91岁老兵讲述历史

This year marks the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War Two. Our reporter Liu Yang met 91-year-old Chinese veteran Zhang Wenhui and his family in Sichuan Province, and he regaled her with some rarely-heard stories from the period.

"We first investigated the terrain surrounding the fort, and then we counted the numbers of loopholes at the fort. I designated work to soldiers. I mainly looked at the terrain. At the end, we used three packs of explosives to blow up the enemy’s fort into the sky," said Zhang Wenhui, the WWII veteran.

WWII veteran Zhang Wenhui was describing what it took to break through "the third blockade" plotted by the Japanese invadors in 1942. The old man recalled that in 1941 and 1942, the Japanese army established “ four blockades” in the anti-Japanese base area in the northern province of Hebei, where more than 70 forts were built -- all were several feet high -- surrounded by trenches and barbed wire, and suspension bridges for getting in and out.

During the eight-year war against Japan, Zhang was the Engineer Company Commander for the Sixth Division of the Eighth Route Army 129. And, later, he took part in the War of Liberation and fought in several key battles.

He was the commander of the Zigong Military Sub-command of the Sichuan Provincial Military Command before he retired. He was awarded many medals for his outstanding military service during the wars. Seventy-seven years may have passed, but his memories are still fresh.

"The Japs were mopping up. We tried to blow up either their trains or vehicles. And in an anti-Japanese base area village, we taught know-how in mines and explosives to soldiers, civilians, and militia members," Zhang Wenhui said.

Zhang says three of his relatives were brutally killed by Japanese soldiers; the scenes of those killings are engraved in his memory, never to be forgotten. In his book, published in 2005, he detailed the barbarity of the Japanese, who conducted their “Three Alls Policies” in an anti-Japanese base area in northern China in 1942.

"The Japs did gratuitous violence in China. WHY? They slaughtered Chinese civilians, during the Japanese mopping-up in 1942; women were sobbing in villages; dead bodies were scattered everywhere; fires were common, it was a gloomy scene," Zhang said.

Commander Zhang fought in thousand of battles during the wars but now, many decades later, whilst some of the names of the battles are becoming feint, the brutal scenes of war and the sacrifices of his beloved comrades are still very clear...

"At that moment, our number of enemies was into the dozens; all around the blasted city-gate were dead bodies, with a very strong smell of blood. I rushed to the gate; but only saw my comrade’s thigh and a handgun that I gave to him. He was blown up, he was gone," Zhang said.

"When we were young, my father taught us his fighting spirit, and that was inspiring and nurturing to us, and the people of our generation. We feel, that back then, in the tumultuous anti-Japanese wartime, the Communist Party of China strengthened the confidence of the Chinese people, especially the civilians. The victory over Japan, as a result, is a victory for the Chinese people," said Zhang Jin, Zhang Wenhui's son.

As time passes by, there will be fewer veterans around to regale their testimonies from this period. But now Commander Zhang Wenhui says, after three published books depicting important battles, he has peace of mind. The memories of the time will be with him forever.

China will hold a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3rd , to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.

Veterans say they are luckier than most of their comrades to be able to witness the anniversary, many decades later. For us, it's a day that we should be thankful to these veterans who fought hard to protect our homeland.