美国国家公共电台 NPR Separated First By War, Then Sickness, 2 WWII Veterans Are Laid To Rest Together

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The love story between Isabell and Preble Staver came quietly to an end last month. The couple was together for more than seven decades. The Stavers were two of the hundreds of World War II veterans who are dying each day. NPR's Sarah McCammon attended their funeral in Virginia Beach over Veterans Day weekend, and she has this remembrance.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE¹: Like so many couples of their generation, the romance of Isabell Whitney and Preble Staver was interrupted by World War II.

LAURIE STAVER CLINTON: They met on a blind date, and the romance bloomed.

MCCAMMON: Laurie Staver Clinton says her parents both served, her mother as a Navy nurse and her father in the Marine² Corps³. They were married soon after the war ended. Staver Clinton describes Preble Staver, a Bronze Star recipient⁴, as a tall, outgoing man with a strong, larger-than-life personality.

CLINTON: And then Mom, oh, my gosh. She really was my heart.

MCCAMMON: Isabell Staver spent years raising the couple's five children before eventually returning to work. Staver Clinton says her mom kept the family running through multiple moves for Preble's career and the loss of one of their sons, Peter, who died after a high school football injury in the 1970s.

CLINTON: She taught me how to be a kind person, how to be a compassionate⁵ person.

MCCAMMON: As Isabell slipped into dementia in recent years, Preble struggled to cope. Last year, they had to be moved to separate rooms at their long-term care facility.

CLINTON: So when I would explain the need for the separation, Mom would look and see - she would go, but that's Daddy. That's Preble.

MCCAMMON: Jim Need, a friend from church who visited Preble often as his health began to fail, says his love for Isabell was clear.

JIM NEED: Sometimes he was a little frustrated⁶ because he - she may not recognize him, but the few times when she did, you could always see him just smiling, you know, like crazy.

MCCAMMON: Laurie Staver Clinton says her parents shared a moment like that just days before their death when Isabell was taken to visit Preble's room for his 96th birthday.

CLINTON: Then all of a sudden, I heard this little, warbly voice.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ISABELL STAVER: (Singing) Happy birthday, dear Preble. Happy birthday to you.

CLINTON: Mom had stopped initiating⁷ course of conversation due to the disease process, and for her on Dad's birthday to sing "Happy Birthday" to him was just so touching⁸.

MCCAMMON: Staver Clinton says all her father wanted for his birthday was to take a nap next to his wife, something they hadn't been able to do for a while. So the family arranged to lay Preble and Isabell in bed together where they slept side by side for two or three hours.

CLINTON: And it was really the catalyst⁹ of them being able to let go, I believe. Mom was much calmer after that.

MCCAMMON: Within a few days, a hospice nurse told Staver Clinton that both of her parents were moving closer to death. On October 25, days before what would have been her 96th birthday, Isabell received last rites¹⁰ from their Episcopal priest while Preble held her hand. About 14 hours after Isabel died, Preble was gone, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The Lord be with you.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: And with thy spirit.

MCCAMMON: Preble's friend Jim Need says he thinks Preble was holding on just long enough.

NEED: I have no doubt. I honestly feel he was waiting for her, you know, the - kind of the Marine - and this is a good thing - Marine mentality¹¹. He was going to take care of her until he knew she was OK.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) Oh, God, our help in ages past...

MCCAMMON: On Friday afternoon, with a Marine honor guard standing¹² by, Isabell and Preble Staver were laid down together one last time, side by side in the old church cemetery¹³. Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Virginia Beach.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• 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。

3 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。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

10 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

11 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

12 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。

13 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。