美国退伍军人举行活动纪念二战结束70周年

Anniversary Holds Memories for Japanese Americans War Vets 美国退伍军人举行活动纪念二战结束70周年

LOS ANGELES—

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and American veterans of the war have been holding commemorations. A gathering¹ in Los Angeles brought back memories for Japanese Americans who served while their families were held in internment² camps.

The commemoration in the Los Angeles Little Tokyo neighborhood honored Japanese American veterans who served in combat, construction and intelligence units, while the families of most were held in camps on the West Coast for the war’s duration, even though six in 10 of the internees were U.S. citizens.

U.S. Army veteran Yoshio Nakamura had faith that the camps would one day be regarded as unjust.

“I also felt very strongly that we needed to show that we were patriotic³ Americans,” he said.

The camps closed at the end of the war, and in 1988, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. government apologized for the wartime internment.

The commemoration in Little Tokyo took place at a monument and educational center that take their name from the motto of the largely Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The motto was “Go For Broke.”

Bill Seki chairs the center, and he says they went for broke, risking everything.

“Through their battles as a segregated⁴ unit, they ended up becoming the most decorated unit in army history for their size and duration,” he said.

Many of these veterans saw heavy combat. Tokuji Yoshihashi , known as Toke, helped break the so-called Gothic Line where the Germans made a stand in northern Italy. He served in the largely Japanese American 100th Infantry⁵ Battalion⁶.

Their efforts were described in a U.S. government wartime newsreel.

“Important and decisive battles, and each time, these men of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd combat Team have been right out in front,” the narrator said.

“The Germans were entrenched⁷ in there pretty heavily, Yoshihashi said. "And I remember, they called for air support, and the most beautiful sight I ever saw was four P47s [U.S. planes] come in and they rocketed and machine gunned the German position, and that helped us break through.”

Some immigrant families had relatives on both sides of the conflict. Ken⁸ Akune and his older brother served in the U.S. army while two younger brothers in Japan were in the Japanese military. He knew he could meet one of them in combat.

“What would you do if you met him in a field and he has got the gun for you? You know, at that point you start to think, well, it is survival," he said. "But the point is, I never let that thing bother me at all.”

After the war, the brothers faced each other in Japan.

“And they stood up and we stood up. We were ready to go at it, but my dad was there and he said, hey, the war is over," he said. "So after that time, we never talked about it.”

Many of these veterans lost good friends, whose names are inscribed⁹ on the monument. It has meaning for veteran Don Miyada.

“It signifies to me the sacrifices of many good men,” he said.

He says this monument, and commemorations like these, ensure that their sacrifice will not be forgotten. 

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

3 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

4 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

6 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

7 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

8 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

9 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》