Blue sky and blue sea, white sand beach, the five-star red flag pattern with an area of about 2900 square meters shines in the sun.
On the "Gobi Desert in the South China Sea" where coral reefs are weathered, the "long live the motherland" planted by officers and men of Zhongjian Island in Xisha Marine Police District of the Navy is like boiling blood, telling sincere feelings.
The sand sea rolled up by the typhoon was buried again and again, and replanted again and again ... In order to make "long live the motherland" as beautiful as ever, the officers and men watered "long live the motherland" with youth and sweat, and carved these four characters into their hearts.
There is a kind of confession, implicit and introverted-
Zhongjian Island is short of water and soil. In the harsh environment, the officers and men guarding the island keep company with the vast sea, associate with the isolated island, and watch the stars fall asleep. Many young soldiers secretly shed tears when they first landed on the island.
But the hard life has gradually faded their gentleness and femininity. They use the optimistic quality of melting and casting to counter the monotony of isolated islands.
Qiu Hua, a veteran who has been guarding the island for 20 years, is full of affection: "Keeping guard, Zhongjian Island has become his hometown. Do you know that?/You know what? Do you know that?/You know what? How proud we are to stand here facing the sunrise and sunset every day. "
Young soldiers guarding the island said that the island is the island of the motherland, the sea is the sea of the motherland, and guarding the island is to protect the country and defend the country. Such youth is more meaningful. Isn't it sung in the song? "You don't know me, and I'm not lonely. If you don't know me, I am still me. If one day the wind and rain come, the wind and rain will reveal the true colors of my soldiers ... "
This is a melody echoing in Tianya Island Reef, and it is also a monologue from the heart of the officers and men guarding the island.
This is where you can realize your dreams.
There is a rock engraved with "long live the motherland" in the old faucet of Shidao, Xisha.
This is the most famous "scenic spot" in Xisha, and it is also the spiritual coordinate of the island. Every recruit who has just arrived in Xisha will come here to appreciate the "soul" of Xisha; Every officer who is about to leave Xisha will also come here and leave his own "photo" of Xisha.
However, how did the word "long live the motherland" come from? Few people know.
In the years of guarding the peace of the motherland, the veteran left a youthful footprint in Zhongjian Island and sowed the seeds of dreams.
A few years ago, Zou graduated from the Military Academy and voluntarily returned to the island. Someone was puzzled and advised him to "think again". He said with a smile, Zhongjian Island is very bitter, but there are my dreams here.
Zou took root here from the moment the new recruits joined the army and landed on the island. In the past seven years, he has grown from a local youth to the monitor of the communication class. He has been pursuing his youthful dream: winning the champion of armed cross-country examination in the scorching sun, mastering many majors such as machine gun, communication, radar and oil engine, and being able to undertake all duty posts on the island.
One night when a super typhoon struck, he and his comrades were on duty in the bunker and were almost swept away by the waves ... Thinking of that narrow escape, Zou's determination to defend the island was even stronger.
From the day he decided to return to Xisha, Zou planted a new dream in his heart-he hoped to be the longest-serving soldier stationed in Xisha.
In Zhongjian Island, the dreams of officers and men are concrete, and everyone can see and touch them. Officers and men always smile and say, "This is the place where you can reach out and get your dreams."
This year, petty officer wangtong is about to expire. One day, he received a phone call from a classmate in his hometown of Anhui: "I have a project, and we will do it together when you come back." Wangtong at the other end of the phone said, "I want to stay in the team. I have submitted an application for staying in the team." Hearing this, the classmate quickly advised him: "The society is developing so fast that you are isolated from the world. If you stay, you can't keep up with this era ... "
That night, wangtong sat alone by the sea, his thoughts churning like waves. Zhang Xiaowei, his squad leader and senior sergeant, sat beside him silently: "Sometimes, dreams may be far away or close. The key is whether you can resist the temptation. Keeping the island is actually keeping the heart. "
Many people are curious about the soldiers guarding Xisha: will they feel lonely after watching the waves and starry sky for so many years? Is it worthwhile to let youth pass like this?
When I came to Zhongjian Island and walked into the spiritual world of the officers and men guarding the island, these question marks were straightened one by one.
At the bonfire party, the officers and men guarding the island sang and danced with melodious and dynamic music, and a clear smile bloomed on their tender faces. At this moment, in the boundless waves, this remote island is jumping with joy and light. How do people who are far away from the mainland of the motherland experience the excitement and happiness of the officers and men who guard the island?
Behind us is the great motherland.
The day when the veterans retired from the army was the last day that the officers and men guarding the island wanted to talk about most.
Last year, Senior Sergeant Zhang Jianxiong finished his service. On the day the veteran left the island, Guo Danyang, the fourth-class sergeant, was on duty. Standing on the sentry post on the top floor, he silently watched his good comrade-in-arms who went to the island and stayed on the island side by side 14 years boarded the helicopter, and he felt "a lot less" in his heart.
As the hovering sound of the wings faded away, watching the helicopter carrying his comrades fade away and become a "small black spot" on the horizon, Guo Danyang could no longer hold back his tears. ...
Being on a remote island is doomed to have bitterness and tears. But the officers and men said that they will never feel lonely, because behind them is the great motherland.
Zhang Xiaowei, a veteran who stuck to the island 14 years, explained the significance of sticking to it like this: "The distant mother cares about us, and the motherland is in our hearts."
In the honor room of the garrison camp, there are thousands of letters from all over the country in a glass cabinet, written by veterans and more by people from all walks of life. Liu said that in the information age, more care comes from network interaction and hotline. Every New Year, his mobile phone will always receive greetings from all over the country, and he will also ask for the mailing address ... Whether it is a few intimate blessings or a pack of hometown specialties, it represents people's care for the island and the officers and men who guard it.
On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, a female college student studying Russian in Beijing saw the story of Zhong Jiandao's officers and men guarding the island on TV and was deeply moved. She bought nine moon cakes and sent them to Zhongjian Island with an affectionate letter.
At that time, due to the inconvenient transportation, it was two months since the parcel arrived. Although the moon cakes are no longer edible, this letter has made the officers and men happy for several days. After lunch, the officers and men gathered in the pavilion in the camp and read word for word: "Brother soldier of Zhongjian Island, it is our happiness to have you in the border defense of the motherland ..."
Watching this island and loving it, even if I leave Zhongjian Island, I can't give up that special memory in my heart.
In the past two years, some demobilized veterans of Zhongjian Island have established a "Zhongjian Ren" WeChat group, the oldest of which is a veteran who joined the army in the 1970s. At ordinary times, what everyone talks about most is the nostalgia for the years of guarding the island, the satisfaction of life now, and the vision and dreams for the future. "The veterans who went out from Zhongjian Island are very optimistic and rarely complain about life." Liu said:
In the garrison camp, a silver-haired tree more than 3 meters high is half sunny and half cold. More than 40 years ago, veteran Wu Ruikong planted this "China Construction First Tree" in Zhongjian Island.
Last year, 62-year-old veteran Wu Ruikong contacted Liu through his daughter, hoping to fulfill a wish-to water the "First Tree of China Construction" he planted that year and pay a special membership fee. Wu Ruikong's daughter said, "After so many years, Zhongjian Island has always been my father's dream place ..."
Unfortunately, due to physical reasons, Wu Rui Kong has not been able to do so. But Liu kept it in mind: he and his comrades picked several leaves of the first tree in China, dried them in the sun, dehydrated them, and sealed them with transparent film to make a beautiful leaf specimen. This year, a soldier who went to visit relatives on the island made a special trip to send the specimen to Wu Ruikong's home. That day, looking at a few leaf specimens, Wu Ruikong was so excited that he kept touching them repeatedly with his hands. ...
Far away, close at hand.
In the honor room of the garrison camp, there is a "love letter" from afar. Time flies, and an affectionate story is also dusty in the years.
The writer is a girl from Nanjing. She has just turned 20 and has worshipped soldiers since she was a child. Once, she read the story of Zhong Jiandao's officers and soldiers guarding the island in the newspaper, so she tried to contact her cousin who served in the army and asked for the mailing address. Later, this "love letter" really crossed the ocean and came to the island ... At the end of the letter, the girl left her mailing address.
Cai Guanquan, a military doctor, is recognized as a "pen" by his comrades. The officers and men suggested that Cai Guanquan write back to the girl on behalf of everyone. Who knows, a few months later, the letter was returned-it turned out that the letter went too slowly on the road, and at the original address, she had graduated from college and left school. ...
"Zhong Jian people are very simple." Chen Zimin, an instructor of a company in the Garrison, went to Zhongjian Island after graduating from the military school. His sunny personality quickly adapted to the island reef environment. In his own words: "I am a romantic sailor ..." Or, this is Chen Zimin's inner insistence, a poem and a distance.
In recent years, Chen Zimin led his comrades to build an electronic reading room on the island and organized a beach volleyball match and a basketball match. A row of beach loungers and "parasols" made of coconut trees are designed and processed from discarded wardrobe boards and picked masson pine wood ... Every weekend, officers and men take time out of swimming training and rest on their loungers. Everyone's smile is as pure and clear as the waves.
There are too many bitter stories about officers and men stationed at the ends of the earth and far from their loved ones. But their emotional world is not bitter, but so rich and wonderful, full of romantic feelings unique to soldiers.
Zhongjian Island is hot and humid all year round, but there are also "snowmen" here. According to the lover's appearance, the officers and men made a "snowman" with white coral stones and took photos and sent them to her. They will also pick up beautiful shells on patrol and string them into beautiful necklaces for their sweethearts.
Sergeant Zhang Xin is a man of heart. He heard that the tiger-spotted shell symbolizes loyalty and love, so he carved a "love oath" on a picked tiger-spotted shell ... Now the young couple who joined hands in the marriage hall always feel that Zhongjian Island is their blessed land and a new starting point for their happiness.
Zhong Jian Island is so bitter, do any girls want to marry soldiers guarding the island? Bruce Lee proudly said that as long as the quality is good and there are plenty of fish in the sea, my comrades will find a more beautiful object.
Does Zhong Jiandao's love often come and go, or does Hongyan pass books? The officers and men said, neither. In the past, the traffic in Zhongjian Island was inconvenient, and few ships could only reach Zhongjian Island. The sea is stormy, and sometimes the ship comes, and the loved ones are close at hand, but they can only dock at other ports. Bruce Lee once watched the lovers who were about to meet leave the island. ...
Cross the bridge when you come to it. People who love each other are cruel. However, Zhongjian Island is by no means a wasteland of love.