Good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated. On behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House. Thank you, Chaplain Carver, for that beautiful invocation. 大家下午好。请就座。我代表米歇尔和我本人欢迎各位来到白宫。感谢卡弗随军牧师刚才所作的美好祷告。
Of all the privileges that come with serving as President of the United States, I have none greater than serving as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military that the world has ever known. And of all the military decorations that a President and a nation can bestow, there is none higher than the Medal of Honor. 在担任美国总统的所有特权中，最大的莫过于担任这支世界上最精良军队的总司令。在总统和国家所能授予的所有军事荣誉中，没有比荣誉勋章更高的了。
Today is particularly special. Since the end of the Vietnam War, the Medal of Honor has been awarded nine times for conspicuous gallantry in an ongoing or recent conflict. Sadly, our nation has been unable to present this decoration to the recipients themselves, because each gave his life -- his last full measure of devotion -- for our country. Indeed, as President, I have presented the Medal of Honor three times -- and each time to the families of a fallen hero. 今天尤为特殊。自越南战争结束以来，荣誉勋章曾九次授予在当前或近期冲突中表现出非凡英勇的军人。令人痛惜的是，我们的国家都未能将勋章亲手颁给获奖者本人，因为他们无一不为祖国献出了生命——奉献出了最后、最彻底的忠诚。事实上，我担任总统以来已三次颁授荣誉勋章——每一次都是颁给阵亡英雄的家属。
Today, therefore, marks the first time in nearly 40 years that the recipient of the Medal of Honor for an ongoing conflict has been able to come to the White House and accept this recognition in person. It is my privilege to present our nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, to a soldier as humble as he is heroic: Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta. 因此，今天是近四十年来，第一次有当前冲突中的荣誉勋章获得者能够来到白宫亲自接受这项荣誉。我非常荣幸地把我国最高军事勋章——荣誉勋章——授予一位既英勇又谦逊的军人：萨尔瓦托雷·A·朱恩塔上士。
Now, I'm going to go off-script here for a second and just say I really like this guy. I think anybody -- we all just get a sense of people and who they are, and when you meet Sal and you meet his family, you are just absolutely convinced that this is what America is all about. And it just makes you proud. And so this is a joyous occasion for me -- something that I have been looking forward to. 现在，我要稍微脱稿说几句，我真的很喜欢这个人。我觉得每个人——我们都能对人有一种直觉，当你见到萨尔、见到他的家人，你会由衷地相信，这就是美国精神的缩影。这让你感到无比自豪。所以对我来说，这是一个令人喜悦的时刻——是我一直期待的事情。
The Medal of Honor reflects the gratitude of an entire nation. So we are also joined here today by several members of Congress, including both senators and several representatives from Staff Sergeant Giunta's home state of Iowa. We are also joined by leaders from across my administration and the Department of Defense, including the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Where's Mike? There he is, right there. Army Secretary John McHugh; and Chief of Staff of the Army, General George Casey. 荣誉勋章承载着整个国家的感激之情。今天出席的还有多位国会议员，包括来自朱恩塔上士家乡爱荷华州的两位参议员和多位众议员。我的政府和国防部的多位领导人也莅临现场，包括国防部长罗伯特·盖茨、参谋长联席会议主席迈克·马伦海军上将。迈克在哪？他在那儿。陆军部长约翰·麦休；以及陆军参谋长乔治·凯西将军。
We are especially honored to be joined by Staff Sergeant Giunta's fellow soldiers, his teammates and brothers from Battle Company, 2d of the 503d of the 173d Airborne Brigade; and several members of that rarest of fraternities that now welcomes him into its ranks -- the Medal of Honor Society. Please give them a big round of applause. 我们尤其荣幸地迎来了朱恩塔上士的战友——第173空降旅第503步兵团第2空降营B连（“战斗连”）的队友和兄弟们；还有那个成员极其稀少、如今正欢迎他加入的团体——国会荣誉勋章协会的几位成员。请大家向他们报以热烈掌声。
We also welcome the friends and family who made Staff Sergeant Giunta into the man that he is, including his lovely wife, Jenny; and his parents, Steven and Rosemary; as well as his siblings, who are here. It was his mother, after all, who apparently taught him as a young boy in small-town Iowa how to remove the screen from his bedroom window in case of fire. What she didn't know was that by teaching Sal how to jump from his bedroom and sneaking off in the dead of night, she was unleashing a future paratrooper -- who would one day fight in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan 7,000 miles away. 我们也欢迎那些成就了今天这位朱恩塔上士的亲友，包括他可爱的妻子珍妮、父母史蒂文和罗斯玛丽，以及在场的兄弟姐妹。说起来，萨尔还是爱荷华州小镇上的小男孩时，正是母亲教他如何拆下卧室窗户的纱窗，以备发生火灾。她当时不知道，教萨尔从卧室窗户跳出去、让他得以在夜深人静时偷偷溜走，竟是在放飞一名未来的伞兵——有朝一日，他将在七千英里之外的阿富汗崇山峻岭中战斗。
During the first of his two tours of duty in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Giunta was forced early on to come to terms with the loss of comrades and friends. His team leader at the time gave him a piece of advice: "You just try -- you just got to try to do everything you can when it's your time to do it." You've just got to try to do everything you can when it's your time to do it. 在萨尔瓦托雷·朱恩塔两次赴阿富汗部署的第一次期间，他很早便不得不面对失去袍泽与朋友的现实。当时的战斗小组组长给了他一句忠告：“你只管去做——轮到你的时候，就得竭尽所能。”轮到你的时候，你就是得竭尽所能。
Salvatore Giunta's time came on October 25, 2007. He was a Specialist then, just 22 years old. 萨尔瓦托雷·朱恩塔接受考验的时刻在2007年10月25日到来了。当时他还是一名专业下士，年仅22岁。
Sal and his platoon were several days into a mission in the Korengal Valley -- the most dangerous valley in northeast Afghanistan. The moon was full. The light it cast was enough to travel by without using their night-vision goggles. With heavy gear on their backs, and air support overhead, they made their way single file down a rocky ridge crest, along terrain so steep that sliding was sometimes easier than walking. 萨尔和他所在的排在科伦加尔山谷执行任务已有数天——那是阿富汗东北部最危险的山谷。满月当空。月光足以让他们在不使用夜视镜的情况下行进。背负沉重的装备，头顶有空中支援，他们沿着岩石山脊鱼贯而行，地势陡峭到有时滑行比行走更容易。
They hadn't traveled a quarter mile before the silence was shattered. It was an ambush, so close that the cracks of the guns and the whizz of the bullets were simultaneous. Tracer fire hammered the ridge at hundreds of rounds per minute -- "more," Sal said later, "than the stars in the sky." 他们走了还不到四分之一英里，寂静便骤然破碎。这场伏击近在咫尺，枪声响起的同时，子弹已呼啸而至。曳光弹以每分钟数百发的密度猛击山脊——萨尔后来形容，“比天上的星星还多”。
The Apache gunships above saw it all, but couldn't engage with the enemy so close to our soldiers. The next platoon heard the shooting, but were too far away to join the fight in time. 上方的阿帕奇武装直升机看到了一切，但因敌军与我方士兵距离太近而无法开火。后面的排听到了枪声，但距离太远，无法及时加入战斗。
And the two lead men were hit by enemy fire and knocked down instantly. When the third was struck in the helmet and fell to the ground, Sal charged headlong into the wall of bullets to pull him to safety behind what little cover there was. As he did, Sal was hit twice -- one round slamming into his body armor, the other shattering a weapon slung across his back. 走在最前面的两人被敌火击中，当即倒地。第三人的头盔中弹、整个人倒下时，萨尔迎着弹墙径直冲了过去，把他拖到仅有的一点掩体后面。就在这个过程中，萨尔也两次中弹——一发重重击中他的防弹衣，另一发击碎了斜挎在背后的武器。
They were pinned down, and two wounded Americans still lay up ahead. So Sal and his comrades regrouped and counterattacked. They threw grenades, using the explosions as cover to run forward, shooting at the muzzle flashes still erupting from the trees. Then they did it again. And again. Throwing grenades, charging ahead. Finally, they reached one of their men. He'd been shot twice in the leg, but he had kept returning fire until his gun jammed. 他们被敌火压制，而前方仍躺着两名受伤的美军士兵。于是萨尔和战友重新集结，发起反击。他们投出手榴弹，借爆炸掩护向前奔袭，同时朝树林中仍在闪动的枪口火光射击。接着，他们又来了一次。然后再来一次。投掷手榴弹，向前冲锋。最终，他们赶到其中一名战友身边。他腿部中了两枪，却一直坚持还击，直到枪械卡壳。
As another soldier tended to his wounds, Sal sprinted ahead, at every step meeting relentless enemy fire with his own. He crested a hill alone, with no cover but the dust kicked up by the storm of bullets still biting into the ground. There, he saw a chilling sight: the silhouettes of two insurgents carrying the other wounded American away -- who happened to be one of Sal's best friends. Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward. He took aim. He killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other, who ran off. 在另一名战友为他处理伤口时，萨尔继续向前冲刺，每一步都用自己猛烈的火力回应敌人无情的射击。他独自登上山丘，唯一的掩护只有密集子弹不断啃咬地面扬起的尘土。在那里，他看到了一个令人毛骨悚然的场景：两名武装分子的轮廓正将另一名受伤的美军士兵拖走——那恰好是萨尔最好的朋友之一。萨尔没有放慢脚步。他飞身向前。他瞄准。他击毙了一名武装分子，打伤了另一名，后者仓皇逃走。
Sal found his friend alive, but badly wounded. Sal had saved him from the enemy -- now he had to try to save his life. Even as bullets impacted all around him, Sal grabbed his friend by the vest and dragged him to cover. For nearly half an hour, Sal worked to stop the bleeding and help his friend breathe until the MEDEVAC arrived to lift the wounded from the ridge. American gunships worked to clear the enemy from the hills. And with the battle over, First Platoon picked up their gear and resumed their march through the valley. They continued their mission. 萨尔发现朋友还活着，但伤势严重。他已经把朋友从敌人手中夺了回来——现在还得设法保住他的生命。尽管子弹仍不断落在四周，萨尔抓住朋友的战术背心，把他拖到掩体后。将近半个小时里，萨尔一直设法止血、帮助朋友呼吸，直到医疗后送直升机赶来，把伤员从山脊撤走。美军武装直升机则着手肃清山上的敌人。战斗结束后，第一排重新背起装备，继续穿越山谷。他们继续执行任务。
It had been as intense and violent a firefight as any soldier will experience. By the time it was finished, every member of First Platoon had shrapnel or a bullet hole in their gear. Five were wounded. And two gave their lives: Sal's friend, Sergeant Joshua C. Brennan, and the platoon medic, Specialist Hugo V. Mendoza. 这场交火的激烈与残酷，已是任何士兵所能经历之最。战斗结束时，第一排每个人的装备上不是嵌着弹片，就是留有弹孔。五人负伤。两人献出了生命：萨尔的朋友约书亚·C·布伦南中士，以及排里的卫生员雨果·V·门多萨专业下士。
Now, the parents of Joshua and Hugo are here today. And I know that there are no words that, even three years later, can ease the ache in your hearts or repay the debt that America owes to you. But on behalf of a grateful nation, let me express profound thanks to your sons' service and their sacrifice. And could the parents of Joshua and Hugo please stand briefly? 今天，约书亚和雨果的父母也在这里。我知道，即使三年过去，也没有任何言语能够抚平你们心中的伤痛，更无法偿还美国对你们的亏欠。但请允许我代表心怀感激的全国人民，为你们儿子的服役与牺牲致以最深切的谢意。请约书亚和雨果的父母起立片刻，好吗？
Now, I already mentioned I like this guy, Sal. And as I found out myself when I first spoke with him on the phone and when we met in the Oval Office today, he is a low-key guy, a humble guy, and he doesn't seek the limelight. And he'll tell you that he didn't do anything special; that he was just doing his job; that any of his brothers in the unit would do the same thing. In fact, he just lived up to what his team leader instructed him to do years before: "You do everything you can." 我刚才说过我欣赏这个人，萨尔。正如我自己在第一次与他通电话、以及今天在椭圆形办公室会面时所了解到的，他是一个低调、谦逊的人，不追求聚光灯。他会告诉你他没有做什么特别的事；他只是在做自己的工作；他部队里的任何兄弟都会做同样的事情。事实上，他只是践行了多年前班长对他的嘱咐："你竭尽所能。"
Staff Sergeant Giunta, repeatedly and without hesitation, you charged forward through extreme enemy fire, embodying the warrior ethos that says, "I will never leave a fallen comrade." Your actions disrupted a devastating ambush before it could claim more lives. Your courage prevented the capture of an American soldier and brought that soldier back to his family. 朱恩塔上士，你一次又一次毫不犹豫地冒着猛烈敌火冲向前方，践行了“绝不抛下倒下的战友”这一军人信条。你的行动挫败了一场原本可能造成更多伤亡的致命伏击。你的勇气阻止了一名美军士兵被敌人掳走，并使他得以回到家人身边。
You may believe that you don't deserve this honor, but it was your fellow soldiers who recommended you for it. In fact, your commander specifically said in his recommendation that you lived up to the standards of the most decorated American soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy, who famously repelled an overwhelming enemy attack by himself for one simple reason: "They were killing my friends." 你或许认为自己不配获得这份荣誉，但推荐你获奖的正是你的战友。事实上，你的指挥官在推荐材料中特别指出，你达到了第二次世界大战期间美国获勋最多的军人奥迪·墨菲所树立的标准。墨菲曾以一己之力击退占绝对优势的敌军，理由只有一句：“他们在杀我的朋友。”
That's why Salvatore Giunta risked his life for his fellow soldiers -- because they would risk their lives for him. That's what fueled his bravery -- not just the urgent impulse to have their backs, but the absolute confidence that they had his. One of them, Sal has said -- of these young men that he was with, he said, "They are just as much of me as I am." They are just as much of me as I am. 这就是萨尔瓦托雷·朱恩塔甘愿为战友冒生命危险的原因——因为他们也会为他这样做。这就是他勇气的源泉——不仅是必须护住战友的本能冲动，更是确信战友也一定会护住他的绝对信任。谈到与他并肩作战的那些年轻人，萨尔曾说：“他们是我的一部分，一如我是他们的一部分。”他们是我的一部分，一如我是他们的一部分。
So I would ask Sal's team, all of Battle Company who were with him that day, to please stand and be recognized as well. Gentlemen, thank you for your service. We're all in your debt. And I'm proud to be your Commander-in-Chief. 因此，我想请萨尔所在的战斗小组，以及当天与他并肩作战的“战斗连”全体官兵也起立接受大家的致敬。各位，感谢你们的服役。我们所有人都欠你们一份情。我为能担任你们的总司令而自豪。
These are the soldiers of our Armed Forces. Highly trained. Battle-hardened. Each with specialized roles and responsibilities, but all with one thing in common -- they volunteered. In an era when it's never been more tempting to chase personal ambition or narrow self-interest, they chose the opposite. They felt a tug; they answered a call; they said, "I'll go." And for the better part of a decade, they have endured tour after tour in distant and difficult places; they have protected us from danger; they have given others the opportunity to earn a better and more secure life. 这就是我们武装部队的军人。训练有素。久经战阵。每个人都有专门的岗位和职责，却有一个共同点——他们都是志愿入伍。在这个追逐个人抱负和一己私利极具诱惑的时代，他们选择了相反的道路。他们感受到内心的召唤；他们响应号召；他们说：“我去。”近十年来，他们一次又一次被部署到遥远而艰苦的地方；他们保护我们免遭危险；他们让其他人有机会赢得更加美好、安稳的生活。
They are the courageous men and women serving in Afghanistan even as we speak. They keep clear focus on their mission: to deny safe haven for terrorists who would attack our country, to break the back of the Taliban insurgency, to build the Afghans' capacity to defend themselves. They possess the steely resolve to see their mission through. They are made of the same strong stuff as the troops in this room, and I am absolutely confident that they will continue to succeed in the missions that we give them, in Afghanistan and beyond. 他们就是此时此刻仍在阿富汗服役的英勇男女。他们始终专注于使命：不让企图袭击我国的恐怖分子获得安全藏身之所，彻底挫败塔利班叛乱，并帮助阿富汗人增强保卫自己的能力。他们有钢铁般的意志，决心完成使命。他们与在座军人拥有同样坚韧的品质；我完全相信，无论在阿富汗还是其他地方，他们都将继续完成我们交付的任务。
After all, our brave servicemen and women and their families have done everything they've been asked to do. They have been everything that we have asked them to be. "If I am a hero," Sal has said, "then every man who stands around me, every woman in the military, every person who defends this country is." And he's right. 毕竟，我们英勇的男女军人及其家属已经做到了国家要求他们做的一切，也成为了国家期望他们成为的模样。萨尔曾说：“如果我是英雄，那么站在我身边的每一名男军人、军中的每一名女军人，以及每一个保卫这个国家的人，也都是英雄。”他说得对。
This medal today is a testament to his uncommon valor, but also to the parents and the community that raised him; the military that trained him; and all the men and women who served by his side. 今天颁授的这枚勋章见证了他非同寻常的勇气，也见证了养育他的父母与社区、锻造他的军队，以及所有曾与他并肩服役的男女军人。
All of them deserve our enduring thanks and gratitude. They represent a small fraction of the American population, but they and the families who await their safe return carry far more than their fair share of our burden. They fight halfway around the globe, but they do it in hopes that our children and our grandchildren won't have to. 他们每个人都值得我们永远铭记、由衷感激。他们只占美国人口的一小部分，但他们以及等待他们平安归来的家人，却承担了远超其应有份额的重担。他们在半个地球之外战斗，是希望我们的子孙后代不必再去战斗。
They are the very best part of us. They are our friends, our family, our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers. They are why our banner still waves, our founding principles still shine, and our country -- the United States of America -- still stands as a force for good all over the world. 他们体现了我们身上最美好的品质。他们是我们的朋友、家人、邻居、同学和同事。正是因为有他们，我们的旗帜依然飘扬，我们的建国原则依然闪耀，我们的国家——美利坚合众国——依然是世界各地一股促进正义与福祉的力量。
So, please join me in welcoming Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta for the reading of the citation. 现在，请和我一起欢迎萨尔瓦托雷·A·朱恩塔上士。下面宣读嘉奖令。
Military Aide: The President of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded, in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor to then Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta, United States Army. 军事副官：美利坚合众国总统根据1863年3月3日国会法案的授权，以国会的名义，现将荣誉勋章授予时任美国陆军专业下士萨尔瓦托雷·A·朱恩塔。
Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, in action, with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007. 2007年10月25日，萨尔瓦托雷·A·朱恩塔专业下士在阿富汗科伦加尔山谷与武装敌人交战时，不惜冒着生命危险，以远超职责要求的英勇与无畏，建立了卓著功勋。
While conducting a patrol as team leader, with Company B, 2d Battalion Airborne, 503d Infantry Regiment, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force. 朱恩塔专业下士担任战斗小组组长，随第503步兵团第2空降营B连执行巡逻任务。他和小组在穿越险峻地形时，突遭一支装备精良、协同严密的叛乱武装伏击。
While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist Giunta immediately sprinted towards cover and engaged the enemy. Seeing that his squad leader had fallen, and believing that he had been injured, Specialist Giunta exposed himself to withering enemy fire and raced towards his squad leader, helped him to cover and administered medical aid. 在猛烈敌火下，朱恩塔专业下士立即冲向掩体并向敌人还击。看到班长倒下、判断他已经负伤后，朱恩塔专业下士冒着足以致命的密集敌火奔向班长，帮助他转移到掩体后并实施急救。
While administering first aid, enemy fire struck Special Giunta's body armor and his secondary weapon. Without regard to the ongoing fire, Specialist Giunta engaged the enemy before prepping and throwing grenades, using the explosions for cover in order to conceal his position. 在实施急救时，敌军子弹击中了朱恩塔专业下士的防弹衣和副武器。他不顾仍在持续的敌火，先向敌人还击，随后准备并投出手榴弹，借爆炸作掩护，避免暴露自己的位置。
Attempting to reach additional wounded fellow soldiers who were separated from the squad, Specialist Giunta and his team encountered a barrage of enemy fire that forced them to the ground. The team continued forward, and upon reaching the wounded soldiers, Specialist Giunta realized that another soldier was still separated from the element. 朱恩塔专业下士和他的小组试图接近其他几名与全班分隔开的受伤战友时，遭到一阵密集敌火，被迫卧倒。他们继续向前，抵达伤员身边后，朱恩塔专业下士意识到仍有另一名士兵脱离了队伍。
Specialist Giunta then advanced forward on his own initiative. As he crested the top of a hill, he observed two insurgents carrying away an American soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other. Upon reaching the wounded soldier, he began to provide medical aid, as his squad caught up and provided security. 朱恩塔专业下士随即主动独自向前推进。当他登上山脊顶部时，看见两名叛乱分子正把一名美军士兵拖走。他立即向敌人开火，击毙一人、击伤另一人。赶到受伤士兵身边后，他开始实施救护；此时，他所在的班也已跟上并展开警戒。
Specialist Giunta's unwavering courage, selflessness and decisive leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American soldier from the enemy. 朱恩塔专业下士在极其猛烈的敌火下展现出的坚定勇气、无私精神与果断领导，是其所在排击败敌军伏击、从敌人手中夺回一名美军战友的关键。
Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company B, 2d Battalion Airborne, 503d Infantry Regiment and the United States Army. 萨尔瓦托雷·A·朱恩塔专业下士这种远超职责要求的非凡英勇与无私精神，彰显了军人服役的最高传统，为他本人、第503步兵团第2空降营B连以及美国陆军增添了莫大荣誉。
