A Combat Hero:Li Yannian戰斗英雄: 李延年

熊艷婷

在冰天雪地的東北和國民黨軍拼過刺刀，在山勢險峻的湘西和土匪“掰過手腕”，也在被炸成焦土的朝鮮戰場上和敵人肉搏過，率部隊打到彈盡糧絕，殲滅美軍精銳600 多人，他是李延年——一位為中華人民共和國的建立做出了巨大貢獻的戰斗英雄。

Born in November 1928 in Changli， Hebei Province， Li Yannian joinedthe revolution in October 1945. He took part in more than 20 wars， suchas the War of Liberation ， the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea，and the 1）Counterattack against Vietnam in Self-Defense.

During the Battle of Liao-Shen， Li Yannian’s troops received a “deadly”order to 2）block Liao Yaoxiang’s corps. Can two legs outrun the wheelsof a car？ The answer is yes. He led his troops to march more than 50miles through the night and arrived at the designated place to buildfortifications before dawn， but at that time， the enemy also arrived. Onone hand， the enemy was holding on at all costs， and on the other hand，there was the 3）frantic breakout of the trapped beast. The battle wasso tragic： a 4）comrade fell， another immediately rushed up. The battle?was fought for three days and three nights， with this precious time for theneighboring troops to fight the time to close the siege， and finally our armycompletely wiped out Liao regiment. After that， Li Yannian participated inthe Pingjin Campaign and the western Hunan 5）banditry， many times6）meritoriously promoted to the company instructor， but he was nevergreedy for credit. Whenever someone praised his heroic deeds， he wouldsay this is not his personal honor， but the honor of the soldiers.

After the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out，Li Yannian joined the voluntear army. It was the most memorable timeof his life. In October 1951， Li Yannian served as the instructor of the7th Company， and he and his company commander were ordered tocounterattack， launching a night attack and quicklycapturing three positions. But the firepower of theelite American troops covered almost every inchof ground. Soon， the 7th Company sufferedmore than half casualties; the deputy companycommander and deputy instructor were killedin action. When the ammunition ran out， LiYannian led the troops， picking up theweapons left behind by the enemyto continue the counterattack;one soldier， after running out ofbullets， took a blasting canisterand died with the more than20 enemies who rushed theposition. The battle lastedmore than 20 hours; 203people in the company fought?to the end and only 48 people left. Heroic troops 7th Company like anail， fiercely rooted in the high ground.

After his triumphant return from the Korean battlefield in 1953，Li Yannian’s war career did not end there. He fought on the frontierline until his retirement in 1983. Over the years， Li Yannian has beenindifferent to fame and wealth and adhered to principles， both in hiswork and in his life. As long as his physical condition permits， hegoes to a nearby school to give a lecture to his students， all by bike.The staff of the rest home for retired cadres said to him， “You are oldand you are a combat hero， so you can ask for a car to guaranteeyour travel.” But he said， “I’m just doing my job as a soldier， so I can’tdemand anything from the organization. In my life， I want to be a goodsoldier who can win battles and I’ll give everything to my country.”

History will always remember “Li Yannians”. Their names will alwaysbe engraved on the land of China. And every one of us， also shouldalways remember： some people are dedicated to the country， so thatthere can be peace today.

1） counterattack n. 反攻；反擊

2） block v. 攔截；擋住

3） frantic adj. 發狂的；緊張而忙亂的

4） comrade n. 戰友

5） banditry n. 土匪行為

6） meritoriously adv. 功成身退地

李延年，1928 年11 月出生于河北昌黎，1945 年10 月參加革命。他曾參加解放戰爭、抗美援朝戰爭、對越自衛反擊戰等大小戰斗20 多次。

遼沈戰役時，李延年所在軍隊接到“死”命令——必須阻擊廖耀湘兵團。雙腿可以跑得過汽車嗎？答案是“可以”。他帶領軍隊連夜行進50 多公里，在天亮前趕到了預定地點修筑工事，但這時，敵人也到了。一邊是不惜一切代價的堅守，一邊是困獸之斗的瘋狂突圍。那場戰斗太慘烈了，一個戰友犧牲了，另一個就主動補上去，這場戰斗整整打了三天三夜，就是這段寶貴的時間為友鄰部隊爭取了合圍時機，最終我軍全殲廖耀湘兵團。之后，李延年又參加了平津戰役和湘西剿匪，多次立功被提拔為連隊指導員，但他從不貪功，每當有人稱贊他的英雄事跡，他都會說，這并非他個人的榮譽，而是戰士們的榮譽。

抗美援朝戰爭爆發后，李延年隨中國人民志愿軍入朝作戰。這段歲月也是他一生中最難忘的。1951 年10 月，李延年擔任7 連的指導員，他和連長奉命反擊，發動夜襲，迅速攻占了三個陣地。但美軍精銳部隊的火力幾乎覆蓋了每一寸土地，很快，7 連就傷亡過半，副連長和副指導員陣亡。彈藥打光了，李延年就帶領部隊，撿敵人遺落的武器繼續反擊；一名戰士在子彈打光之后，拿著爆破筒與沖上陣地的20 多個敵人同歸于盡。戰斗持續了20 多個小時，全連203 人拼到最后只剩下48 人，英雄部隊7 連就像釘子一樣，狠狠地扎在了高地上。

1953 年從朝鮮戰場凱旋后，李延年的戰爭生涯并沒有就此結束，他一直戰斗在邊防一線，直至1983 年離休。多年來，不論在工作中還是在生活上，李延年淡泊名利，堅持原則。只要身體條件允許，他就會去距離不遠的學校給學生作報告，且都是騎自行車前往。干休所工作人員對他說：“您年紀大，又是一名戰斗英雄，可以要求派車保障出行。”李延年卻說：“我只是盡了一名戰士的本分，不能向組織提要求。我這輩子就想當一個能打勝仗的好兵，把自己的一切交給祖國。”

歷史將永遠記得李延年們。他們的名字也會永遠銘刻在中國這片土地上。而我們每一個人，也該永遠銘記：有人以身許國，才有山河無恙！