美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: WWII veteran meets the man who found and returned his long-lost bracelet

Encore: WWII veteran meets the man who found and returned his long-lost bracelet¹

Transcript²

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A few months ago, we brought you the story of two men. One is a Colorado veteran whose bracelet was stolen while he was fighting in World War II. And the other is a Czech man who found and returned it more than 70 years later. Now their story has a new chapter. Here's Colorado Public Radio's Stina Sieg.

STINA SIEG, BYLINE³: When Petr Svihovec went for a walk in the Czech woods with his metal detector⁴ last fall, he never could have imagined he'd find that small silver bracelet or that it would take him to the high desert of Grand Junction⁵.

COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Your destination is on the right.

PETR SVIHOVEC: Oh, my God.

SIEG: How are you feeling?

SVIHOVEC: Oh, I'm so happy but so nervous.

SIEG: Nervous to meet Joe Esquibel, the veteran who bought that bracelet as a teenager right before shipping⁶ off to war. Joe had his signature engraved⁷ on one side and on the other scratched his girlfriend's name, Lydia. After the war, they were married for nearly 70 years until she died in 2019. Their oldest daughter greets Petr at her home.

JOLENE ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: It's so nice to meet you.

SVIHOVEC: Nice to meet you.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: I'm Jolene.

SVIHOVEC: Yes. I'm Peter.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: Nice to meet you.

SVIHOVEC: Nice to meet you.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: Welcome to Colorado, I guess.

SIEG: Jolene Esquibel-Archuleta hugs Petr, who also goes by Peter. He's come all the way from Prague.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: OK, Dad. Here he is, the man of the hour. Or I should say the men of the hour.

SIEG: Joe uses his walker to stand up and shake Petr's hand.

SVIHOVEC: Hi, Joe. Hi, Joe. Nice to meet you.

JOE ESQUIBEL: Nice to meet you.

SIEG: Both are beaming.

ESQUIBEL: I just can't believe this.

SVIHOVEC: It's my happy day, really.

SIEG: Not only did Petr unearth⁸ Joe's long-lost bracelet at a former POW camp, but he worked tirelessly to find its owner, first by deciphering Joe's signature on it, then finding Joe through his wife Lydia's obituary⁹. Countless¹⁰ strangers on the internet helped, as did a historian. The U.S. Embassy sent the bracelet via diplomatic mail, and Jolene says there's someone else who helped, too.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: I think my mom pushed you.

SVIHOVEC: I think the same, really.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: Yeah. I think so, Peter. I think so.

SVIHOVEC: I think the same.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: You're going to find this, and you're going to give it back to my husband.

SVIHOVEC: Yeah.

ESQUIBEL-ARCHULETA: And - wow.

SIEG: Over the next week, Petr and Joe forge a new friendship, talking for hours almost every day. Petr is there for Joe's 96th birthday. When the family visits Lydia's grave, Petr tears up as they lay down a bouquet¹¹ of red roses, her favorite.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So we're going to turn down this hallway.

SIEG: And when Joe attends a ceremony in his honor at the local Veterans Affairs hospital, Petr holds his hand as he walks with his cane¹². They sit together as Joe receives a pin with the state coat of arms on it from the Czech president, who also sent a personal letter. It's read by Alena Busovska, a Slovakian woman who lives here and helped make all of this possible.

ALENA BUSOVSKA: Not even the best screenwriter would manage to write such a narrative¹³ about a found and returned bracelet.

SIEG: Afterward¹⁴, Joe pats Petr on the hand.

ESQUIBEL: He did a real good job.

(LAUGHTER)

SIEG: And I ask Petr if this whole story finally feels real to him.

SVIHOVEC: Yeah. Now it's real, and world is so small.

SIEG: And the world is so small. Petr hopes to return next year. He wants to bring his wife and teenage son to meet Joe, who says he's adopted Petr as his grandson.

For NPR News, I'm Stina Sieg in Grand Junction, Colo.

(SOUNDBITE OF FREDDIE JOACHIM'S "AUTUMN RAIN")

1 bracelet   

n.手镯，臂镯

参考例句：

• The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
• She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

5 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unearth   

v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出

参考例句：

• Most of the unearth relics remain intact.大多数出土文物仍保持完整无损。
• More human remains have been unearthed in the north.北部又挖掘出了更多的人体遗骸。

9 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

10 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

11 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

12 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

13 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

14 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。