Twice Wounded in Battle
Searing hot shrapnel from a Chinese Nationalist bomb lodged itself deep in my back next to my spine. The blast killed our battalion commander, who was standing next to me. I was 17 years old.
I was the commander’s personal radioman and communicator in a battalion of about 500 men as part the 4th New Army of the People’s Liberization Army (PLA). We were engaged in ground combat with Guomindang (Kuomintang) ground forces fighting for the high ground on a ridge line to our front when Nationalist airplanes bombed our position killing and wounding soldiers around me.
Fortunately for me the commander was killed in the blast, otherwise the evacuating soldiers would have taken him instead and left me for dead as we were getting overrun by the advancing enemy forces.
Medical units evacuated me to the rear and eventually transferred me to a field hospital near Shandong, Qingdao where I convalesced for six months. I still carry the shrapnel in my body today and aches whenever the weather turns cold.
I took a Chinese Nationalist bullet in the head two years later in September of 1948, while our battalion was engaged in heavy combat against the #6 and the #8 battalions of the Guomindang army near Xuzhou in Northern Jiangsu Province. It was two against one.
The bullet entered the back of my skull behind my right ear and exited in the lower left corner of my mouth. Knocked to the ground and out of the fight, I was lucky to be alive. It took over a year to recover, and I couldn’t eat solid food for six months. See the scar on my lip. It reminds me of that day and the friends I lost when I see in the mirror. I was 19 years old then.
A Boy Soldier
I joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1942, with one other boy from our village in Henan Province. I was fourteen year old. The Guomindang was for the rich and the People’s Liberization Army was for the poor people. When PLA recruiters came to our village to put up posters and look for volunteers, I joined up. The news of my enlistement broke my mother’s heart. She cried so hard she couldn’t see.
We were extremely poor and barely surviving. Starving to death was a common occurance. My father died when I was very young. He’d passed away while he was on business selling livestock outside of China. I don’t remember him. I served in the PLA as a part-time soldier for about a year and then went on active duty in 1943. I still have a sister in Henan who I still keep in touch with but haven’t been home for more than 11 years now.
In the 4th New Army, our battalion had two cavalry units to it: the White Horse and the Black Horse. The commander made the soldiers take special care of the horses. Soldiers who did not were made to carry the horse’s loaded saddle on their backs as punishment. The horses were very loyal in battle. They would stop and sniff their fallen rider with their nose to see if he was breathing. If the fallen rider was still breathing, the horse would remain by his side. If not, the horse would run away.
During the war, People’s Liberation Army and Guomindang joined forces to fight the Japanese. The civil war was considered a family matter between the two and the outsider must be defeated first. There was no rank in the PLA until after 1955. I got out in 1954, after serving 12 years in the PLA. Looking back on my life, I’m glad I was a soldier.
A Nation in Turmoil
The Chinese government assigned me as the manager of a hotel owned by Shanghai seaport authorities. Shanghai was booming as our nation began to modernize. It was a good place to live.
During the Cultural Revolution, the country went a little crazy. The Red Guards stripped me of my title and my job. I had to report in to the local Red Guard leader twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening every day. At the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the government reinstated my job and title and I resummed working at the Shanghai seaport until I retired.
This summer as part of China’s 70th Anniversary celebration of the ending of World War II, the Chinese government presented me with this medal and 10,000 yuan in gratitude for my service during the war.
China is a better country today. I’m proud to have served in the military and played a small part in our nation’s birth. I’m 87 years old now. It’s time for the younger generations to do their part.
Travel Opens a World of Experience
Going abroad is about meeting people. It’s about getting to hear their story, and getting a glimpse of the world through their eyes. Traveling is about coming to the realization everyone is struggling to find their own way. It’s about seeing other countries through the eyes and from the persepective of its citizens.
On the road, you get to see things you would not have seen from the steps of your back porch. Being on the road is about meeting people you would not have met, touching and being touched by lives you would not have known had you stayed at home in your little corner of the world.
It’s about getting out there. What are you waiting for? Go. You’ll never know what you missed if you don’t. Experience and adventure await.
Let me know what you think. Please leave your comments below. They’re always appreciated. Cheers, Johnny
Reading this makes me realize how little I actually know of China’s History. I love history, and will force myself to educate myself on Chinese History. Good read, thank you Sir
Felix,
Thank you for the comments. China is an amazing place that very few comprehend let along understand. The Chinese people have over 5000 years of continuous written history. When the west was still throwing stones at each other and scribling on cave walls, the Chinese had a fully function society with a uniform language and charcters for writing. Even in the last hundred years, China has undergone massive change. Most people would be shocked if they were able to see the change that is occuring in China today. It’s an astonishing place.
Again, thank you for the input. Have a good one,
Johnny