2007年NPR美国国家公共电台五月-Sisters Marked Each Day with Dad Away at

While Jerry Truhill was preparing for a possible space flight, James Dowling was serving the U.S. army. He fought in three wars, and not long ago his family remembered him for StoryCorps, our project that records American conversations.

James Dowling fought in WWII and in Korea¹. And in 1966 he was sent to Vietnam² for a one-year tour. His wife stayed behind with 3 daughters in elementary school. Two of those daughters, Ellen Hess and Eileen Tarr still remember when he left.

The day that we put him on the plane at the Pittsburgh Airport was one of the saddest days of my life. You were so depressed³ about it. You couldn't even go back to school for the afternoon. I went to school. The day went by and all I could think about was Dad's stepping on that plane to go to Vietnam. And I cannot remember many days that went by, either that I didn't think about him and worry about him.

When Bob Hope was on, Mom parked us in front of the TV set, hoping we would see him and that we would be able to say that dad looked OK. You know, I remember her loneliness about being separated⁴ from Dad. And I remember when she made that chain out of 365 safety pins. And everyday he was gone she would take a safety pin off. When she first put it up it was on a lamp. Yeah, it was a standing⁵ lamp. It actually was wrapped⁶ around it and there was a pool on the floor. You know. I can remember watching the chain with her and feeling excited as it was really getting smaller. And they were like benchmarks or milestones⁷ like when it no longer pooled or when it no longer wrapped. You know, and she wrote him a letter everyday. And when she was done writing the letter she would take the pin off ,off the chain unless like it was your birthday and you got to take the pin off or if something special that happened at schools, she would like you take the pin off the chain. And she kept all those pins and just like she kept all his letters from Vietnam until he returned.

Ellen Hess with her sister Eileen Tarr in Richmond, Virginia. Their father James Dowling survived the Vietnam War. And he was awarded the Bronze⁸ Star for bravery. This StoryCorps interview will be archived with all the others at the Library of Congress⁹ and you can subscribe¹⁰ to the StoryCorps Podcast by going to NPR.org.

1 Korea   

n.朝鲜(亚洲)

参考例句：

• Korea lies to the east of China.韩国位于中国东面。
• Korea and China are separated by only the Yalu River.朝鲜和中国只隔一条鸭绿江。

2 Vietnam   

n.越南

参考例句：

• Vietnam is suffering from food shortage.越南正遭受食物短缺之苦。
• Laos is on the west of Vietnam.老挝在越南西面。

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 separated   

adj.分开的v.分开(separate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Her parents are separated but not divorced. 她父母分居但没离婚。
• No child should ever be separated from his mother by force. 绝不能强行使任何一个孩子与母亲分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 wrapped   

adj.有包装的，预先包装的v.包( wrap的过去式和过去分词 )；覆盖；用…包裹（或包扎、覆盖等）；卷起

参考例句：

• The chocolates are individually wrapped in gold foil. 巧克力用金箔纸一颗颗独立包装。
• Would you like the chocolates gift-wrapped? 你要把巧克力糖打成礼品包吗？

7 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

8 bronze   

n.青铜；青铜艺术品

参考例句：

• She won a bronze medal.她得了铜牌。
• This statue is made of bronze.这个雕像是青铜做的。

9 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

10 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。