotic traditional education reports to school teachers and students, enterprises, institutions, and government officials. Whether it is students or staff, after listening to his report, he admires soldiers more and has a stronger patriotism.
Wu Hongfu is giving a report to the children
However, Wu Hongfu never charges a single cent from the relevant units. His position is very clear: "I just state the facts at that time. I am willing to report the patriotism with obligations."
The Provincial Charity Federation coordinated the Provincial Give Up Hospital for free surgery on his wife. The county government helped him build a new house. The country did not forget to care about this veteran who had been incognito for 37 years. He did not forget his original intention and inlaid couplets on both sides of the door of the house: Don't forget his original intention and follow the party, keep in mind the mission and make new contributions.
horizontal book is: absolute loyalty.
Although Wu Hongfu has long been discharged from the army, he has always kept his original aspiration in mind, insisted on following the party, and be a retired veteran in the new era! We should respect every veteran and be grateful to every soldier.
