Du Fuguo
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Du Fuguo | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 杜富国 |
| Born | December 3, 1991 Meitan County, Guizhou, China |
| Allegiance |  PRC |
| Branch | People's Liberation Army Ground Force |
| Service years | 2010–present |
| Rank |  Staff Sergeant |
| Unit | Engineering Troops |
| Awards |
|
Du Fuguo (born December 3, 1991) is a native of Meitan County,[1] Guizhou Province, China. He currently serves as a broadcaster for the Southern Theater Command Ground Force's official WeChat account, holding the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force. On October 11, 2018, as the leader of the fourth squadron of the Yunnan mine clearance team under the Southern Theater Command Ground Force, Du was seriously injured during a border mine clearance operation while shielding his comrades, resulting in the loss of both hands and eyesight. He was awarded the honorary title of "Mine-Clearing Hero Soldier" and the Meritorious Service Medal (China).[2][3]
Du Fuguo was born in December 1991 in Taiping Village, Xinglong Town, Meitan County, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China. [1]He has three younger siblings: Du Fujia, a nurse; Du Fumin, a doctor; and Du Fuqiang, who is also a soldier. [4] Du enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in December 2010 and joined the Chinese Communist Party in November 2016.[2] To deal with a large number of landmines and explosives left over from the Sino-Vietnamese War and the two-mountain war in the 1970s and 1980s, on June 15, 2015, with the approval of the General Office of the State Council and the General Office of the Central Military Commission, the Chengdu Military Region dispatched troops to form the Yunnan Section Mine Clearance Command of the China-Vietnam Border. It launched the third large-scale mine clearance operation on the China-Vietnam border, involving more than 30 towns and villages in six counties of Wenshan Prefecture and Honghe Prefecture in Yunnan Province, across 113 minefields with a total area of 81.7 square kilometres.[5] Du Fuguo took the initiative to apply to join the mine clearance team. In the past three years, he has entered and exited the minefield more than a thousand times, worked for more than 300 days in total, transported more than 15 tons of mine-clearing blasting tubes, cleared more than 2,400 mines and explosives in 14 minefields, and handled more than 20 dangerous situations of various types. [5] On the afternoon of October 11, 2018, at 2:40 pm, during a demining operation in Bazi Village, Malipo County, Wenshan Prefecture, Du was inspecting a Type 67 wooden-handled grenade for booby traps when it exploded. To protect his comrades, he absorbed the majority of the blast impact and shrapnel. His protective gear was shredded, and he lost both hands and his eyesight.[6] He lost consciousness at the scene. Afterwards, he was treated at Mengdong Township Clinic, Malipo County People's Hospital, and the PLA's 926 Hospital, where his condition stabilized.[5] After Du Fuguo was injured, a delegation from the army and local authorities came to visit and offer their condolences. After treatment, Du Fuguo has entered the rehabilitation stage and will be fitted with prosthetic limbs.[7]