We knelt down and wept bitterly. Veterans of the Volunteer Army recounted their history, saw the lights at the train station, and returned soldiers from the Korean battlefield. Military Brigade, North Korea
Narrator: Cao Sheng, male, 90 years old, a soldier of the Independent 17th Battalion of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Anti Aircraft Artillery. He entered the Korean War in October 1950.
My military career began on May 1, 1949, when I was 16 years old. In my second year of military service, I accompanied the troops to the Korean battlefield. Before crossing the Yalu River, we comrades all left our family addresses to each other and reminded each other, "If I sacrifice myself, you must go tell my family.".
In the past three years, I did not communicate with my family, and they thought I was long gone. After the victory of the Korean War, we finally returned to the embrace of our motherland. Stepping off the train and seeing the lights at the train station, my comrades and I couldn't help but cry and kneel on the ground. We have returned victorious, but many of our comrades who went on the expedition together will always stay in North Korea.
Running to the battlefield, not afraid of gunfire
On May 1, 1949, I joined the Yuantan District Squadron in Qianshan County. Later, our squadron was reorganized into the Third Company of Qianshan County Brigade, and I worked as a correspondent in the company headquarters before becoming a soldier. At that time, our county brigade had three companies, each with over 100 people. After completing the suppression of bandits in the county, our company was promoted to the third battalion and ninth company of the Anhui Eighth Regiment, and later arrived in Hefei, officially incorporated into the field army sequence.
In 1950, the United States invaded North Korea, and everyone understood the principle of losing their lips and teeth. Everyone expressed their determination to support North Korea and never let the United States attack our country. Quickly, the higher authorities notified the whole team to gather. Before boarding the train, we didn't even know the destination. The train headed north and headed all the way to Shenyang. Here, we changed our name to the National Defense Army, and a few days later we changed to the Volunteer Army, and began training by the Yalu River. We just found out that we are going to resist the United States and aid North Korea.
At the end of October, we departed from Ji'an County for North Korea. This trip is to defend our country, so the morale of the entire army is particularly high, and they cross the Yalu River with great vigor and determination. Along the way, everyone walked, ran, and sang with great enthusiasm. I was an infantry soldier at the time, carrying a gun and burying my head to follow.
Just crossed the Yalu River, and when we saw it, there was a lot of artillery fire and troops everywhere. I followed the class monitor, and when he asked me to run, I ran desperately. Wherever he pointed, I charged forward. I can't think about anything in my mind, and I don't even know how to be afraid. Even if there is artillery fire all around, I'm not afraid. I only know that we need to move forward, fight, and eliminate American imperialism.
The position has turned into a sea of fire, stubbornly resisting enemy planes
In a battle in early 1951, our platoon suffered heavy casualties. During the rapid transfer process, I injured my foot and was unable to continue moving, so I had to stop and wait for the medical team. Later, the logistics department of the Ninth Corps took me in and I became a soldier in the security and communication company. I haven't been here for a long time because the artillery on the front line suffered heavy casualties and lacked troops. I was then assigned to the Independent 17th Battalion 1st Company of the 27th Anti Aircraft Artillery Corps.
At that time, enemy planes flew around overhead every day, and the task of anti-aircraft artillery units was very heavy. They had to protect transportation hubs, ammunition depots, warehouses, military supplies, and combat command organs, as well as cover the gathering of troops and ground artillery groups, which were the first targets of enemy aircraft attacks. So our battles are very frequent, almost every day.
Our battalion has three anti-aircraft gun companies and one machine gun company. A company only has four guns, and enemy planes often deploy dozens or even hundreds of them together. The battle is very brutal, with more than ten people supporting one gun, one person falling, and the other immediately filling in. As long as the gun is still there, it will continue to be fired. It wasn't until the cannon was scorching hot and even the barrel caught fire that the shells were discarded. My task is to carry and compress shells, as well as carry wounded soldiers and repair fortifications, without stopping.
During my time in the anti-aircraft artillery, I experienced five important battles, and the most memorable one was in the third phase of the counterattack, where we were tasked with protecting the artillery group at the 740 altitude. At that time, our cannons were on the hillside, with a group of cannons hidden in the ravine below, covered by branches that could not be seen from afar. There were hundreds of them, including the Katyusha rocket launcher and the Stalin-2 self-propelled artillery.
After the battle began, enemy planes kept reconnaissance and strafing overhead, and the enemy artillery kept firing. We can only constantly change places to attract their firepower. My comrade Min Shaohua had one of his legs blown off in the midst of gunfire and bullets. He was an old artillery soldier, and when we pulled him down, he just couldn't get down because four planes were diving down at that moment. He had to drag his injured leg and hit one of the planes before being stretchered to the rear.
A handful of fried noodles and a handful of snow defeated the enemy who ate canned meat
The biggest feeling on the Korean battlefield is fatigue, fatigue, hunger, and coldness. At that time, supplies had to be transported from within the country, and the most commonly consumed ones were fried noodles and compressed biscuits. The fried noodles were packed in cloth bags, like a big sausage filled, with each person carrying a bag. In summer, a handful of fried noodles is worth a sip of water, and in winter, a handful of fried noodles is worth a drop of snow.
In winter in North Korea, it can reach temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius, making it difficult to breathe through the nose. Standing guard for an hour can freeze to death, so it's important to keep moving. It's not an exaggeration in the movie, it's just like that, even more powerful, we can pile up a "pagoda" even when we pee. However, starting from 1953, the food became better and we stopped eating fried noodles. We had soybeans to eat, and when the soybeans were cooked, they had a salty aroma and were very delicious. Of course, it would be great to be able to eat canned meat seized from US military warehouses. They ate very well, including canned chicken and fish. We even saved the small spoons in the cans and continued to use them.
Although the weather is cold and the ground is cold, hunger and fatigue, and enemy planes are constantly bombing, and transportation is often interrupted, none of us are afraid of death. Our morale has always been high, and we all want to eliminate the enemy earlier. Sometimes people joke that you have to go home and marry a wife, your mother is still waiting for you, and your children are still waiting for you to call them dad. This way, we can encourage each other.
I have achieved second class merit once and third class merit twice on the battlefield, and have been commended several times. The Korean People's Army has awarded me one military merit medal and one medal. When awarding, I was asked to perform the best and be the most proactive, and everyone recommended me. In fact, I just run more diligently, carrying shells, carrying stretchers, repairing fortifications, and doing all kinds of work. I tell everyone, "Try your best, I'll carry the shells," and "Don't worry, I'll carry the stretchers.".
Cao Sheng and his wife both love playing goal kick
On the afternoon of July 27, 1953, we saw an enemy plane flying very low, and we were very excited: flying so low, it was easy to shoot down. As a result, I received orders from my superiors not to fight because a ceasefire agreement had already been signed. We just found out that the ceasefire has come to an end, we have won! Everyone is very happy that there is finally no need for war and we can go back to building our country.
The mood when I set foot on my homeland is indescribable. As soon as the train arrived in Ji'an, the door opened and I saw the lights in the station, tears welled up in my eyes. I have been fighting in the mountains and valleys of North Korea for three years, and have never seen the city's lights and scenes of people coming and going. At this moment, everyone was filled with tears, and many of us knelt on the ground cheering - we have come back victorious!
