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D-Day on Remembrance
After three years of secrecy and planning, the day arrives for the greatest invasion in history. To counter Hitler's defenses, the 1)Allies drafted a collection of 2)eccentric inventors and 3)mavericks to produce a new breed of 4)top secret 5)armory. Then, on a single day, June 6, 1944, two hundred thousand Allied troops descended on the beaches of Normandy, a definitive 6)triumph...that came at a tragic cost.
Veteran: There were dead people everywhere. They were floating in the water, the tides were turning them over...
This was "7)Operation Overlord." This was D-Day...
Under bright sunlight on a beautiful morning, Presidents Bush and 8)Chirac laid a wreath at a memorial wall bearing the names of missing soldiers, who were never 9)accounted for after the battle. Then the two leaders walked a long, red, carpeted runway to a platform set in the midst of the nine 10)hundred, three hundred eighty-three graves of Americans buried here, each marked by a clean, white, marble cross or 11)Star of David. Chirac spoke first.
Chirac: Mr. President of the United States, this day of remembrance begins here at 12)Colleville-sur-Mer, in this cemetery, where, for all time, America honors its sons, who died so young in the name of freedom. They are now our sons also.
President Bush then spoke of the half-light of the Tuesday morning long ago, as the first of one hundred fifty thousand Allied forces approached the beach in their 13)landing craft, under more intense fire than they could have imagined.
Bush: They 14)tell of the 15)pitching deck, the whistles of shells from the battleships behind them, the white 16)jets of water from enemy fire around them, and then the sound of 17)bullets hitting the steel 18)ramp that was about to fall. One 19)GI later said, "As our boat touched sand and the ramp went down, I became a visitor to Hell."
And the President told personal stories of a radio technician, responsible for setting up communications on the beach, who was killed after repeated trips back into the surf to 20)salvage equipment; of a man from Bedford, Virginia, who, before the assault, passed around a picture of his newborn daughter, named Danny, whom he'd yet to meet.
Bush: He told the fellows, "If I could see this daughter of mine, I wouldn't mind dying". Sergeant Parker's remembered here at the Garden of the Missing, and he is remembered back home by a woman in her sixties, who proudly shows a picture of her handsome, smiling, young dad.
Mr. Bush, with the English Channel off in the distance to his right, looked out on D-Day veterans in attendance, some here for the first time since the war, some making yet another 21)pilgrimage to the place that changed their lives so profoundly. All are getting on in years and mindful that this ceremony, honoring their service, could likely be their last time here. The President noted that generations to come will come to this cemetery to remember, that visitors will pay respects, but that these veterans come looking for a name from long ago.
注释：
1) Allies [5Alaiz] n. 第二次世界大战时的同盟国（在第一次世界大战时是指协约国）
2) eccentric [ik5sentrik] a. 古怪的，异乎寻常的
3) maverick [5mAvErik] n. 行为不合常规的人（团体）
4) top secret绝对机密的，最高机密的
5) armory [5B:mEri] n.兵工厂，军械库，这里意指军事行动、策略
6) triumph [5traiEmf] n. 胜利，成功
7) Operation Overlord 霸王行动，二战时盟军解放西欧战略的军事代号
8) Chirac 法国总统希拉克，全名Jacques Chirac（雅克·希拉克）
9) account for 作出说明，作出解释
10) hundred 口误，应是thousand
11) Star of David 大卫之星（犹太人的标记，由两个等边三角形反向叠成的六角星）
12) Colleville-sur-Mer 克莱维尔，美军公墓所在地，位于法国卡尔瓦多斯（CALVADOS）省
13) landing craft 登陆艇
14) tell of 讲述
15) pitch [pitF] v. （船舶）上下颠簸
16) jet [dVet] n. 喷射
17) bullet [5bulit] n. 子弹
18) ramp [rAmp] n. （登陆舰艇的）艏舌门
19) GI 美国兵（男兵为G.I. Joe，女兵为G.I. Jane）
20) salvage [5sAlvidV] n. 抢救
21) pilgrimage [5pil^rimidV] n. 朝圣
重访诺曼底
经过三年的保密和策划，历史上最伟大的进攻日到来了。为了攻破希特勒的防御，盟军选拔了大量独具创意的发明家和奇人异士来策划一项高级机密的军事行动。随后，在1944年6月6日这一天，二十万盟军部队在诺曼底海滩登陆。这是一次决定性的胜利，却也付出了极其惨痛的代价。
老兵：尸骸满目。那些尸体漂浮在海面上，随着潮水不断翻滚……
这就是“霸王行动”。这就是诺曼底登陆日……
这是一个阳光明媚的美丽早晨，美国总统布什和法国总统希拉克在刻有失踪士兵名字的纪念墙边为烈士敬献花圈——这些士兵在战役结束后一直下落不明。随后两国领导人沿着红色长地毯走向演讲台，这个演讲台设在埋葬着9383个美军士兵的墓地中。墓地上，每个士兵的坟墓都有一个洁白的大理石十字架或大卫之盾作标记。希拉克总统首先发表讲话。
希拉克：尊敬的美国总统，今天我们的纪念仪式由克莱维尔美军墓地开始。一直以来，美国在此向其儿子们致敬——他们为了自由而过早地献出了年轻的生命。如今他们也是我们的儿子了。
布什总统在随后的讲话中谈到了很久以前那个星期二早晨的晦暗。十五万盟军的第一批部队冒着超乎想像的猛烈炮火的攻击，乘登陆艇向海滩进发。
布什：老兵们描述当时的情景：船上下颠簸；炮弹从身后的战舰呼啸而过；敌人的炮火充斥周围，溅起了巨大的白色水柱；子弹不断撞击即将放下的钢造艏舌门。一个退伍军人后来说道：“当我们的船靠岸，艏舌门放下来的时候，我就成为地狱访客了。”
布什总统讲述了几个参战人员的故事。其中提到一个负责在海滩上建立通讯系统的无线电技师，他一次次地冲进海浪抢救设备，最后不幸牺牲。还有一位来自弗吉尼亚州贝德福德的士兵，在登陆之前他给大家传看了自己刚出生的女儿丹妮的照片——他还没来得及见上女儿一面。
布什：他对战友们说：“如果我能见一下我的女儿，我死也安心了。”现在就让我们在这“纪念之园”怀念这位帕克中士；而在美国还有一位60多岁的女士怀念着他，她时常骄傲地向人们展示她父亲的照片，照片中的他年轻英俊且面带微笑。
布什先生所在位置的右边，英吉利海峡遥遥可望。他面对着出席纪念仪式的曾参加诺曼底登陆的老兵——他们中有些人自从战争结束后还是首次重回旧地，而有些已是再次重临这个曾深刻改变他们生活的“圣地”了。他们都年事渐高，而且都十分清楚，这次参加向他们的贡献致敬的纪念活动，也许是他们今生最后来临此地了。布什总统指出，后人会到这片墓地缅怀过去；游人会来此向前人致敬；而这些老兵来到这里则是为了追寻多年前留在这里的英名。 |