Gloomy Birthday for Missing PilotThere are flowers and cakes, but no candles or smiles.Friday was the birthday of Wang Wei, the missing pilot of the Chinese fighter jet crashed by a U.S. spy plane April 1. "My son, today is your birthday. But you seem to have forgotten it." murmured Wang's mother, who has fallen ill since the incident. She told Xinhua that Wang was born on March 13 of 1968 by the lunar calendar. "I remember that the baby weighed almost five kilograms when he came into the world," she recalled. The child seldom caught a cold, and was always healthy and strong, and that is why he was finally recruited by the air force. When Wang Wei was 16 years old, his parents asked him: "What will you do in the future?" "I will be a soldier in the People's Liberation Army!" the young man answered swiftly. After graduating from middle school, Wang took part in an exam held by a pilot college, but he kept it a secret from his parents until he was recruited by the air force. Since Wang entered the college in 1986, he has not spent a birthday at home. "He was a diligent student, and a hard-working pilot," said his mother. She once told him: "Even though you wear a uniform, you should still find time to celebrate your birthday." Officials and ordinary people sent flowers and cakes to Wang's home. Wang's mother said, "If my son knew all this, he would have felt very happy." |
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