Men He

ankeMen He (门合, 1928-1967) was a native of Nanshangtun Village, Beishifo Township, Laiyuan County, Hebei Province. He was a hero as famous as Huang Jiguang, Lei Feng, and Jiao Yulu in the 1960s.

He joined the army in April 1948 and joined the Communist Party in 1947. Men was the deputy political instructor of the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Regiment of the Independent Division of the Qinghai Provincial Military Region at the time of his death. In September 1967, Men performed the task of supporting the left in Guinan County, Qinghai Province, and served as the representative of the Bacang Farm Army Propaganda Team. On 5 September, when using explosives to install soil rockets to drive away clouds and prevent hail, due to an accident during the installation process, Men died when he rushed to the anti-hail rockets that were about to explode to protect the lives of the remaining 27 colleagues.

On 23 April 1968, the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Central Military Commission, and the Central Cultural Revolution Group issued an order to "learn from comrades in the same circle". In June of the same year, Men was posthumously awarded the title of "a good cadre who is infinitely loyal to Chairman Mao's revolutionary line"; he was the only one in the history of the Communist Party to be awarded this title. The naming inscription was written by Lin Biao, the vice chairman of the Party Central Committee at that time. After Lin's fall from grace, Men's name was not mentioned too much for a period of time. Jiang Zemin, however, called him one of the heroes of China.