If we look carefully at this photo, we will find that Chairman Mao has his eyes closed tightly and looks sad. But looking at Chairman Mao’s previous appearances in public, it seems that he has never looked like this before. Even when he was in trouble, Chairman Mao He has always

This is a picture of Chairman Mao embracing a female representative of the Chinese Volunteer Army. At that time, photographer Lu Houmin was very surprised when he saw this scene, because in his impression, Chairman Mao had never been embraced by such a young female soldier. After hugging him, he was deeply moved and pressed the shutter.

If we look carefully at this photo, we will find that Chairman Mao has his eyes closed tightly and looks sad. But looking at Chairman Mao’s previous appearances in public, it seems that he has never looked like this before. Even when he was in trouble, Mao The chairman has also remained calm, so why is he sad this time?

Looking at the female soldier next to her, she also closed her eyes tightly and shed tears. After checking the information, we found that this female soldier was just 20 years old at this time and had been in the army for less than 3 years.

At this interview ceremony, there was no scene in which she hugged Chairman Mao. So why was she selected as a representative? What prompted her to bravely embrace Chairman Mao?

She sacrificed her life to save the wounded, the contemporary "Mulan"

At 1 pm on November 30, 1951, a female soldier in the rear position of the Volunteer Army had just come down from the mountain to collect firewood and was about to go to the ward to change the dressing of the injured soldier when she suddenly saw Several enemy planes attacked quickly.

"Hidden! Hurry! The enemy plane is coming!" The female soldier shouted desperately to the medical staff and soldiers in the ward. After hearing the news, everyone hurriedly evacuated to the air-raid shelter. Seeing that everyone had left, the female soldier was holding her heart in her heart. After calming down for a while, he was ready to turn around and run towards the air raid shelter.

There was a bang, and the house next to the operating room was hit by a bomb from an incoming plane. A raging fire instantly broke out. However, the female soldier who should have been transferred in time went straight to the operating room.

It turned out that she suddenly thought that the platoon leader Li Yonghua, who was seriously injured and unable to move, was probably still in the operating room because he had not been transferred in time. In order to save people, she rushed in without hesitation. She was the female soldier Xie Xiumei in the photo.

"Platoon Leader Li, come with me!" After Xie Xiumei rushed into the operating room, she saw Li Yonghua lying on the hospital bed. She shouted while running over and carrying him out, but she had just walked outside the door. , two incendiary bombs landed on the roof.

The thatched house instantly ignited a fire, and the incendiary agent also splashed on the bodies of Xie Xiumei and Xie Xiumei. Seeing this, Xie Xiumei immediately took off the cotton-padded clothes she was wearing, blocked Li Yonghua's body, and continued to run towards the air raid shelter.

At this time, Li Yonghua was seriously injured. Coupled with the erosion of the fire, his body was very weak and he could not walk at all. However, there were several enemy planes in the sky firing bullets at them frantically. Li Yonghua knew that this was too dangerous. Not wanting to drag down Xie Xiumei, she roared: "Put me down and run, otherwise we will both die!"

"No, my mission is to protect you. If we die, we will die together!" Xie Xiumei refused, and she continued to carry her on her back. Li Yonghua moved forward, and when they were 50 meters away, a bomb fell next to them.

At the critical moment of life and death, Xie Xiumei still thought about her comrades. She quickly put Li Yonghua down and jumped on him. The bomb exploded, and shrapnel, sand, and gravel hit Xie Xiumei's body, leaving her covered with bruises. .

After an unknown amount of time, the enemy plane left. Xie Xiumei struggled to get up. She looked down and found that Li Yonghua was not injured at all, and she immediately smiled.

The danger was not over yet. Xie Xiumei continued to run forward carrying Li Yonghua, and finally moved to a safe place. Looking at Xie Xiumei covered in blood, Li Yonghua shed tears.

The story of Xie Xiumei's brave rescue quickly spread throughout the army. The soldiers were full of respect for her. Peng Dehuai, commander of the Volunteer Army, even praised her as "a bit like Mulan".

Later, the Volunteer Army headquarters specially awarded her first-class merit. She was the only female soldier among all the Volunteer Army soldiers who received first-class merit, and she also became a party member as she wished.

In fact, there are many more selfless deeds of saving lives like this for Xie Xiumei. However, what many people did not expect is that Xie Xiumei was a literary soldier at the beginning.

In February 1950, influenced by the deeds of the heroine Liu Hulan, Xie Xiumei resolutely joined the People's Liberation Army and became a member of the art team of the Political Department of the 202nd Division of the 68th Army. A year later, she followed the army to join the war in North Korea.

At that time, in order to avoid the reconnaissance of the United Nations forces, our army mainly arrived at the predetermined location on foot. The unfamiliar terrain caused great difficulties for our army, but Xie Xiumei completely overcame these.

During the 18-day continuous march of the 68th Army, she carried 30 kilograms of supplies and marched day and night without complaining or falling behind. Not only that, during the period, she also took the initiative to help a comrade carry a shoulder bag. And bags of rice weighing three to four kilograms.

Comrades all admire her perseverance, but as a woman, why does she have so much strength?

It turns out that Xie Xiumei was born in poverty. She worked for her family in the countryside since she was a child and developed a lot of strength. During the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War, she also took the initiative to become a small correspondent for the local guerrillas and accomplished a lot. It was a task to deliver a message, so a quick march was no problem for her.

However, as a art soldier , Xie Xiumei's main job is still in publicity. In order to enhance everyone's confidence and inspire fighting spirit, during the long march, she and several other art soldiers compiled the heroic deeds of the frontline soldiers. It became a cultural program and was widely publicized in the army.

In addition, in order to cheer everyone up, she also wrote and performed a play "Allegro", even the lyrics were written by herself.

" is called comrade, don't stop, go to the battlefield to perform meritorious service, eliminate the Japanese and aid North Korea, and leave your loyalty to reflect history, reflect history! " Under her encouragement, all the soldiers were relieved of fatigue and their fighting spirit was high.

Of course, art soldiers do not always do art work. Under the blockade of the enemy, the troops are in very short supply of supplies. In order to solve the problem of food, sometimes Xie Xiumei volunteered to dig wild vegetables in the mountains.

Among them, Xie Xiumei dug out more than 140 kilograms in 4 days, and was awarded the third-class merit for this.

The problem of eating was solved, and Xie Xiumei often went to the medical team in the rear to take care of the wounded. In short, she would go wherever there was need, because she knew that peace was hard-won, so she worked harder to protect it.

Bravely Embracing Chairman Mao

During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, in order to boost the fighting spirit of the entire army, a group of volunteer army representatives would be selected to form a delegation to return to the country to be interviewed by Chairman Mao at regular intervals. In January 1952, Xie Xiumei returned as one of the representatives. Arrived at home.

In the next six months, the domestic people did not hesitate to praise Xie Xiumei. Wherever she went, there was a sea of ​​flowers and applause everywhere. Xie Xiumei also made a tour report with great excitement, telling the heroic deeds of the volunteer soldiers. Show it to everyone as much as possible.

For a time, Xie Xiumei became a hero and received a large number of letters of condolence every day. Of course, the most unforgettable day in the country for half a year was May 23, 1952, because that was the day she met Chairman Mao. Got the noodles.

Before she left to return to China, her comrades told her, "If you can see Chairman Mao, please say hello on our behalf, tell Chairman Mao, tell the Chairman that we all miss him!"

Therefore, when she received the message the night before the interview, After this good news, Xie Xiumei was so excited that she didn't sleep all night. In the past, she had seen Chairman Mao in newspapers and in portraits. This time she could see Chairman Mao in real life. She couldn't believe it.

"What should I say when I see Chairman Mao? How to express the love of the frontline soldiers for the Chairman?" Xie Xiumei thought about it all night. She felt that she had a heavy responsibility because she had been selected as the female representative of the Volunteer Army.

The time came on May 23, and the meeting place was chosen on the big lawn behind Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai. Xie Xiumei had already been waiting quietly. Although she was very excited before coming, she really wanted to see Chairman Mao soon. , still somewhat nervous.

After a while, Chairman Mao came, and all the representatives turned their eyes to Chairman Mao, but everyone felt a little confused, because from a distance, Chairman Mao's expression looked very solemn.

It turns out that Chairman Mao’s eldest son Mao Anying died heroically on the Korean battlefield two years ago. Seeing these young representatives of the volunteer army who returned home, Chairman Mao felt the pain of losing his son and was inevitably a little uncomfortable.

Next, the representatives of the volunteer army lined up to present flowers to Chairman Mao one by one. Soon, it was their turn to get to know Xiumei.

"Hello, Chairman Mao! On behalf of the Volunteer Army, I present flowers to you. We miss you. All the Volunteer Army misses you!" On the way here, Xie Xiumei thought a lot, but at this moment, thousands of words turned into the most sincere words. greeting.

Chairman Mao smiled and put on the flowers. He warmly held Xiumei’s hand and said with the same emotion: " I miss you too. The motherland will never forget you. Victory must belong to us. From now on, I will miss you every year." I want to send a delegation to visit you. ”

Hearing this, Xie Xiumei became even more excited. She was still under 20 years old and her mind was full of the fact that the party had given her such a high honor and that the party had given her and her family a new life. Taking this opportunity, looking at Chairman Mao, whom everyone respected, in front of her, Xie Xiumei felt like a long-lost child meeting his kind father.

I saw her couldn't help but throw herself into Chairman Mao's arms, hugged Chairman Mao tightly, and cried excitedly. The representatives on the side were very moved when they saw this scene, and this scene was also captured by the photographer Lu Houmin recorded it and it became an eternal classic.

Of course, the reason why Chairman Mao looked sad may also be because he regarded these young volunteer soldiers as his own children. Although Mao Anying left, he believed that with the efforts of these heroic volunteer soldiers, the final victory would be achieved. It must belong to us.

After the handshake was over, everyone suggested asking Chairman Mao to sign a souvenir. Xie Xiumei was suddenly stunned because she had also thought about this the night before, but she was so excited that she didn't even have a piece of paper with her at this time.

In desperation, Xie Xiumei borrowed a small notebook from a comrade behind her, then quickly ran to Chairman Mao and said seriously: "Chairman, please sign for me as a souvenir."

"Okay! Okay!" Chairman Mao signed his name excitedly, but Xie Xiumei discovered that Chairman Mao actually signed both the first and second pages.

She didn't think too much because she was excited at the time. Later, she found out that Chairman Mao had long known that this book was borrowed, and he wanted the comrade to also have a signature. Xie Xiumei always kept Chairman Mao's attentiveness in mind. Became a role model for her to learn from.

In July 1952, Xie Xiumei returned to the Korean battlefield and continued to contribute to the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Later, she was received by North Korean leader Kim Il Sung as a representative of the volunteer army, and was awarded the North Korean Flag Medal .

However, Xie Xiumei never took these honors seriously. She felt that she just did what she should do. Compared with the martyrs who died on the battlefield, she knew that she was already much happier.

Therefore, after the victory of the war, Xie Xiumei and her husband Li Zhihua, who was also a member of the volunteer army, returned to China and lived an unknown life.

Returned to the ordinary, the people will never forget the heroes

After returning to China, Xie Xiumei did not stop and still wanted to contribute to the country. After more than a year of studying in the accelerated middle school, she was immediately assigned to a local job for her outstanding performance.

She was willing to turn yesterday's glory into a sky full of stars. After arriving at the local government, Xie Xiumei never told others about her past. In line with the principle of doing a job, loving a job, and doing a good job, she devoted herself to specific work.

In 1956, Xie Xiumei served as the Secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Gulou District, Xuzhou City. Here, she visited everywhere, listened to the voices of the people, actively organized and participated in labor, and achieved great results. She was rated as a municipal, regional, and provincial labor leader many times. Touch and activist.

In 1976, Xie Xiumei was transferred to Shijiazhuang Xinghua Printing Factory as the deputy director. After arriving here, she also worked hard with the heart of an apprentice.

In the past few decades, the once-famous female representative of the Volunteer Army and first-class hero Jie Xiumei disappeared from everyone's sight, but she herself never stopped working and dedicating herself. Despite the scars left by the war, Xie Xiumei fell ill at work.

In 1978, Xie Xiumei was admitted to the hospital due to cerebral thrombosis. Because of their simple life for many years, her family could not afford so much medical expenses for her medical treatment, so they could only borrow money from everywhere, but the expenses were too great. Or because there is no money for medical treatment, the treatment is in trouble.

In fact, according to Xie Xiumei's contribution, she only needed to report to the local government and she would get good medical resources, but she did not because she always felt that she was just doing what she should do at that time, and she did not want to be blamed for her illness. A waste of national resources.

The time came to 1994. At this time, Xie Xiumei had already owed more than 30,000 yuan in foreign debt due to medical treatment. The hospital was really unable to continue to provide her with treatment and had to issue a discontinuation notice. But if she did not continue the treatment, Xie Xiumei will be in danger.

At this moment, a miracle happened. The CCTV program " Oriental Time and Space " reported on Xiumei's deeds. When people learned that the hero who hugged Chairman Mao in the past was worried about having no money for medical treatment, everyone was deeply moved. , for a time, batch after batch of donations gathered like snowflakes to understand Xiumei.

It turns out that in April of this year, Xie Xiumei's brother Xie Wenxin, who was working at Nanjing Artillery Academy , wrote about his sister in an article published in the "People's Liberation Army Life" magazine.

At that time, the magazine was looking for heroes in the past. When they saw Xie Xiumei’s deeds and learned that she was worried about medical treatment, she took the initiative to contact the column team of "Oriental Time and Space" to report on it. The flood of donations represented that the people would not forget. hero.

As a result, with the support of people across the country, people from 15 provinces and autonomous regions sent letters of condolences in a short period of time, with donations amounting to more than 110,000 yuan. In addition, a large number of medical experts Come to the hospital to provide her with treatment.

At the same time, the local government also sent condolences and made appropriate arrangements for her condition. Xie Xiumei's condition gradually stabilized under the best treatment.

However, when seeing the flood of goodwill, Xie Xiumei's husband Li Zhihua stood up. On behalf of his wife, he expressed his gratitude to all those who cared about her and decisively declined the donation.

Li Zhihua said: "We have received proper arrangements from all aspects of the party and the government, and we really can no longer accept donations from everyone, because if this continues, the emotional debt we owe the people will be worse than the economic debt. "

Li Zhihua's words are sincere. Yes, the masses were very moved after hearing this. Yes, it is precisely because of heroic sons and daughters like Li Zhihua and Xie Xiumei who are willing to live in poverty, regardless of gains and losses, and dedicated to the country and the people, that our country can ride the wind and waves and live in peace and prosperity.

However, it is regrettable that due to her serious illness, Xie Xiumei finally passed away on January 30, 1996 due to ineffective treatment, bidding farewell to her infinitely beloved motherland and people.

would like to pay high respect to the revolutionary ancestor Xie Xiumei with this article!