VOA慢速英语 日裔美国人回忆二战结束之时

AS IT IS 2015-07-03 Japanese-Americans Remember End of World War II 日裔美国人回忆二战结束之时

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Recently, several Japanese-American men gathered in Los Angeles to remember the events of 70 years ago. All the men were veterans. They served in the U.S. armed forces or did other work for the government during the war. At the same time, their families were held in internment¹ centers in the United States.

The Japanese-American veterans met recently in the “Little Tokyo” neighborhood of Los Angeles. They served in the U.S. Army’s combat, construction and intelligence units. They served the country while their families were being held in camps on the West Coast. Sixty percent of those detained were U.S. citizens. The families were not released until the war ended.

Yoshio Nakamura was one of the veterans at the gathering². He says he always believed that one day people would understand that the detentions³ were illegal. He says he and other Japanese-Americans fought proudly for their country.

“And I also felt very strongly that we needed to show that we were patriotic⁴ Americans.”

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. government apologized for forcing Japanese-Americans to live in the camps.

Bill Seki leads the education center where the gathering took place. He says Japanese-American soldiers fought honorably and well.

“And through their battles as a segregated⁶ unit, they ended up becoming the most decorated unit in Army history for their size and duration.”

Many of the veterans at the gathering took part in heavy fighting. Tokuji Yoshihashi was in the mostly Japanese-American 100th Infantry⁷ Battalion⁸. That unit helped defeat German forces in northern Italy. Their efforts were described in a U.S. government film made during the war.

“Important and decisive battles, and each time these men of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Combat Team have been right out in front.”

Mr. Yoshihasi remembers the fighting in northern Italy.

“…most beautiful sight I ever saw was four P47s (US planes) come in and they rocketed and machine-gunned the German position, and that kinda helped us break through.”

Some Japanese-Americans had family members who served in the U.S. military and others who fought for Japan. Ken⁹ Akune and his older brother served in the U.S. Army. Two of his younger brothers were from Japan and belonged to the Japanese military. He knew he could meet one of them in battle.

“What will you do if you met him in a field and he’s got the gun for you? You know, at that point you start to think, well, you know, it’s a means of survival, you know. But the point is, I never let that thing bother me at all.”

After the war, the brothers met in Japan.

“And they stood up and we stood up and we were ready to go at it but my dad was there and he said: ‘Hey, the war is over. Forget it,’ you know. So after the time, we never talked about it.”

Many veterans lost good friends in the war. Their names are written on a monument at the education center. The monument has meaning to veteran Don Miyada.

“It signifies to me the sacrifices of many good men.”

He says the marker, and gatherings¹⁰ of veterans, will help keep their sacrifices from being forgotten.  

Words in This Story

internment – n. the act of putting someone in a prison for political reasons or during a war; the act of interning¹¹ someone

proudly – adj. with great satisfaction or honor

segregate⁵ – v. to separate or divide people based on their race or ethnicity

decorate – v. to give a medal or award to (someone, such as a soldier)

duration – n. the length of time that something lasts

unit – n. military a single thing, person or group that is a part of something larger

decisive – adj. very clear

go at it – idiomatic¹² phrase, fight

monument – n. a marker or statue that honors a person or event

signify – v. to be a sign of (something); to mean (something)

1 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

6 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

7 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

11 interning   

v.拘留，关押( intern的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I will spend the summer interning at a software company in Bombay. 夏季我将会在孟买的一家软件公司里实习。 来自互联网
• The young doctor is interning at the Medical Center this year. 这名年轻医生今年在医疗中心做实习医生。 来自互联网

12 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。