VOA标准英语2009年-Chicago Hosts Those Who Hold Medal of Hono

By Kane Farabaugh
Chicago, IL
21 September 2009

Congress established the Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded for bravery in the U.S. armed forces, in 1862. Since then, presidents have awarded 3,448 Medals of Honor.  Only 95 recipients² are still alive, most of them veterans of World War II or the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. Each year many of the medal recipients who are still alive gather for a meeting in their honor.

 
Army Sergeant³ 1st Class Jared Monti became the 3,448th person to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor
In a White House ceremony, Army Sergeant 1st Class Jared Monti became the 3,448th person to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

"Compassion⁴. Perseverance⁵. Strength. A love for his fellow soldiers. Those are the values that defined Jared Monti's life - and the values he displayed in the actions that we recognize here today," Mr. Obama said.

On patrol in Afghanistan in 2006, Monti and his men encountered a barrage⁶ of enemy gunfire. He was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade and died trying to save his men.

Monti's heroism⁷ places him in an elite⁸ group of Americans. 

In Chicago, where many of the living Medal of Honor recipients gathered for their annual convention, the reality of the sacrifice of recent recipients is not lost on organizers of the event like Ed Tracy.

"We have had six posthumous⁹ medals of honors in Iraq and Afghanistan. And Jared Monti's award is another example of the difficulty our troops are facing in a war that is really a 24-hour combat situation," Tracy says, "and you don't know who the enemy is."

Medal of Honor recipient¹ Allan Kellogg knew who the enemy was in Vietnam the night of March 11, 1970. He used his body to shield fellow soldiers from an exploding grenade. 

Kellogg survived the ordeal¹⁰, and now comes to the annual meeting to share in the fellowship of those fellow recipients still living, whose number is dwindling¹¹.

"Right now we're down to 95," Kellogg explains, "and when I came in the program there were 188. So we started losing the people. Age was taking its toll¹² (on) World War 2 (veterans), slowly slipping into Korea and then into the bottom end of Vietnam. We're losing too many good people."

And every year when they all get together, it's more than just a chance to share old war stories. There is a theme and purpose to their gathering¹³. This year the theme is "Commit to Courage."

"A lot of people don't understand the kind of sacrifice that these soldiers represent. But their real mission is to get the word out about commitment to courage, the kind of decision-making process that you make every day and in everyday life," Tracy says, "They go around the country each year, in different cities and different towns, and they talk to school groups and try to raise awareness¹⁴ about the values of patriotism¹⁵ and service to country."

Kellogg spent more than 30 years in the Marine¹⁶ Corps¹⁷. He went on to work for the Veterans Administration, where he now helps homeless vets¹⁸ in Hawaii. While in Chicago he visited with ailing¹⁹ veterans.

"It's been an honor for you gentlemen to step through these doors," Ronald Petersen says, "It just made my day!"

Petersen served with the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and is now a patient at the Jesse Brown Medical Center, a veterans hospital in Chicago. He says Medal of Honor recipients deserve all Americans' respect and gratitude²⁰.

"If you kids could only know, there's only a handful of these guys," he says, "They don't give this award out just for - you know, in a Cracker²¹ Jack²² box."

The bravery these military veterans displayed on the battlefield is matched by a public outpouring of support wherever they gather to meet each year, and throughout the nation.

1 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。

2 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

5 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

6 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

7 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

8 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

9 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

10 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

11 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 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。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

19 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

20 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

21 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

22 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。