VOA常速英语2008年-Pentagon Unveils Portraits of World War I Veter

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
11 March 2008

A photo exhibit was dedicated¹ at the Pentagon last week, portraits of nine American World War I veterans, all of them more than 100 years old. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

The large, vivid photos are remarkable². A man in red with a wide smile, holding his World War I medals mounted in a frame. Howard Ramsey, age 108. A bright-eyed woman in white wearing a veteran's cap, posed in front of a large American flag. Charlotte Berry Winters, age 109. And the youngest of the group, a gentleman with a red, white and blue tie and a fancy cane³, posed with his old photos and his history books. Frank Buckles⁴, who just turned 107.

"It is an honor to be here to represent the veterans of World War I. I thank you," he said.

Buckles stole the show at the Pentagon ceremony, attended by several hundred staffers, many of them in uniform, and hosted by Defense⁵ Secretary Robert Gates. "Projects like these are important because in many ways and for many reasons the First World War is not well understood or remembered in the United States. Yet few events have so markedly shaped the world we live in as the epic⁶ blood struggle we know as The Great War," he said.

Secretary Gates noted⁷ that 116,000 Americans died in World War I, more than in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Photographer David DeJonge says he hopes officials like Secretary Gates will see the portraits from time to time, and reflect on the impact of decisions they make. For DeJonge, this was an emotional project, and an emotional ceremony. "I gained nine new friends. And of those nine, seven have died in the past eight to 10 months. I ask not for applause, but for honor for Mr. Buckles and the 4,734,991 veterans that served with him," he said.

DeJonge calls the survivors⁸ "icons⁹ of America." "Icons who lived quiet, American lives of service of service to our country, icons that walked, fought and experienced one of the most evil wars this planet has seen, icons that stood their ground so each of us could be here today," he said.

Frank Buckles was the only one of those icons who was healthy enough to make it to the Pentagon ceremony, and to the White House for a visit with President Bush. "It has been my high honor to welcome Mr. Buckles, and his daughter, Susannah, here to the Oval Office. Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times. And one way for me to honor the service of those who wear the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald¹⁰ you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism¹¹ and your love for America," he said.

At the Pentagon, Secretary Gates pointed¹² out that Buckles had lied about his age to be able to enlist¹³ in the Army when he was just 15 years old. But Buckles took exception to that when a reporter repeated it later. "I didn't lie [laughter]. Nobody calls me a liar¹⁴!," he said.

Then he told the story. "I had added some years onto my age and was 18. He [the recruiter] said, 'Sorry, but you have to be 21.' So I came back later and I had aged¹⁵. I was 21," he said.

Frank Buckles deployed¹⁶ to Europe as an ambulance driver at age 16. And maybe he's still lying about his age, just a little bit. "I don't feel that I'm any older than you are," he said.

But he is. In fact, he was more than twice as old as any of the Pentagon reporters who interviewed him after the ceremony.

Asked what advice he would give young people today, Buckles said they should make their own decisions and not be too heavily influenced by those around them. Asked what advice he has for today's soldiers, the 107-year-old veteran said he did not feel qualified¹⁷ to offer any.

Secretary Gates gave these possibly last words of thanks to Buckles and his World War I comrades. "We cherish the memory of those who have passed away. We cherish the chance to say thank you in person to Corporal Frank Buckles. Whoever views this display will, I am sure, feel a connection to Mr. Buckles and his comrades-in-arms. We will always be grateful for what they did for their country 90 years ago, and feel glad, too, for the longevity¹⁸ that they enjoyed on this earth," he said.

Photographer David DeJonge has now done portraits of all the known surviving American World War I veterans. But his project is not finished. "I'm expanding the project to the globe and will be pursuing every [WWI] veteran on the face of the planet, every corner. There are 14 left on the face of the planet. We just discovered one in Ukraine. So it's going to be a monumental task," he said.

And he is looking for veterans from both sides of the war. In fact, one of the Americans in the new exhibit, William Seegers, fought for Germany in World War I, before deserting and making his way to the United States. He fought in the U.S. Army in World War II.

Frank Buckles would likely have also fought in World War II, but he was in the Philippines as a civilian¹⁹ when the United States entered the war. He was captured by Japanese troops and kept in the notorious Los Baòos prison camp for more than three years. The cup he ate out of for all that time is in the background of his portrait, unveiled at the ceremony to a standing²⁰ ovation²¹.

"Really, it was remarkable. I enjoyed every minute of it here," Buckles said.

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

4 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

11 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

14 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

15 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

16 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

17 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

18 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。