VOA英语2010年-US Army Soldier Sal Giunta Adjusting to Life

President Barack Obama awarded the highest U.S. military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor, to U.S. Army Staff Sergeant¹ Salvatore Giunta on November 16, 2010. Since then, the Iowa native has traveled the country to honor the sacrifices of his comrades, to talk about the medal, and tell how one day in Afghanistan three years ago changed his life forever. Staff Sergeant Giunta says his Medal of Honor is an award shared by those not present to claim it, and those still serving at a time of war.

It is a star made of gold that lies below a blue ribbon of 13 stars. It symbolizes² the greatest acts of heroism³ of the U.S. military.

Around the neck of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, 25, it represents something else.

"I'm wearing this for all the unsung heroes that are so brave and aren't able to return, and aren't able to kiss their families who welcome them back," said Giunta. "I wear this for them, who I think are the bravest. I wear this for the families that have sacrificed, who have lost a loved one, who are left behind because of a deployment⁴. I wear this for them - those are the true brave people."

President Obama awarded the medal to Giunta in a White House Ceremony in November.

His act of bravery occurred October 25th, 2007, while deployed⁵ with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the volatile⁶ Korengal Valley of Afghanistan.

Taliban insurgents⁷ ambushed⁸ Giunta's squad⁹. One of his comrades, Sergeant Joshua Brennan, was severely¹⁰ injured and separated from the group. Taliban forces started to carry Brennan away. That's when Giunta spring into action.

"Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward, he took aim, he killed one of the insurgents, and wounded the other who ran off," said Obama.

Giunta recovered Brennan, but the injured man's wounds were severe. He died the next day.

"Civilians¹¹ see those acts, which are sometimes extreme acts, they see it as courage. For soldiers, that's just what the job entails," noted¹² author and filmaker Sebastian Junger.

Junger spent several months in 2007 producing the documentary Restrepo with U.S. troops in the Korengal Valley.

The mission there ended in April, when U.S. forces withdrew. During their time in one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan, 40 U.S. soldiers were killed, including two of Giunta's closest friends.

"Their understanding of what it means to be a soldier is that you do anything required to protect yourself and your brothers to complete the mission," explained Junger.

"We've been in Afghanistan since 2001, we've been in Iraq since 2003, we are a military of professional soldiers - all who have volunteered," added Giunta. "We didn't get drafted into this, these are people who knew what we were up against and still said they would go anyway."

Giunta's unit is currently ending its fourth deployment to Afghanistan since 2001. It may not be the last.

Despite the U.S. withdrawal¹³ from the Korengal Valley, President Obama says his decision to increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan is working. Speaking to reporters about a recent policy review of his strategy, Mr. Obama said the United States is committed to staying the course in Afghanistan.

"We will never waver from our goal of disrupting, dismantling¹⁴ and ultimately defeating al-Qaida," said Obama. "We will force enduring partnerships¹⁵ with people who are committed to progress and to peace, and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the security and the safety of the American people."

Three years have passed since Giunta's heroic action to save his comrades. Time hasn't made it any easier for him to talk about what happened.

"I hope it's never easy for me to tell that story, because if it's easy we are in a sad state in this world, if me telling one of the worst days of my life in Afghanistan when we were ambushed, losing two great friends of mine and seeing a whole bunch more wounded, if it's easy for me to tell... then it's a bad day," said Giunta.

Like many other soldiers, Staff Sergeant Giunta is near the end of his enlistment¹⁶ in the U.S. Army. He has not decided¹⁷ yet whether to stay in, or get out. Unlike other soldiers facing this decision, he is a member of an elite¹⁸ group of men. There are 87 living Medal of Honor recipients²⁰. But Giunta is the only living recipient¹⁹ from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

1 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？

2 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 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。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 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。

13 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

14 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

15 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

16 enlistment   

n.应征入伍，获得，取得

参考例句：

• Illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. 疾病是取消参军入伍资格的一个原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One obstacle to the enlistment of able professors was that they had to take holy orders. 征聘有才能的教授的障碍是他们必须成为牧师。 来自辞典例句

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 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。

19 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。

20 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》