(Photo/xinhua)

Zhang Nan, a staff sergeant of Linyi Armed Police Detachment, Shandong Armed Police Corps, was a security officer in the Chinese embassy in Somalia. He was killed in a terrorist attack in Somalia on the evening of July 26, 2015.

He had been serving in the army for 11 years. Although his life was short, he left precious wealth to the world.

A loyal soldier

The remains of Zhang Nan returned to Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong Province, on the evening of August 1, 2015. China’s Armed Police Force posthumously conferred a badge of “loyal guard” on Zhang Nan.

A bomb attack jolted the Chinese embassy in Somalia on April 14, 2015, and Zhang was wounded in the chest. The shrapnel missed his heart by a centimeter and almost took his life. While recovering in the hospital, Zhang wrote a letter to his commander in China, saying he wanted to stay with his comrades and finish the mission.

A good comrade-in-arms

Hou Jianhu, Zhang Nan’s comrade-in-arms, said he would never forget a big fire in Mount Meng National Forest Park in 2011, when they received orders to put out the fire. When they arrived at the fire scene, Hou found that he lost the white towel due to nervousness. A strong fire wave hit, Zhang Nan used his towel to cover Hou’s face without hesitation regardless of his own safety.

A specialist in military skills

Zhang Nan was known as a specialist of competition in military skills in Shandong Armed Police Corps.

He was one of the “Top Ten Outstanding Sergeants”, and was awarded third-class merits twice. During his rescue and relief missions of more than 30 times, he had arrested 10 suspects and helped more than 40 people in distress.

This article was edited and translated from 《济南数百名武警官兵和群众送别张楠烈士》, source: People's Daily, author: Liu Chengyou.