张祖依出生在湖南祁阳县一个普通农家,7岁那年母亲去世,他便以流浪乞讨为生。1949年7月,他在祁阳县参加地方游击队,第一次战斗就差点儿丧命,是战友从死人堆里把他背了回来。1951年,张祖依参加了中国人民志愿军,在祁阳县集训了一个月后就被分配到新兵营。到了2月,他和战友坐火车去了哈尔滨,在鸭沟车站又学习半个多月后就跨过鸭绿江入朝参战。 Zhang Zu was born in an ordinary farmhouse in Qiyang County, Hunan Province. When his mother died at the age of 7, he begged for a living. July 1949, he joined the local guerrillas in Qiyang County, the first battle almost died, his comrades put him back from the heap of dead people. In 1951, Zhang Zu was enrolled in the Chinese People’s Volunteers Army and was assigned to the new barracks a month after the training in Qiyang County. In February, he and his comrades took a train to Harbin. After studying at DuGou Station for more than half a month, they crossed the Yalu River and entered the war.