'Iron Army' soldiers recall rescue operations

The section of the army to which Zhang's company, later commended for its rescue and relief efforts, belongs is known as the "Iron Army".

Soldier-turned-emcee Zhang Xinluo has seen too many families fall apart in the earthquake, and wants to help more families in his new role.[Cai Ke/China Daily]

Boasting a history of 85 years, it has been at the forefront of almost every war. Last year, too, the "Iron Army" played a central role at the quake's epicenter, a most unlikely battlefield.

Zhang's battalion stayed in Yingxiu for three months. Their tasks ranged from rescuing survivors and searching for bodies to clearing the rubble and transporting people to safe zones. The men also took part in the search for a military helicopter that crashed into the deep mountains near Yingxiu.

Memories of digging and burying the dead have never faded for Zhang.

As more bodies were found with each passing day, Zhang and the other soldiers became used to not only digging and touching the bodies, but also rearranging them so as to show respect for the dead.

Zhang Jinghua, who worked with Xinluo in Yingxiu and is still serving in the army, says the trick was in putting himself into the shoes of the dead.

"I'd think to myself: 'What would have happened if I were the one in that body bag? If people just left me there in pieces because they were squeamish, I'd be sad, too," he said.

But soon after their mission in Sichuan came to an end, the same courage that has kept Jinghua in the military drove Xinluo, a veteran of eight years, out.

Zhang Xinluo's decision to leave the army came as a surprise to many of his lads. After all, one more year of service would have translated into a much-envied promotion to NCO Third Class for the Luoyang native.

According to Liu Huichao, the political instructor of Zhang's former company, the shooter-turned-emcee "constantly suffered nightmares" after their troops returned to Henan. That experience, Liu hinted, was the major reason behind Zhang's unexpected retirement.

Zhang denied the claim, stressing: "No matter how long I stayed in the army, at the end of the day, I would have needed to get back to civilian life."

A promotion to Third Class NCO would have meant at least another eight years in the army; and when that time is up, Zhang would have been 35, "no longer young or competitive".

Almost half a year into his new life, Zhang says he loves being an emcee: He no longer needs to get up at 6 am, always the man with a crew cut and the same uniform.

But the bullet in his necklace speaks the rest of the story. "I was one of the best shooters in our company," Zhang said proudly.

Still standing ramrod-straight, the emcee wears the bullet necklace 24-7. "It (the bullet)'s from my favorite Type 81 rifle," he chuckled.

A year on, dozens of soldiers like Zhang have left the company. Others, like An Le, whose name literally means "peace and happiness", chose to stay.

No more rescue operations to conduct. No more bodies to bury. No more houses to build. No more mountains to trek. And most importantly, no more time to race against. Here in their military camp in Luoyang's Mengjin County, time seems to be among the least important of factors.

An, like everyone else in the camp, follows the same routine: Getting up at 6 am, attending drill twice during the day, and going to bed at 9:30 pm.

But the 21-year-old is now a the pride of the entire battalion. Last May, he pulled out a young woman from the debris after almost six hours. For that, An was named a national role model in quake relief in Beijing.

"We have the entire footage of him saving the girl; most other rescue efforts went unrecorded. An's act, proved in video, contributed significantly to our company's award,"

Liu said.