Collected photos of sacrificed comrades to this day | Oral history of veteran soldiers of the Volunteer Army. He drove a T-34 and rushed to enemy positions to stop fighting | Comrades | Enemy

Editor's note:

On the morning of July 27, 1953, representatives from China, North Korea, and the United States officially signed an agreement on a military ceasefire in North Korea. At this point, after two years and nine months of bloody struggle, the Korean War ended with a great victory for the Chinese people.

This victory belongs to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, to every Chinese person, and is a powerful declaration that the new China stands firm in the east of the world. At present, as we embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modernized country, we still need to draw strength from the great spirit of resistance and assistance forged by the Korean War, overcome all difficulties and obstacles, and defeat all powerful enemies.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Korean War, the Liberation Daily's Shangguan News has launched a series of reports from now on, tracing the hardships and great glory of the past through the oral accounts of veteran volunteers in Shanghai.

Narrator: Yan Huaijian, male, 91 years old, a soldier of the Second Independent Tank Regiment of the Volunteer Army. He went to North Korea to participate in the war in October 1952

There is still a shrapnel in my body, which is the injury I suffered during the Korean War. That was during a counterattack in the Shangganling area in June 1953, when I was severely injured by enemy shells and later rated as second-class Grade A disabled.

I was only 16 years old when I joined the army. That was November 1948, when the Huaihai Campaign began near my hometown. With the support of my parents, I joined the People's Liberation Army and worked in the logistics department of the East China Field Army. After the liberation of Shanghai, I was assigned to receive the Nationalist Party's Central Banknote Printing Plant, which later became the Shanghai Banknote Printing Plant. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the young employees of our factory actively responded to the call to "Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Protect Our Country". A total of more than 100 people signed up to join the military, and my cousin Yan Huaitang and I also signed up without telling our families. Finally, 64 people were selected, and I am the youngest among them.

The workers who signed up to join the army at the Shanghai Banknote Printing Factory took a group photo as a souvenir, with Yan Huaijian in the third row, second on the right

In the first half of 1951, we sailed to Shangqiu, Henan. During the Liberation War, we seized some tanks that the United States had provided to Chiang Kai shek, which happened to be used to learn driving skills. In the train group, I serve as the driver. In June 1952, I was already proficient in driving tanks and learned many tank tactics, so my superiors ordered us to go to Harbin to receive the T-34 tanks provided by the Soviet Union. At the end of the same year, I drove a tank and officially entered the Korean battlefield.

In June 1953, in order to cooperate with the ceasefire negotiations, the Volunteer Army decided to launch a counterattack against the enemy in the Shangganling area. The main force of the counterattack is the 24th Army commanded by General Pi Dingjun. The task of our tank regiment is to cooperate with infantry to destroy the enemy's open bunkers, hidden fortresses, and trench barbed wire, and take down the enemy's positions.

I remember very clearly that on the evening of June 12th at 10 o'clock, an attack command came through my earphones. The artillery first launched fierce shelling on the enemy position, and then my comrades and I drove three tanks out of the bunker and charged towards the enemy position. Ten minutes later, American planes arrived and dropped dozens of flares over the battlefield, followed by fierce enemy artillery attacks. At this point, the antenna of the tank I was driving was blown out and I couldn't hear the instructions in my earphones. So, braving intense gunfire, I crawled out of the cockpit, quickly replaced the backup antenna, and continued forward.

Four or five meters away from the position, the enemy's artillery hit the left side of my tank. I pulled the lever and found that the left clutch was malfunctioning. Fortunately, the tank had three clutches, and the main clutch was still intact. I used the inertia of the main clutch to move forward and backward to correct the direction, successfully arrived at the shooting position, and together with the other two tanks, fired fiercely, destroying the enemy's fortifications. Our infantry, who had long been ambushed in front of the enemy position, took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce charge towards the enemy mountain. After a night of fighting, they captured the position.

As soon as the sky was slightly brighter, the enemy launched a counterattack. At that time, I was repairing the tank clutch when I was hit by shrapnel from a shell on my left back, my rib was broken, and the shrapnel was embedded in my left lung near my heart. I passed out. In a daze, I heard the health worker shouting, "Xiao Yan, your lung has been damaged and blood bubbles are popping up from the wound. The blood cannot flow out and you will suffocate.". Amidst his shouting, I gradually came to my senses, feeling suffocated and my lungs burning like fire, but I knew very well that I had to persevere at this moment. I endured the excruciating pain and spat out the blood clots one by one, only then did I feel better. After the health worker bandaged me, two soldiers carried me to the dressing station at the front line. Because the injury was very serious, after simple treatment, the North Korean ambulance team sent me to a military hospital far from the front line and with better conditions for surgery.

Yan Huaijian in his youth

When I woke up from anesthesia, it was already three or four o'clock in the morning, and the pain in the wound was unbearable. In addition, for several days on the front line, I had only relied on compressed biscuits to satisfy my hunger, and I was already starving. The doctor saw that I was awake and brought me a bowl of noodles, with two fried eggs lying on top, which was the only treatment for severely injured soldiers. The next day, I was sent to the headquarters of the Volunteer Army and received for treatment by an ambulance train sent by the motherland. Unexpectedly, the train was discovered by enemy planes again. They dropped multiple heavy bombs, which exploded and splattered stones and shrapnel. Fortunately, I was not injured this time and survived.

When the news of the victory in the Korean War came, I was recuperating in a hospital in Jilin. Everyone was very excited. With so many comrades sacrificed, the victory was not easy won!

There is a photo of my comrade in arms in my album, which has been preserved for decades. His name is Weng Zeyuan, he is my colleague at the Shanghai Banknote Printing Factory and also a comrade in arms of the Tank Independent Regiment. Once, when our troops were taking cover in the Wanyao Cave area of North Korea, they were discovered by enemy planes. I dodged the bombing, but unfortunately, he was killed by an enemy plane while taking cover in another location. He was only 21 years old and his body was buried in North Korea. He also comes from a poor family background, and we had a good relationship when we were in the factory. His sacrifice made me very sad.

The photo of sacrificing comrade Weng Zeyuan has been cherished by him for decades

At the end of 1953, in order to prevent Americans from renegotiating and tearing up the negotiation agreement, the Volunteer Army made corresponding deployments and prepared for combat at any time. Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, I was once again sent to North Korea as a technician, helping to train tank soldiers, until I returned to my home country in 1954.

Why is the battle flag so beautiful that the blood of heroes turns it red? Why is spring always here on the earth, and the life of heroes blooms with flowers? 70 years have passed, and we cannot forget that today's peaceful and happy life has been exchanged with the blood of countless soldiers, so we must cherish it well.