阵亡将士纪念日是美国大多数州都要纪念的节日，时间原为5月30日，1971年以后，为保证联邦雇员都能享有这一休息日，许多州将它改在5月的最后一个星期一。

美国南北战争中，无数将士在战火中阵亡。战争结束，南部许多家庭开始祭奠战争中阵亡的将士。他们不分南北双方，在春天向双方死者的墓地都奉献鲜花，北方人为此深受感动，将这一举动视为民族团结的象征。1868年，5月30日这一天被正式批准为向为保卫祖国而英勇牺牲的士兵们敬献鲜花的日子。

第一次世界大战后，人们开始在阵亡将士纪念日这一天祭奠所有的战争死难者，后来在民间又逐渐发展为一般家庭祭奠逝去的亲人。今天已成为一个普遍的祭扫日，同我国的清明节十分相似。

每逢阵亡将士纪念日，美国现役军人和老战士便排成长长的队伍前往墓地，鸣枪向阵亡将士致意，吹响军中熄灯号让死难将士安息。

Six Men, a World War, a Pacific Island, and an Image for All Time



VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember with Faith Lapidus.

This Monday is Memorial Day in the United States. The holiday honors the memory of the nation's military dead.

VOICE TWO:

One way to preserve a memory is with a camera. This week on our program, we tell the story of a famous photograph from World War Two. It led the sculptor Felix de Weldon to create one of the largest free-standing bronze statues in the world.

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VOICE ONE:

Our story is about one moment in time. Really, one-four-hundredth of a second. That is the amount of time it took Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal to capture a historic image on film.

The photograph shows six men and an American flag during a battle in World War Two. Joe Rosenthal took it on February twenty-third, nineteen forty-five, on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Japanese forces held the island. American Marines were trying to capture it.

On the fourth day of battle, Marines fought to the top of Mount Suribachi, the tallest mountain on Iwo Jima. A small American flag was sent to the top. The Marines placed the flagpole in the ground. 

VOICE TWO:

But the small flag could not be seen clearly far below. Commanding officers ordered the Marines to replace it with a much larger one. Joe Rosenthal wanted to make a picture of the event. So he took his camera and began to climb slowly up the mountain.

When he reached the top, Marines were tying the larger flag to a heavy pole. Joe Rosenthal backed away from the group and began talking to another photographer.

A minute later, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. “There it goes!” he said. He swung his camera up, following the movement of the flag, and pressed the button that took the picture.

VOICE ONE:

Six men are in the photograph. But only four of them are clearly seen.

In the front is Harlon Block, a Marine from Yorktown, Texas. Next is John Bradley. His face is the only one in the picture. He was a Navy corpsman; his job was to treat the wounded.

Also in the picture is Franklin Sousley, a Marine from Hilltop, Kentucky. And all the way at the left is Ira Hayes, a Marine, and an American Indian. The heavy pole holding the flag had just left his hand when the picture was taken.

Behind these four men are two other Marines. They cannot be seen as clearly. They are Rene Gagnon of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Mike Strank. He lived in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but was born in Jarabenia, in what was then Czechoslovakia. 

VOICE TWO:

The next day, Joe Rosenthal’s film went by airplane to the island of Guam where it was developed and printed.

The pictures were given to Associated Press photo editor John Bodkin. It was his job to decide which ones to send to the United States. They would go on a machine that sent images by radio.

As histories tell it, he looked and looked at the first photograph, and said: “This is one for all time.”  Within minutes he sent the picture of the six men raising the flag to the Associated Press headquarters in New York.

From there, the photograph went to newspapers across the United States. Most decided to print a huge copy on their front page.

VOICE ONE:

Most photo experts will tell you that the picture Joe Rosenthal made is almost perfect. The camera catches the flag as it rises. The flagpole cuts across the photograph. Winds blow against the flag.

The experts also say you must look at the picture as the American public saw it in nineteen forty-five. The world had been at war for years. Victory was not yet certain. Many people worried about family members. Many had a deep fear of the enemy.

The picture shows strength and courage. It suggests that six young men are working together to defeat the enemy. Joe Rosenthal’s photograph seemed to say: the battle may not be over, but we are winning.

It was the very image of a future American victory.

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VOICE TWO:

In Washington, D.C., Felix de Weldon saw the photograph in the newspapers. Born in Austria, he came to the United States and was an artist in the Navy.

Many years later he would say, “I had been an artist all my life. When I first saw it I recognized the power of this photograph. I could not take my eyes from it. I looked at the photograph for some hours and then began working.”

Seventy-two hours later, Felix de Weldon had made a small statue of Joe Rosethal’s picture.  Within days, members of Congress had seen the small statue. Many began to call for a huge statue. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the Marine Corps to send home the men who had raised the flag.

VOICE ONE:

By then, however, it was too late. Mike Strank, Harlon Block and Franklin Sousley were dead. They were among the more than six-thousand Marines killed on Iwo Jima.

Navy Corpsman John Bradley had been severely wounded. But he, Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes returned to the United States.

People said they were heroes. The three men said they had done nothing but help put up a flag. But Joe Rosenthal’s photograph was so powerful, nothing would change people's minds.

Felix de Weldon soon made a life-size copy of the statue. He carefully copied the faces of the three survivors. He used all the photographs he could find for the three who had been killed.

His statue helped pay for America’s war effort. The statue and the three survivors traveled from city to city to raise money.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Joe Rosenthal’s photograph became more and more famous. His work earned the Pulitzer Prize.

There was public demand to put the image on a postal stamp. In July of nineteen forty-five, the government agreed. More than one-hundred-thirty-seven-million were printed.

People also demanded a huge statue of the six Marines.

In nineteen forty-six, Felix de Weldon started all over again. First he made a statue out of plaster. Then he used the plaster form as a guide to make the final statue out of bronze metal.

Again, he called on the three survivors. Felix de Weldon wanted to make sure he had them correct.

VOICE ONE:

It took Felix de Weldon nine years to complete the statue. The memorial honors all members of the United States Marine Corps who died in battle since the American Revolution.

On November tenth, nineteen fifty-four, President Dwight Eisenhower led ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. The burial grounds are across the Potomac River from Washington.

Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley attended the ceremonies. It was their last time together. Ira Hayes died three months later.

(MUSIC)                                                                            

VOICE TWO:

Millions of people have come to see the statue that Felix de Weldon made. It stands in a grassy area along a busy road at the edge of Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia. The statue weighs more than twenty-tons.

Each man is almost ten meters tall. They seem about to move. Their bodies push forward as they struggle to raise the flag. Their clothes show the bones and muscles underneath. Their faces show the hard work.

Many visitors say it is an emotional experience. People stand and look up at the six men. And, they take pictures, just as Joe Rosenthal did on February twenty-third, nineteen forty-five.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

John Bradley was the last to die of the six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima that day. He died in nineteen ninety-four. Felix de Weldon died in two thousand three. And Joe Rosenthal died in two thousand six. 

Soon after the photograph from Mount Suribachi was published, some people began to dispute it. They suggested that Joe Rosenthal had placed everyone where he wanted them, and then took the photo. Joe Rosenthal always said that was not true.

Experts in photography say it is easy to tell that the photo was not posed. They say no photographer would make a picture that hides almost all of the people’s faces. And they say no photographer would have two of the people nearly hidden.

You can decide for yourself. A copy of Joe Rosenthal’s photograph, and a picture of Felix de Weldon’s statue, can be found at 51voa.com.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Paul Thompson.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. Archives of our programs, with transcripts and MP3s, are at 51voa.com. We hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. 

知识扩展：阵亡将士纪念日(Memorial Day)

1866年这一年，美国正在慢慢从漫长血腥的南北战争中恢复过来。幸存的士兵们回到家乡，带着伤残的身体和要诉说的故事。亨利·韦尔斯（Henry Welles），纽约滑铁卢的一个药店老板听到士兵们的故事并有了一个主意。他建议城里所有的商店停业一天为埋葬在滑铁卢的士兵们默哀。5月5日早晨，市民们将花束、花圈和十字架放在公墓里北方士兵的墓碑前。大约在同时，乔纳森·洛根（Jonathan Logan）将军正在准备另一个纪念仪式，这个仪式是为了在战争中幸存的士兵。他带领退伍军人穿过市镇到墓地用旗帜装饰共同作战的士兵的墓地。这不是一个令人快乐的庆祝活动而是纪念。人们叫它装饰日。

乔纳森·洛根将军在宣布纪念日时说：“1868年5月30日，我们要在士兵们的墓上撒上鲜花，或用其他方式装饰他们的墓地，他们在保卫自己的国家和最近的革命中牺牲，他们的身体被埋葬在这块土地上的几乎每座城市、村庄和小村落里。在悼念中没有既定的仪式，但是退伍军人协会的地方分会和伙伴们可以按照自己的方式安排环境允许的合适的活动和参拜仪式。”

这两个仪式在1868年合二为一，北方诸州在5月30日举行这个仪式。孩子们朗诵诗歌并唱内战歌曲，退伍老兵穿着制服戴着勋章来到学校跟孩子们说内战的故事。然后老兵们就在市民的跟随下来到墓地。他们装饰士兵们的墓地，为站在国旗旁边的士兵拍照。向空中鸣枪，向为保持美国完整统一献出生命的北方士兵致敬。

1882年，这个节日更名为纪念日，同样哀悼在之前的战争中牺牲的士兵。在美国北方各州，这个日子被定为一个法定假日。南方各州在不同的时间哀悼他们战死的士兵。1971年尼克松总统宣布纪念日和其他的一些节日为国家假日，纪念日定为5月的最后一个周一。

美国的所有城市都在5月的最后一个周一举行仪式向为国捐躯的男人和女人们致敬。

纪念日不仅限于向军队中的美国人致敬。它也是一个思念的节日。家庭和个人怀念他们已经逝去的亲爱的人。他们去教堂祷告，拜访墓园，献花，甚至哀悼，使这一天显得庄严肃穆。这是追思的一天。但是现今的很多美国人则把这一天当作夏天的开始，在海滩上，山上或者在家休闲度过他们的三天周末。
在纽约滑铁卢，这个传统还没有丢失，实际上其意义甚至变得更加特殊。林顿·约翰逊总统在1966年，第一个仪式开始的100年后，宣布滑铁卢是纪念日的发源地。每年的5月30日市民们还是会徒步走到墓地举行一些纪念的仪式。他们用旗帜和花朵装饰墓地，然后走到市中心的公园。在公园的中央，一座献给士兵、海员和水兵的纪念碑旁边，人们宣读盖茨比的演讲，接着是洛根将军宣布装饰日的第11号命令。乡村歌唱团唱着爱国歌曲。学校的孩子们会在晚上参加游行。
位于弗吉尼亚的阿灵顿国家公墓是美国最大的国家公墓。这里埋葬的不仅有士兵还有宇航员、探险家和其他杰出的美国人，他们都在此享有特殊的位置。肯尼迪总统葬在一个可以俯瞰华盛顿的位置上。

“纪念日”之前的那个星期五，一大早，在这里，美国第三步兵团的士兵们走过一排排墓碑。士兵们在每一个墓碑前停留，从扛着的一捆旗子中取出一面，铺在墓地上。这些士兵们属于一个特殊兵团——“老近卫军”。大多数士兵认为把旗子放在二十多万个曾浴血奋战或战死沙场的士兵们的墓地上是一种特殊待遇。“他们尽职了，”一位士兵说，“现在该轮到我了。”

常年守卫这些无名士兵的墓也同样是种荣耀。事实上有四个士兵埋葬在这个地方：两次世界大战、朝鲜战争和越南战争的无名士兵。每个士兵代表着所有那些在现代战争中献出生命的士兵。第三步兵团的士兵们一天24小时地守卫着这块墓地。花圈安放仪式全年都在进行，来自全世界的人们都来观看士兵换岗。在阿灵顿公墓的另一座山上有一个内战中阵亡的无法辩明身份的士兵墓园。

在纪念日这天，总统或副总统会发表演说并在坟墓上安放花圈。军队向空中鸣枪。老兵和他们的家人会来摆放自己的花圈并祷告。有可能埋葬在这里的一个士兵就是一个父亲、儿子、兄弟或朋友。