Wes Moore: How to talk to veterans about the war

翻译人员: Linmin Shi 校对人员: FBC GLOBAL

I'm excited to be here to speak about vets,

能在这里谈论老兵，我很激动，

because I didn't join the Army

因为我没参军

because I wanted to go to war.

因为我曾想上战场。

I didn't join the Army because I had a lust

我之所以参军，不是因为我崇拜军人

or a need to go overseas and fight.

也不是我喜欢去国外打仗。

Frankly, I joined the Army because

老实说，我之所以参军是因为

college is really damn expensive,

大学费用高的离谱，

and they were going to help with that,

而军队在这方面有所帮助，

and I joined the Army because

我参军

it was what I knew,

因为我知道

and it was what I knew that I thought I could do well.

我能干好。

I didn't come from a military family.

我并非来自军人家庭。

I'm not a military brat.

我并非军中之人。

No one in my family ever had joined the military at all,

我家人也从未有人参军，

and how I first got introduced to the military

我第一次接触军队

was when I was 13 years old

是在我13岁的时候，

and I got sent away to military school,

我被送去军事学校，

because my mother had been threatening me

因为从我8岁起，

with this idea of military school ever since I was eight years old.

我母亲就威胁要把我送去军校。

I had some issues when I was coming up,

我小时候调皮捣蛋，

and my mother would always tell me, she's like,

母亲总是对我说，

"You know, if you don't get this together,

“你知道的，如果你好好听话，

I'm going to send you to military school."

我就送你去军校。”

And I'd look at her, and I'd say, "Mommy,

我看看她，说：

I'll work harder."

“妈妈，我会更努力学习的。”

And then when I was nine years old,

9岁时，母亲开始给我一些小册子，

she started giving me brochures to show me she wasn't playing around,

说明她不是在开玩笑，

so I'd look at the brochures, and I'm like,

看了小册子后，我说，

"Okay, Mommy, I can see you're serious, and I'll work harder."

“妈妈，我知道你是认真的，我会更努力学习的。”

And then when I was 10 and 11,

后来到了10岁、11岁

my behavior just kept on getting worse.

我的表现越来越差。

I was on academic and disciplinary probation

在分数能达到两位数之前，

before I hit double digits,

我被学校留校察看。

and I first felt handcuffs on my wrists

我11岁那年，

when I was 11 years old.

第一次感到手腕上戴上了手铐。

And so when I was 13 years old,

13岁时，

my mother came up to me, and she was like,

我母亲对我说，

"I'm not going to do this anymore.

“我不会再继续纵容你了，

I'm going to send you to military school."

我要把你送去军校。”

And I looked at her, and I said, "Mommy,

我看看她，说：

I can see you're upset, and I'm going to work harder."

“妈妈，我知道你生气了，我会更努力学习的。”

And she was like, "No, you're going next week."

但她说，“不行，你下周就去。”

And that was how I first got introduced

我就是以这种方式

to this whole idea of the military,

开始对军队有所了解，

because she thought this was a good idea.

因为母亲认为军校不错。

I had to disagree with her wholeheartedly

我刚到军校时，

when I first showed up there,

完全不同意她的观点，

because literally in the first four days,

因为刚到军校四天，

I had already run away five times from this school.

我就从学校逃跑了5次。

They had these big black gates that surrounded the school,

学校四围都是那种黑色大门，

and every time they would turn their backs,

每次门卫转过身去时，

I would just simply run out of the black gates

我就从黑色大门溜出去。

and take them up on their offer that if we don't want to be there,

事后，学校会提出：

we can leave at any time.

如果我不想继续留下来，可随时辍学。

So I just said, "Well, if that's the case,

因此我说：“如果真是这样，

then I'd like to leave." (Laughter)

那我倒想辍学了。”（笑声）

And it never worked.

但是事与愿违。

And I kept on getting lost.

我只能继续旷课。

But then eventually,

但最终，

after staying there for a little while,

在军校呆了一段时间后，

and after the end of that first year

在军校

at this military school,

第一学年结束后，

I realized that I actually was growing up.

我意识到自己的确成长了。

I realized the things that I enjoyed about this school

我意识到我已经喜欢上这个学校，

and the thing that I enjoyed about the structure

我喜欢军校这个体系，

was something that I'd never found before:

以前从未体验过：

the fact that I finally felt like I was part of something bigger,

自己是大集体的成员，

part of a team, and it actually mattered to people

团队一员，这种感觉确实对人意义深远。

that I was there,

而我置身其中，

the fact that leadership wasn't just a punchline there,

事实上，在军校，领导能力并非一句空话，

but that it was a real, actually core part

而确实是

of the entire experience.

整个学习经历的核心所在。

And so when it was time for me to actually

在我高中毕业时，

finish up high school,

我开始思考

I started thinking about what I wanted to do,

我想做什么，

and just like probably most students,

和大多数学生一样，

had no idea what that meant or what I wanted to do.

不知道这意味着什么，或者我究竟想做什么。

And I thought about the people who I

我开始想起

respected and admired.

我所尊敬和崇拜的那些人。

I thought about a lot of the people,

我想起许多人，

in particular a lot of the men, in my life

尤其是我这一生中

who I looked up to.

所崇拜的众多偶像。

They all happened to wear the uniform

他们恰巧

of the United States of America,

都身着美国军装，

so for me, the question and the answer

所以对我而言，

really became pretty easy.

答案显而易见。

The question of what I wanted to do

“我想做什么？”

was filled in very quickly with saying,

这个问题很快有了答案：

I guess I'll be an Army officer.

我想我将成为一名军官。

So the Army then went through this process

就这样踏上了军营之旅，

and they trained me up,

开始接受军事训练。

and when I say I didn't join the Army

当我说我参军，

because I wanted to go to war,

不是因为我想上战场。

the truth is, I joined in 1996.

事实上，我在1996年就参军了。

There really wasn't a whole lot going on.

这在当时不是什么惊人之举。

I didn't ever feel like I was in danger.

我并未感到身处险境。

When I went to my mom,

在我17岁时，

I first joined the Army when I was 17 years old,

第一次参军，

so I literally needed parental permission

需要征得父母同意时，

to join the Army,

我求助于我母亲，

so I kind of gave the paperwork to my mom,

我把一些申请表格交给我母亲，

and she just assumed it was kind of like military school.

她只是认为这次也和军校差不多，

She was like, "Well, it was good for him before,

她说：“之前军校使儿子受益匪浅，

so I guess I'll just let him keep doing it,"

我想我会让他继续他的追求，”

having no idea that the paperwork that she was signing

却全然不知，她签署的这些申请表格

was actually signing her son up

是为儿子报名参军，

to become an Army officer.

成为一名军官。

And I went through the process,

就这样，我进入了报名参军审核程序，

and again the whole time still just thinking,

一直还只在想，

this is great, maybe I'll serve on a weekend,

这真太好了，或许我只需要在周末服兵役，

or two weeks during the year, do drill,

或许一年之中有两周时间进行军事训练，

and then a couple years after I signed up,

但就在我报名参军后几年，

a couple years after my mother signed those papers,

在我母亲签署申请表格后几年，

the whole world changed.

世界发生了变化。

And after 9/11, there was an entirely new context

“9.11”之后，我所选职业

about the occupation that I chose.

发生了翻天覆地的变化。

When I first joined, I never joined to fight,

我第一次参军时，从未参加过战斗，

but now that I was in,

但如今却身在其中，

this is exactly what was now going to happen.

这正是如今将发生之事。

And I thought about so much about the soldiers

我想过很多关于

who I eventually had to end up leading.

我最终必须所带领的士兵。

I remember when we first, right after 9/11,

记得“9.11”事件3周后，

three weeks after 9/11, I was on a plane heading overseas,

我第一次乘飞机前往海外，

but I wasn't heading overseas with the military,

但我并非同军队一起前往海外，

I was heading overseas because I got a scholarship

我前往海外是因为我获得了奖学金，

to go overseas.

可以前往海外。

I received the scholarship to go overseas

我接受了奖学金前往海外，

and to go study and live overseas,

在海外学习和生活，

and I was living in England and that was interesting,

我居住在英格兰，生活很开心，

but at the same time, the same people who

但与此同时，同我一起训练的士兵，

I was training with,

这些士兵

the same soldiers that I went through all my training with,

正是同我一起训练的士兵，

and we prepared for war,

我们准备好上战场，

they were now actually heading over to it.

他们现在确实正在奔赴前线。

They were now about to find themselves

他们现在会发现

in the middle of places the fact is

在他们身处之地

the vast majority of people,

大多数人，

the vast majority of us as we were training,

我们大多数人，在我们训练时

couldn't even point out on a map.

甚至看不懂地图。

I spent a couple years finishing graduate school,

我花了几年时间完成了本科学历，

and the whole entire time while I'm sitting there

这几年来，我坐在

in buildings at Oxford

牛津大学校舍内，

that were literally built hundreds of years

确切地说，这座大学

before the United States was even founded,

早在美国成立前几百年就已修建，

and I'm sitting there talking to dons

我坐在这里对导师讲述

about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand,

萨拉热窝事件，

and how that influenced the start of World War I,

及其如何影响第一次世界大战，

where the entire time my heart and my head

而我一直都在

were on my soldiers

牵挂我的士兵，

who were now throwing on Kevlars

他们正穿上凯芙拉（一种刀枪不入的纤维）

and grabbing their flak vests

和防弹衣行军，

and figuring out how exactly do I change around

在黑暗中探路：

or how exactly do I clean a machine gun

我究竟如何换步，

in the darkness.

如何擦枪。

That was the new reality.

这就是如今的现实。

By the time I finished that up and I rejoined

完成学业后，我重返我所在部队，

my military unit and we were getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan,

当时我们正整军待发，进入阿富汗，

there were soldiers in my unit who were now

我所在部队，有些士兵

on their second and third deployments

是第二次和第三次奔赴前线，

before I even had my first.

而我是第一次。

I remember walking out with my unit for the first time,

我还记得第一次随部队出发的情景，

and when you join the Army

当你加入军队，

and you go through a combat tour,

经历战役时，

everyone looks at your shoulder,

所有人都会看向你的肩，

because on your shoulder is your combat patch.

因为肩上贴有你的肩章。

And so immediately as you meet people,

因此当你碰到某人时，

you shake their hand,

你会立即同他握手，

and then your eyes go to their shoulder,

之后你就会看向他的肩，

because you want to see where did they serve,

因为你想知道他们在哪里服役，

or what unit did they serve with?

在哪个部队服役？

And I was the only person walking around

而我是唯一一个

with a bare shoulder,

没有肩章的人，

and it burned every time someone stared at it.

每次有人盯着我肩看时，都感觉肩在燃烧。

But you get a chance to talk to your soldiers,

但你也可乘此机会和士兵们聊聊，

and you ask them why did they sign up.

问问他们为什么要参军。

I signed up because college was expensive.

我参军因为大学费用太高。

A lot of my soldiers signed up for completely different reasons.

其他士兵参军的原因则大相径庭。

They signed up because of a sense of obligation.

有的因为使命感而参军。

They signed up because they were angry

有的因为不满而参军，

and they wanted to do something about it.

他们想为此做点什么。

They signed up because

有的因为

their family said this was important.

他们家人说参军很重要。

They signed up because they wanted some form of revenge.

有的因为他们想要某种形式的报复。

They signed for a whole collection of different reasons.

而有的则因为多种原因而参军。

And now we all found ourselves overseas

如今我们都身处国外，

fighting in these conflicts.

在这些武装冲突中作战。

And what was amazing to me was that I

令我吃惊的是，

very naively started hearing this statement

我天真地开始听到

that I never fully understood,

我从未完全理解的一句话，

because right after 9/11, you start hearing this idea

“9.11”事件之后，

where people come up to you and they say,

你开始听到有人会这样对你说：

"Well, thank you for your service."

“感谢您服役。”

And I just kind of followed in and started saying

我也按照这种说法，

the same things to all my soldiers.

开始对我所有的士兵说同样一句话。

This is even before I deployed.

甚至在出发前我也这样说。

But I really had no idea what that even meant.

但我真不知道这句话究竟是何含义。

I just said it because it sounded right.

我说这句话，因为听起来不错。

I said it because it sounded like the right thing to say

我说这句话，因为这句话对服役海外的人说，

to people who had served overseas.

听起来似乎是正确之选。

"Thank you for your service."

“感谢您服役。”

But I had no idea what the context was

但我却不知道其语境是什么，

or what that even,

又或是

what it even meant to the people who heard it.

听到这句话时，对人意味着什么。

When I first came back from Afghanistan,

我初次从阿富汗回国时，

I thought that if you make it back from conflict,

曾想如果你已从战争中归来，

then the dangers were all over.

所有危险就已经结束了。

I thought that if you made it back from a conflict zone

如果你已从战事区归来，

that somehow you could kind of

你就可以

wipe the sweat off your brow and say,

抹去额头上的汗，说：

"Whew, I'm glad I dodged that one,"

“唷，很高兴能躲过这场战争，”

without understanding that for so many people,

并未意识到，

as they come back home,

当很多人返回家园时，

the war keeps going.

战争还在继续。

It keeps playing out in all of our minds.

战争不断浮现在我们所有人的脑海里。

It plays out in all of our memories.

战争浮现在我们所有人的记忆里。

It plays out in all of our emotions.

战争浮现在我们所有人的情感中。

Please forgive us

请原谅我们，

if we don't like being in big crowds.

如果我们不喜欢置身人群中。

Please forgive us

请原谅我们，

when we spend one week in a place

当我们在一个100%灯光管制的地方

that has 100 percent light discipline,

度过一周时，

because you're not allowed to walk around with white lights,

因为在战事区不允许在白灯下行进，

because if anything has a white light,

如果配备白灯，

it can be seen from miles away,

几英里外就能看见，

versus if you use little green

相反，如果使用微光绿灯

or little blue lights,

或微光蓝灯，

they cannot be seen from far away.

从远处就不会被发现。

So please forgive us if out of nowhere,

所以请原谅我们，如果我们突然冒出来，

we go from having 100 percent light discipline

一周前我们还在一个100%灯光管制的地方，

to then a week later being back in the middle of Times Square,

如今却回到时代广场中心，

and we have a difficult time adjusting to that.

我们需要一段痛苦的适应期。

Please forgive us

请原谅我们

when you transition back to a family

在你回到家人身边时，

who has completely been maneuvering without you,

他不需要你帮助，能完全处理所有事情，

and now when you come back, it's not that easy

而如今你回来了，

to fall back into a sense of normality,

并不容易回归常态，

because the whole normal has changed.

因为所有常态已发生变化。

I remember when I came back, I wanted to talk to people.

我记得我回来时，我想和人们谈论。

I wanted people to ask me about my experiences.

我希望他们问我的经历。

I wanted people to come up to me and tell me,

我希望他们问我：

"What did you do?"

“你都干些什么？”

I wanted people to come up to me and tell me,

我希望他们问我：

"What was it like? What was the food like?

“战事区情况如何？那里的食物怎样？

What was the experience like? How are you doing?"

经历如何？你怎么样？”

And the only questions I got from people was,

但所有人都问我：

"Did you shoot anybody?"

“你向人开过枪吗？”

And those were the ones who were even curious

这些人因为很好奇

enough to say anything.

而说点什么。

Because sometimes there's this fear

因为有时如果我说点什么，

and there's this apprehension that if I say anything,

会有这个害怕、那个担心，比如：

I'm afraid I'll offend,

恐怕我会触犯军规，

or I'm afraid I'll trigger something,

或恐怕我会挑起事端，

so the common default is just saying nothing.

所以通常保持沉默，什么也不说。

The problem with that

问题是，

is then it feels like your service

总感觉你的服役

was not even acknowledged,

从未被承认，

like no one even cared.

正如从未有人关心一样。

"Thank you for your service,"

“感谢您服役，”

and we move on.

而我们则继续。

What I wanted to better understand

我想更好地了解

was what's behind that,

这句话蕴含的意义，

and why "thank you for your service" isn't enough.

以及为什么仅仅是“感谢您服役”还不够。

The fact is, we have literally

事实上，确切地说，

2.6 million men and women

我们当中

who are veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan

从伊拉克或阿富汗回来的男女老兵，

who are all amongst us.

共有260万人。

Sometimes we know who they are,

有时我们知道他们是谁，

sometimes we don't,

而有时却不知道，

but there is that feeling, the shared experience,

但都有这样一种感觉：同甘共苦，

the shared bond

患难与共。

where we know that that experience

我们知道这种经历，

and that chapter of our life,

我们生命中的篇章，

while it might be closed,

可以翻过去，

it's still not over.

但远未结束。

We think about "thank you for your service,"

当我们思考“感谢您服役”这句话时，

and people say, "So what does 'thank you for your service' mean to you?"

人们会问：“‘感谢您服役’对你意味着什么？”

Well, "Thank you for your service" means to me,

“感谢您服役”对我来说意味着：

it means acknowledging our stories,

承认我们的故事，

asking us who we are,

问问我们是谁，

understanding the strength

理解

that so many people, so many people who we serve with, have,

我们共同服役的士兵们的力量源泉，

and why that service means so much.

以及为什么服役对他们如此重要。

"Thank you for your service" means acknowledging the fact

“感谢您服役”意味着承认

that just because we've now come home

我们如今已经回家，

and we've taken off the uniform

我们已经脱下军装这一事实，

does not mean our larger service to this country

并不意味着我们对国家更多的服务

is somehow over.

以某种方式已经结束。

The fact is, there's still a tremendous amount

事实上，我们仍然能继续

that can be offered and can be given.

提供更多的服务。

When I look at people

看看这些士兵，

like our friend Taylor Urruela,

比如我们的朋友Taylor Urruela，

who in Iraq loses his leg,

他在伊拉克失去一条腿，

had two big dreams in his life.

在他生命中曾有两个梦想。

One was to be a soldier. The other was to be a baseball player.

一个是成为士兵。另一个是成为棒球球员。

He loses his leg in Iraq.

在伊拉克他失去一条腿，

He comes back

如今他回来了，

and instead of deciding that,

他决定，

well, now since I've lost my leg, that second dream is over,

现在既然我只有一条腿，第二个梦想破灭了，

he decides that he still has that dream of playing baseball,

但打棒球这一梦想依然存在，

and he starts this group called VETSports,

于是他加入了一个名为“老兵运动”的团体，

which now works with veterans all over the country

如今这一团体联合全国上下的老兵，

and uses sports as a way of healing.

把运动作为疗伤的方法。

People like Tammy Duckworth,

又比如Tammy Duckworth，

who was a helicopter pilot

她是一名直升机飞行员，

and with the helicopter that she was flying,

她所驾驶的直升机，

you need to use both your hands

需要双手

and also your legs to steer,

和双脚共同操控，

and her helicopter gets hit,

直升机被击中时，

and she's trying to steer the chopper,

她试图操控直升机

but the chopper's not reacting

但直升机

to her instructions and to her commands.

对她的指令没有反应。

She's trying to land the chopper safely,

她试图安全降落直升机，

but the chopper doesn't land safely,

但直升机不能安全降落，

and the reason it's not landing safely

不能安全降落的原因

is because it's not responding to the commands that her legs are giving

是因为直升机对她双腿发出的指令没有反应，

because her legs were blown off.

因为她的双腿已经被炸飞。

She barely survives.

她也险于丧生。

Medics come and they save her life,

医护人员赶到，救了她的命，

but then as she's doing her recuperation back at home,

但当她回家疗伤时，

she realizes that, "My job's still not done."

她意识到：“我的事业仍未结束。”

And now she uses her voice

如今她用她的声音

as a Congresswoman from Illinois

成为伊利诺斯州的国会女议员，

to fight and advocate for a collection of issues

倡导国会议题搜集

to include veterans issues.

应包括老兵问题。

We signed up because

我们报名参军因为

we love this country we represent.

我们热爱我们所代表的国家。

We signed up because

我们报名参军因为

we believe in the idea and we believe in the people

我们相信信念，我们相信

to our left and to our right.

与我们并肩作战的战友。

And the only thing we then ask is that

我们唯一要求的是：

"thank you for your service"

“感谢您服役”

needs to be more than just a quote break,

需要远不止是一句引用噱头而已，

that "thank you for your service" means

“感谢您服役”意味着：

honestly digging in

确实理解

to the people who have stepped up

他们仅仅是因为需要参军，

simply because they were asked to,

便踏上征程，

and what that means for us not just now,

这句话对我们的意义不只是现在，

not just during combat operations,

不只是在战役中，

but long after the last vehicle has left

而是在最后一辆车离开很久以后，

and after the last shot has been taken.

最后一次射击以后。

These are the people who I served with,

他们是曾和我一起服役的士兵，

and these are the people who I honor.

他们是我尊敬的人。

So thank you for your service.

因此感谢您服役。

(Applause)

（掌声）