VOA新闻杂志2024--二战美国老兵飞往法国参加诺曼底登陆日80周年纪念活动

US Veteran Returns to France 80 Years after Surviving D-Day

In 1944, Jake Larson was carrying a backpack with 34 kilograms of gear as the boat he was in got closer to Omaha Beach in France.

Omaha Beach was the name given to one of the five landing places on the coast of Normandy where allied¹ forces landed on D-Day.

Larson was an American soldier who was about to jump out of a boat and begin fighting Germany’s Nazi² forces in World War II.

Today, he is 101 years old and has 800,000 followers³ on TikTok. He tells his stories of fighting in the war on the social media service.

On June 6, he will be back in France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Larson was one of 150,000 soldiers who landed in France that day. Many did not survive.

Larson said he jumped out of the boat and into water that was up to his neck. German fighters fired guns and shells at the landing soldiers.

Larson said he got to the beach and avoided both the gunfire and the landmines⁴ buried in the sand.

He said he tells his story to honor the soldiers who died on that day. Talking about the soldiers who died in the water and on the beach, Larson said: “Those guys there, those there are the ones that deserve recognition. And I'm here to make sure that happens. I honor those guys,” he told the Reuters news service from his home in Martinez, California.

He remembers everything from that day. He calls himself “the last man.” There are very few people now living who fought on that day in June.

Larson wears a black jacket with the words "WWII Survivor⁵" on it. It has symbols of the six major battles in Europe that he survived, including the famous Battle of the Bulge⁶.

Larson is also known as “Papa Jake.” He started his military service by joining the National Guard in his home state of Minnesota. His group was called to action at the start of the war. It was sent to Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Larson moved to the Army V Corps⁷ before the D-Day invasion.

After getting out of the boat and holding his weapon above his head to keep it dry, he found a safe spot by some large stones. He took out a cigarette and tried to light it, but his matches were too wet. He turned to the man next to him and yelled, “Hey, buddy⁸, have you got a match?”

When he got no answer, Larson said he looked again. The man next to him was dead. He said he felt like he could hear the man saying, “Get up and run right now.” Larson started running, and he survived the fight.

In the last four years, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Larson and his granddaughter started posting his memories on TikTok.

Many people answered.

They say things like “thank you, thank you, Jake.” He said the people say his stories have changed their lives. “It’s an honor for me to hear something like that,” Larson said. “It keeps me going. People thank me for being a hero…I am here to tell you I am not a hero.”

Words in This Story

backpack –n. a bag for carrying things on the back

gear –n. (informal) equipment, supplies and tools that are needed for a task or trip

deserve –v. to say or show that someone ought to have something or should be treated in a certain way

symbol –n. an object, sign or design that represents something else, often an idea, belief, event or reached goal

buddy –n. (informal) a friend

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！