Hello, everybody.Today marks an historic anniversary—70 years since the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.On V-E Day after the Nazi surrender, people swarmed the streets of London and Paris and Moscow, and the cloud of fear that had hung for so many years finally lifted. Here at home, from small towns to Times Square, crowds gathered in celebration, singing and dancing with joy.There would still be three more months of deadly fighting in the Pacific.But for a few hours, the world rejoiced in the hope of peace.
大家好！今天是个历史性的日子，70年前的今天，盟军取得了第二次世界大战欧洲战场的胜利。在这一天，纳粹投降之后，人们涌上伦敦、巴黎和莫斯科的街头，压抑在心头多年的恐惧终于烟消云散。在国内，从中小城市到纽约的时代广场，人们蜂拥而至，载歌载舞，欢庆胜利。虽然太平洋战场的战斗还需要三个月后才彻底结束，但几个小时后，全世界都对和平充满了期待。
General Eisenhower announced the news with little fanfare.“The Mission of this Allied Force,” he said, “was fulfilled.” But his simple message belied the extraordinary nature of the Allied victory—and the staggering human loss.For over five years, brutal fighting laid waste to an entire continent.Mothers, fathers, children were murdered in concentration camps.By the time the guns fell silent in Europe, some 40 million people on the continent had lost their lives.
艾森豪威尔将军毫不夸张地宣布：“盟军的使命圆满完成了。”但这句简短信息的背后是盟军艰苦卓绝的战斗换来的胜利，以及大量的人员伤亡。在过去的那五年里，残酷的战斗遍及整个大陆。无数的人，他们当中有爸爸、妈妈、孩子在集中营被杀害。等到欧洲战场的枪声沉寂之时，已经有4000多万人在这片土地上失去了自己的生命。
Today, we pay tribute to all who served.They were patriots, like my grandfather who served in Patton’s Army—soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guard, merchant marines—and the women of the WACs and the WAVES and every branch.They risked their lives, and gave their lives so that we, the people the world over, could live free.They were women who stepped up in unprecedented numbers, manning the home front, and—like my grandmother—building bombers on assembly lines.
今天，我们要向所有为国服役的人们致敬。他们是爱国的英雄，我外公曾在巴顿将军麾下服役，与他一样还有很多士兵、水手、飞行员、海军陆战队员、海岸警卫队员、商船船员，还有陆军妇女队、海军妇女队和其它部队的众多女性。正是他们冒着生命危险，甚至牺牲了自己的生命，才让我们，全世界的人们才能自由地生活。她们当中还包括无数挺身而出、奋战的大后方的女性，像我外婆一样，在生产线上制造轰炸机。
This was the generation that literally saved the world—that ended the war and laid a foundation for peace.
正是这一代人，真正挽救了这个世界，结束了战争，为世界和平奠定了基础。
This was the generation that traded in their uniforms for a college education so they could marry their sweethearts, buy homes, raise children and build the strongest middle class the world has ever known.
正是这一代人，后来脱下军装走进学堂，并找到心爱的另一半，结婚买房，养儿育女，并成为享誉全球的最富足的中产阶级一代。
This was the generation that included heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers and the Japanese-Americans of the 442nd Regiment—and who continued the fight for freedom here at home, expanding equality and opportunity and justice for minorities and women.
正是这一代人，涌现出了像塔斯克基飞行队（红色机尾）、纳瓦霍密码通信员（风语者）、442团的日裔美籍战士们等等一批英雄，他们回国后还继续为自由而奋斗，为少数族裔和妇女争取平等权益和机会而奋斗。
We will be forever grateful for what these remarkable men and women did, for the selfless grace they showed in one of our darkest hours.But as we mark this 70th anniversary, let’s not simply commemorate history.Let’s rededicate ourselves to the freedoms for which they fought.
我们将永远牢记这些非凡的人们所做的一切，在最为黑暗的时代所表现出来最无私的精神。在70周年纪念日的这一天，我们不仅要缅怀历史，更要投身于他们为之奋斗的自由事业中去。
Let’s make sure that we keep striving to fulfill our founding ideals—that we’re a country where no matter who we are or where we’re from or what we look like or who we love, if we work hard and take responsibility, every American will have the opportunity to make of our lives what we will.
让我们继续为实现我们的立国理想而奋斗：在这个国家，无论我们是谁、来自哪里、长成什么样子、喜欢谁，只要我们努力工作，承担义务，每个美国人都有机会实现自己的梦想。
Let’s stand united with our allies, in Europe and beyond, on behalf of our common values—freedom, security, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law around the world—and against bigotry and hatred in all their forms so that we give meaning to that pledge: “Never forget.Never again.”
让我们与欧洲和世界各地的盟友坚定地站在一起，牢记我们共同的价值观：自由、安全、民主、人权、法治，反对一切形式的偏激与仇恨，正如我们在誓言中所说的：“永远铭记，永不重演。” |