A Combat Hero:Li Yannian战斗英雄: 李延年

熊艳婷

在冰天雪地的東北和国民党军拼过刺刀，在山势险峻的湘西和土匪“掰过手腕”，也在被炸成焦土的朝鲜战场上和敌人肉搏过，率部队打到弹尽粮绝，歼灭美军精锐600 多人，他是李延年——一位为中华人民共和国的建立做出了巨大贡献的战斗英雄。

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；反击

2） block v. 拦截；挡住

3） frantic adj. 发狂的；紧张而忙乱的

4） comrade n. 战友

5） banditry n. 土匪行为

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 月参加革命。他曾参加解放战争、抗美援朝战争、对越自卫反击战等大小战斗20 多次。

辽沈战役时，李延年所在军队接到“死”命令——必须阻击廖耀湘兵团。双腿可以跑得过汽车吗？答案是“可以”。他带领军队连夜行进50 多公里，在天亮前赶到了预定地点修筑工事，但这时，敌人也到了。一边是不惜一切代价的坚守，一边是困兽之斗的疯狂突围。那场战斗太惨烈了，一个战友牺牲了，另一个就主动补上去，这场战斗整整打了三天三夜，就是这段宝贵的时间为友邻部队争取了合围时机，最终我军全歼廖耀湘兵团。之后，李延年又参加了平津战役和湘西剿匪，多次立功被提拔为连队指导员，但他从不贪功，每当有人称赞他的英雄事迹，他都会说，这并非他个人的荣誉，而是战士们的荣誉。

抗美援朝战争爆发后，李延年随中国人民志愿军入朝作战。这段岁月也是他一生中最难忘的。1951 年10 月，李延年担任7 连的指导员，他和连长奉命反击，发动夜袭，迅速攻占了三个阵地。但美军精锐部队的火力几乎覆盖了每一寸土地，很快，7 连就伤亡过半，副连长和副指导员阵亡。弹药打光了，李延年就带领部队，捡敌人遗落的武器继续反击；一名战士在子弹打光之后，拿着爆破筒与冲上阵地的20 多个敌人同归于尽。战斗持续了20 多个小时，全连203 人拼到最后只剩下48 人，英雄部队7 连就像钉子一样，狠狠地扎在了高地上。

1953 年从朝鲜战场凯旋后，李延年的战争生涯并没有就此结束，他一直战斗在边防一线，直至1983 年离休。多年来，不论在工作中还是在生活上，李延年淡泊名利，坚持原则。只要身体条件允许，他就会去距离不远的学校给学生作报告，且都是騎自行车前往。干休所工作人员对他说：“您年纪大，又是一名战斗英雄，可以要求派车保障出行。”李延年却说：“我只是尽了一名战士的本分，不能向组织提要求。我这辈子就想当一个能打胜仗的好兵，把自己的一切交给祖国。”

历史将永远记得李延年们。他们的名字也会永远铭刻在中国这片土地上。而我们每一个人，也该永远铭记：有人以身许国，才有山河无恙！