Thank you all very much. Good luck. Please be seated. Thank you, General Graves, for that very kind introduction. Barbara and I are just delighted to be here and honored that we could be joined by our able Secretary of the Army, Mike Stone; of course, the man well-known here that heads our Army, General Sullivan, General Gordon Sullivan; and Gracie Graves, General Robert Foley, General Galloway; Shawn Daniel, well-known to everybody here, been our host, in a sense; and a West Point alum who has been at my side for 4 years, over here somewhere, General Scowcroft, graduate of this great institution who served his country with such distinction. May I salute the members of the Board of Visitors. I see another I have to single out, General Galvin, who served his country with such honor. And, of course, save the best for last, the Corps of Cadets, thank you for that welcome. 非常感谢大家。祝你们好运。请就座。感谢格雷夫斯将军如此亲切的介绍。芭芭拉和我非常高兴能来到这里，并荣幸地与我们能干的陆军部长迈克·斯通、当然还有这里众所周知的我们陆军的负责人沙利文将军、戈登·沙利文将军；以及格雷西·格雷夫斯、罗伯特·福利将军、加洛韦将军；肖恩·丹尼尔，这里所有人都认识他，在某种意义上是我们的东道主；还有一位在我身边服务了四年的西点校友，就在那边某个地方，斯考克罗夫特将军，这所伟大机构的毕业生，他以如此卓越的方式为国家服务。请允许我向董事会成员致敬。我看到另一位必须特别提一下，加尔文将军，他以如此崇高的荣誉为国家服务。当然，最后但同样重要的是，学员团，感谢你们的欢迎。
Let me begin with the hard part: It is difficult for a Navy person to come up to West Point after that game a month ago. Go ahead, rub it in. [Laughter] But I watched it. Amazing things can happen in sports. Look at the Oilers, my other team that took it on the chin the other day. [Laughter] 让我先从最难的部分开始：对于一个海军人员来说，一个月前那场比赛后来到西点军校是很困难的。尽管说吧，尽情地说吧。[笑声]但我看了那场比赛。体育界可能发生惊人的事情。看看油人队，我的另一支球队前几天也遭受了重创。[笑声]
But I guess the moral of all of this is that losing is never easy. Trust me, I know something about that. [Laughter] But if you have to lose, that's the way to do it: Fight with all you have. Give it your best shot. And win or lose, learn from it, and get on with life. 但我想这一切的寓意是，失败从来都不容易。相信我，我对此略知一二。[笑声]但如果你必须失败，那就这样做：全力以赴。尽你最大的努力。无论输赢，从中学习，继续前进。
I am about to get on with the rest of my life. But before I do, I want to share with you at this institution of leadership some of my thinking, both about the world you will soon be called upon to enter and the life that you have chosen. 我即将开始我余生的旅程。但在我离开之前，我想在这个领导力机构与你们分享一些我的思考，既关于你们即将被召唤进入的世界，也关于你们选择的生活。
Any President has several functions. He speaks for and to the Nation. He must faithfully execute the law. And he must lead. But no function, none of the President's hats, in my view, is more important than his role as Commander in Chief. For it is as Commander in Chief that the President confronts and makes decisions that one way or another affects the lives of everyone in this country as well as many others around the world. 任何总统都有几项职责。他代表国家并向国家发表讲话。他必须忠实地执行法律。他必须领导。但在我看来，总统的任何职责，任何角色，都不如他作为总司令的角色重要。因为作为总司令，总统面临并做出的决定会以这样或那样的方式影响这个国家每个人的生活，以及世界上许多其他人的生活。
I have had many occasions to don this most important of hats. Over the past 4 years, the men and women who proudly and bravely wear the uniforms of the U.S. armed services have been called upon to go in harm's way and have discharged their duty with honor and professionalism. 我有很多机会戴上这顶最重要的帽子。在过去的四年里，自豪而勇敢地穿着美国军装的男男女女被召唤奔赴险境，并以荣誉和专业精神履行了他们的职责。
I wish I could say that such demands were a thing of the past, that with the end of the cold war the calls upon the United States would diminish. I cannot. Yes, the end of the cold war, we would all concede, is a blessing. It is a time of great promise. Democratic governments have never been so numerous. What happened 2 or 3 days ago in Moscow would not have been possible in the cold war days. Thanks to historic treaties such as that START II pact just reached with Russia, the likelihood of nuclear holocaust is vastly diminished. 我希望我能说这样的要求已经成为过去，随着冷战的结束，对美国的呼吁会减少。我不能。是的，我们都会承认，冷战的结束是一种祝福。这是一个充满巨大希望的时代。民主政府从未如此之多。两三天前在莫斯科发生的事情在冷战时期是不可能的。多亏了与俄罗斯刚刚达成的《第二阶段削减战略武器条约》等历史性条约，核浩劫的可能性大大降低了。
But this does not mean that there is no specter of war, no threats to be reckoned with. And already, we see disturbing signs of what this new world could become if we are passive and aloof. We would risk the emergence of a world characterized by violence, characterized by chaos, one in which dictators and tyrants threaten their neighbors, build arsenals brimming with weapons of mass destruction, and ignore the welfare of their own men, women, and children. And we could see a horrible increase in international terrorism, with American citizens more at risk than ever before. 但这并不意味着没有战争的幽灵，没有需要应对的威胁。而且已经，我们看到了如果我们被动和冷漠，这个新世界可能变成什么样的令人不安的迹象。我们将冒着出现一个以暴力、以混乱为特征的世界的风险，一个独裁者和暴君威胁邻国、建立充满大规模杀伤性武器的军火库、忽视本国人民福利的世界。我们可能会看到国际恐怖主义的可怕增加，美国公民面临比以往任何时候都更大的风险。
We cannot and we need not allow this to happen. Our objective must be to exploit the unparalleled opportunity presented by the cold war's end to work toward transforming this new world into a new world order, one of governments that are democratic, tolerant, and economically free at home and committed abroad to settling inevitable differences peacefully, without the threat or use of force. 我们不能也不必允许这种情况发生。我们的目标必须是利用冷战结束带来的无与伦比的机会，努力将这个新世界转变为一个新的世界秩序，一个各国政府在国内民主、宽容和经济自由，在国外致力于和平解决不可避免的分歧、不威胁或使用武力的秩序。
Unfortunately, not everyone subscribes to these principles. We continue to see leaders bent on denying fundamental human rights and seizing territory regardless of the human cost. No, an international society, one more attuned to the enduring principles that have made this country a beacon of hope for so many for so long, will not just emerge on its own. It's got to be built. 不幸的是，并非每个人都认同这些原则。我们继续看到一些领导人一心否认基本人权，不顾人类代价夺取领土。不，一个更符合使这个国家长期成为如此多人希望灯塔的持久原则的国际社会不会自行出现。它必须被建立。
Two hundred years ago, another departing President warned of the dangers of what he described as "entangling alliances." His was the right course for a new nation at that point in history. But what was "entangling" in Washington's day is now essential. This is why, at Texas A&M a few weeks ago, I spoke of the folly of isolationism and of the importance, morally, economically, and strategically, of the United States remaining involved in world affairs. We must engage ourselves if a new world order, one more compatible with our values and congenial to our interest, is to emerge. But even more, we must lead. 两百年前，另一位即将卸任的总统警告了他所描述的"纠缠不清的联盟"的危险。在那个历史时刻，他的做法对于一个新国家来说是正确的。但在华盛顿时代被视为"纠缠不清"的东西，现在是必不可少的。这就是为什么几周前在德州农工大学，我谈到了孤立主义的愚蠢以及美国在道德、经济和战略上保持参与世界事务的重要性。如果要出现一个更符合我们价值观和利益的新的世界秩序，我们必须参与其中。但更重要的是，我们必须领导。
Leadership, well, it takes many forms. It can be political or diplomatic. It can be economic or military. It can be moral or spiritual leadership. Leadership can take any one of these forms, or it can be a combination of them. 领导力，嗯，它有多种形式。它可以是政治的或外交的。它可以是经济的或军事的。它可以是道德的或精神的领导力。领导力可以采取这些形式中的任何一种，或者它们的组合。
Leadership should not be confused with either unilateralism or universalism. We need not respond by ourselves to each and every outrage of violence. The fact that America can act does not mean that it must. A nation's sense of idealism need not be at odds with its interests, nor does principle displace prudence. 领导力不应与单边主义或普遍主义混淆。我们不必独自对每一起暴力暴行做出回应。美国能够采取行动这一事实并不意味着它必须这样做。一个国家的理想主义意识不必与其利益相悖，原则也不会取代审慎。
No, the United States should not seek to be the world's policeman. There is no support abroad or at home for us to play this role, nor should there be. We would exhaust ourselves in the process, wasting precious resources needed to address those problems at home and abroad that we cannot afford to ignore. 不，美国不应寻求成为世界警察。国内外都不支持我们扮演这个角色，也不应该支持。我们会在此过程中耗尽自己，浪费宝贵的资源，而这些资源需要用于解决我们无论如何都不能忽视的国内外问题。
But in the wake of the cold war, in a world where we are the only remaining superpower, it is the role of the United States to marshal its moral and material resources to promote a democratic peace. It is our responsibility, it is our opportunity to lead. There is no one else. 但在冷战之后，在一个我们是唯一剩下的超级大国的世界里，美国的角色是调动其道德和物质资源来促进民主和平。这是我们的责任，是我们领导的机会。没有人能替代我们。
Leadership cannot be simply asserted or demanded. It must be demonstrated. Leadership requires formulating worthy goals, persuading others of their virtue, and contributing one's share of the common effort and then some. Leadership takes time. It takes patience. It takes work. 领导力不能简单地宣称或要求。它必须被展示出来。领导力需要制定有价值的目标，说服他人相信这些目标的优点，并为共同努力贡献自己的一份力量，甚至更多。领导力需要时间。它需要耐心。它需要努力。
Some of this work must take place here at home. Congress does have a constitutional role to play. Leadership therefore also involves working with the Congress and the American people to provide the essential domestic underpinning if U.S. military commitments are to be sustainable. 其中一些工作必须在国内进行。国会确实有宪法规定的角色要发挥。因此，领导力还涉及与国会和美国人民合作，为美国军事承诺的可持续性提供必要的国内基础。
This is what our administration, the Bush administration, has tried to do. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, it was the United States that galvanized the U.N. Security Council to act and then mobilized the successful coalition on the battlefield. The pattern not exactly the same but similar in Somalia: First the United States underscored the importance of alleviating the growing tragedy, and then we organized humanitarian efforts designed to bring hope, food, and peace. 这正是我们政府——布什政府——努力做的事情。当萨达姆·侯赛因入侵科威特时，是美国激励联合国安理会采取行动，然后在战场上动员了成功的联军。在索马里的模式不尽相同但类似：首先美国强调缓解日益严重的悲剧的重要性，然后我们组织了旨在带来希望、食物和和平的人道主义努力。
At times, real leadership requires a willingness to use military force. And force can be a useful backdrop to diplomacy, a complement to it, or, if need be, a temporary alternative. 有时，真正的领导力需要愿意使用军事力量。武力可以是外交的有用背景，是外交的补充，或者如果需要的话，是临时替代方案。
As Commander in Chief, I have made the difficult choice to use military force. I determined we could not allow Saddam's forces to ravage Kuwait and hold this critical region at gunpoint. I thought then, and I think now, that using military force to implement the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council was in the interest of the United States and the world community. The need to use force arose as well in the wake of the Gulf war, when we came to the aid of the peoples of both northern and southern Iraq. And more recently, as I'm sure you know, I determined that only the use of force could stem this human tragedy of Somalia. 作为总司令，我做出了使用军事力量的艰难选择。我认定我们不能允许萨达姆的部队蹂躏科威特并将这个关键地区置于枪口之下。我当时认为，现在仍然认为，使用军事力量来执行联合国安理会的决议符合美国和国际社会的利益。海湾战争后，当我们援助伊拉克北部和南部人民时，也出现了使用武力的必要性。最近，我相信你们知道，我认定只有使用武力才能阻止索马里的人类悲剧。
The United States should not stand by with so many lives at stake and when a limited deployment of U.S. forces, buttressed by the forces of other countries and acting under the full authority of the United Nations, could make an immediate and dramatic difference, and do so without excessive levels of risk and cost. Operations Provide Comfort and Southern Watch in Iraq and then Operation Restore Hope in Somalia all bear witness to the wisdom of selected use of force for selective purposes. 当如此多的生命处于危险之中，而美国有限部署的部队在其他国家部队的支持下，在联合国的充分授权下行事，可以立即产生显著影响，并且不会带来过度的风险和成本时，美国不应袖手旁观。伊拉克的"安慰行动"和"南部守望行动"以及索马里的"恢复希望行动"都证明了为特定目的选择性使用武力的智慧。
Sometimes the decision not to use force, to stay our hand, I can tell you, it's just as difficult as the decision to send our soldiers into battle. The former Yugoslavia, well, it's been such a situation. There are, we all know, important humanitarian and strategic interests at stake there. But up to now it's not been clear that the application of limited amounts of force by the United States and its traditional friends and allies would have had the desired effect, given the nature and complexity of that situation. 有时，不使用武力、保持克制的决定，我可以告诉你们，与派遣士兵参战的决定同样困难。前南斯拉夫就是这样一种情况。我们都知道，那里涉及重要的人道主义和战略利益。但到目前为止，鉴于局势的性质和复杂性，尚不清楚美国及其传统友邦和盟国有限使用武力是否会产生预期效果。
Our assessment of the situation in the former Yugoslavia could well change if and as the situation changes. The stakes could grow; the conflict could threaten to spread. Indeed, we are constantly reassessing our options and are actively consulting with others about steps that might be taken to contain the fighting, protect the humanitarian effort, and deny Serbia the fruits of aggression. 如果局势发生变化，我们对前南斯拉夫局势的评估很可能会改变。风险可能增加；冲突可能威胁蔓延。事实上，我们正在不断重新评估我们的选择，并积极与其他国家协商，探讨可能采取的措施，以遏制战斗、保护人道主义努力并剥夺塞尔维亚侵略的成果。
Military force is never a tool to be used lightly or universally. In some circumstances it may be essential, in others counterproductive. I know that many people would like to find some formula, some easy formula to apply, to tell us with precision when and where to intervene with force. Anyone looking for scientific certitude is in for a disappointment. In the complex new world we are entering, there can be no single or simple set of fixed rules for using force. Inevitably, the question of military intervention requires judgment. Each and every case is unique. To adopt rigid criteria would guarantee mistakes involving American interests and American lives. And it would give would-be troublemakers a blueprint for determining their own actions. It could signal U.S. friends and allies that our support was not to be counted on. 军事力量从来不是一个可以轻易或普遍使用的工具。在某些情况下它可能是必要的，在其他情况下则可能适得其反。我知道很多人希望找到一些公式，一些易于应用的公式，来精确地告诉我们何时何地用武力干预。任何寻求科学确定性的人都会失望。在我们正在进入的复杂新世界中，不可能有一套单一或简单的固定规则来指导武力的使用。不可避免地，军事干预问题需要判断。每一个案例都是独特的。采用僵化的标准将保证涉及美国利益和美国人生命的错误。这将给潜在的麻烦制造者提供确定自己行动的蓝图。这可能向美国的友邦和盟国发出信号，表明我们的支持不可靠。
Similarly, we cannot always decide in advance which interests will require our using military force to protect them. The relative importance of an interest is not a guide: Military force may not be the best way of safeguarding something vital, while using force might be the best way to protect an interest that qualifies as important but less than vital. 同样，我们不能总是预先决定哪些利益需要我们使用军事力量来保护。利益的相对重要性不是指南：军事力量可能不是保护某些至关重要利益的最佳方式，而使用武力可能是保护重要但不至关重要利益的最佳方式。
But to warn against a futile quest for a set of hard-and-fast rules to govern the use of military force is not to say there cannot be some principles to inform our decisions. Such guidelines can prove useful in sizing and, indeed, shaping our forces and in helping us to think our way through this key question. 但警告不要徒劳地寻求一套硬性规则来管理军事力量的使用，并不是说不能有一些原则来指导我们的决策。这些指导方针在确定甚至塑造我们的部队规模以及帮助我们思考这个关键问题方面可能证明是有用的。
Using military force makes sense as a policy where the stakes warrant, where and when force can be effective, where no other policies are likely to prove effective, where its application can be limited in scope and time, and where the potential benefits justify the potential costs and sacrifice. 当风险值得、武力能够有效、其他政策不太可能有效、其应用可以在范围和时间上受到限制、并且潜在利益证明潜在成本和牺牲是合理的时，使用军事力量作为政策是有意义的。
Once we are satisfied that force makes sense, we must act with the maximum possible support. The United States can and should lead, but we will want to act in concert, where possible involving the United Nations or other multinational grouping. The United States can and should contribute to the common undertaking in a manner commensurate with our wealth, with our strength. But others should also contribute militarily, be it by providing combat or support forces, access to facilities or bases, or overflight rights. And similarly, others should contribute economically. It is unreasonable to expect the United States to bear the full financial burden of intervention when other nations have a stake in the outcome. 一旦我们确信使用武力是合理的，我们就必须在尽可能最大的支持下行事。美国能够而且应该领导，但我们希望尽可能协同行动，让联合国或其他多国集团参与其中。美国能够而且应该以与我们的财富和力量相称的方式为共同事业做出贡献。但其他国家也应该在军事上做出贡献，无论是提供作战或支援部队、提供设施或基地的使用权，还是提供飞越权。同样，其他国家也应该在经济上做出贡献。当其他国家在结果中也有利益时，期望美国承担干预的全部财政负担是不合理的。
A desire for international support must not become a prerequisite for acting, though. Sometimes a great power has to act alone. I made a tough decision -- I might say, on advice of our outstanding military leaders who are so well known to everybody here -- to use military force in Panama when American lives and the security of the Canal appeared to be threatened by outlaws who stole power in the face of free elections. And similarly, we moved swiftly to safeguard democracy in the Philippines. 然而，对国际支持的渴望不应成为采取行动的先决条件。有时一个大国必须独自行动。我做出了一个艰难的决定——我可以说，是根据我们杰出的军事领导人的建议，他们在这里每个人都很熟悉——在美国人和运河的安全似乎受到在自由选举面前窃取权力的不法分子威胁时，在巴拿马使用军事力量。同样，我们迅速采取行动维护菲律宾的民主。
But in every case involving the use of force, it will be essential to have a clear and achievable mission, a realistic plan for accomplishing the mission, and criteria no less realistic for withdrawing U.S. forces once the mission is complete. Only if we keep these principles in mind will the potential sacrifice be one that can be explained and justified. We must never forget that using force is not some political abstraction but a real commitment of our fathers and mothers and sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors. You've got to look at it in human terms. 但在每一个涉及使用武力的案例中，必须有一个明确且可实现的任务、一个实现任务的现实计划，以及在任务完成后撤回美国部队的同样现实的标准。只有牢记这些原则，潜在的牺牲才能得到解释和证明。我们永远不能忘记，使用武力不是某种政治抽象，而是我们的父亲和母亲、儿子和女儿、兄弟姐妹、朋友和邻居的真实承诺。你们必须从人的角度来看待它。
In order even to have the choice, we must have available adequate military forces tailored for a wide range of contingencies, including peacekeeping. Indeed, leading the effort toward a new world order will require a modern, capable military, in some areas necessitating more rather than less defense spending. As President, I have said that my ability to deploy force on behalf of U.S. interests abroad was made possible because past Presidents, and I would single out in particular my predecessor, Ronald Reagan, and past Secretaries of Defense sustained a strong military. Consistent with this sacred trust, I am proud to pass on to my successor, President-elect Clinton, a military second to none. We have the very best. 为了甚至有选择的余地，我们必须拥有适合各种突发事件（包括维和）的足够军事力量。事实上，领导建立新的世界秩序的努力将需要一支现代化、有能力的军队，在某些领域需要更多而不是更少的国防开支。作为总统，我说过，我代表美国在国外的利益部署武力的能力之所以成为可能，是因为历届总统——我要特别指出我的前任罗纳德·里根——和历届国防部长维持了一支强大的军队。根据这一神圣的信任，我自豪地将一支无与伦比的军队交给我的继任者、当选总统克林顿。我们拥有最好的军队。
Yet, it is essential to recognize that as important as such factors are, any military is more than simply the sum of its weapons or the state of its technology. What makes any armed force truly effective is the quality of its leadership, the quality of its training, the quality of its people. 然而，必须认识到，尽管这些因素很重要，但任何军队都不仅仅是其武器的总和或其技术的状态。使任何武装力量真正有效的是其领导素质、训练素质和人员素质。
We have succeeded abroad in no small part because of our people in uniform. The men and women in our Armed Forces have demonstrated their ability to master the challenges of modern warfare. And at the same time, and whether on the battlefield of Iraq or in some tiny little village in Somalia, America's soldiers have always brought a quality of caring and kindness to their mission. Who will ever forget -- I know I won't -- those terrified Iraqi soldiers surrendering to American troops? And who will forget the way the American soldier held out his arms and said, "It's okay. You're all right now." Or in Somalia, the young marine, eyes filled with tears, holding the fragile arm of an emaciated child. There can be no doubt about it: The All Volunteer Force is one of the true success stories of modern day America. 我们在国外取得成功，在很大程度上要归功于我们穿制服的人民。我们武装部队的男男女女已经展示了他们掌握现代战争挑战的能力。与此同时，无论是在伊拉克战场还是在索马里的某个小村庄，美国士兵总是在他们的使命中带来关怀和善意的品质。谁会忘记——我知道我不会——那些惊恐地向美国军队投降的伊拉克士兵？谁会忘记美国士兵伸出双臂说："没事了。你现在安全了。"或者在索马里，年轻的海军陆战队员眼中充满泪水，握着一个瘦弱孩子脆弱的手臂。毫无疑问：全志愿部队是现代美国真正的成功故事之一。
It is instructive to look at just why this is so. At its heart, a voluntary military is based upon choice -- you all know that -- the decision freely taken by young men and women to join, the decision by more mature men and women to remain. And the institution of the Armed Forces has thrived on its commitment to developing and promoting excellence. It is meritocracy in action. Race, religion, wealth, background count not. Indeed, the military offers many examples for the rest of society, showing what can be done to eradicate the scourge of drugs, to break down the barriers of racial discrimination, to offer equal opportunity to women. 看看为什么会这样是有启发性的。从本质上讲，志愿军队基于选择——你们都知道——年轻男女自由做出加入的决定，年长男女做出留下的决定。武装部队机构在其致力于培养和促进卓越的基础上蓬勃发展。这是精英统治的实践。种族、宗教、财富、背景都不重要。事实上，军队为社会其他部分提供了许多例子，展示了如何消除毒品祸害、打破种族歧视的障碍、为妇女提供平等机会。
This is not just a result of self-selection. It also reflects the military's commitment to education and training. You know, people speak of defense conversion, the process by which the defense firms retool for civilian tasks. Well, defense conversion within the military has been going on for years. It is the constant process of training and retraining, which the military does so well, that allows individuals to keep up with the latest technology, take on more challenging assignments, and prepare for life on the outside. 这不仅仅是自我选择的结果。它也反映了军队对教育和培训的承诺。你知道，人们谈论国防转换，即国防企业为民用任务重新装备的过程。嗯，军队内部的国防转换已经进行多年了。正是军队做得如此出色的不断训练和再训练的过程，使个人能够跟上最新技术、承担更具挑战性的任务，并为外界的生活做准备。
Out of this culture of merit and competition have emerged hundreds of thousands of highly skilled men and women brimming with real self-confidence. What they possess is a special mix of discipline, a willingness to accept direction, and the confidence, a willingness to accept responsibility. Together, discipline and confidence provide the basis for winning, for getting the job done. 在这种精英和竞争文化中，涌现出数十万高度熟练、充满真正自信的男男女女。他们拥有的是纪律、接受指导的意愿以及自信、承担责任的意愿的特殊组合。纪律和自信共同构成了胜利的基础，完成任务的基础。
There is no higher calling, no more honorable choice than the one that you here today have made. To join the Armed Forces is to be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for your country and for your fellow man. 没有比你们今天在这里做出的选择更高的使命，更光荣的选择了。加入武装部队就是准备为你们的国家和同胞做出最终牺牲。
What you have done, what you are doing, sends an important message, one that I fear sometimes gets lost amidst today's often materialist, self-interested culture. It is important to remember, it is important to demonstrate that there is a higher purpose to life beyond one's self. Now, I speak of family, of community, of ideals. I speak of duty, honor, country. 你们所做的、正在做的事情传达了一个重要信息，一个我担心有时在当今往往物质主义、自私自利的文化中被遗忘的信息。重要的是要记住，重要的是要表明生命中除了自我之外还有更高的目的。现在，我说的是家庭、社区、理想。我说的是责任、荣誉、国家。
There are many forms of contributing to this country, of public service. Yes, there is government. There is voluntarism. I love to talk about the thousand Points of Light, one American helping another. The daily tasks that require doing in our classrooms, in our hospitals, our cities, our farms, all can and do represent a form of service. In whatever form, service benefits our society, and it ennobles the giver. It is a cherished American concept, one we should continue to practice and pass on to our children. 有许多形式的贡献国家、公共服务。是的，有政府。有志愿精神。我喜欢谈论千点光，一个美国人帮助另一个美国人。我们在教室、医院、城市、农场中需要完成的日常任务，都可以并且确实代表一种服务形式。无论以何种形式，服务都有益于我们的社会，并使施予者高尚。这是一个珍贵的美国概念，我们应该继续践行并传递给我们的孩子。
This was what I wanted to share on this occasion. You are beginning your service to country, and I am nearing the end of mine. Exactly half a century ago, in June of 1942, as General Graves mentioned, we were at war, and I was graduating from school. The speaker that day at Andover was the then-Secretary of War, Henry Stimson. And his message was one of public service, but with a twist -- on the importance of finishing one's schooling before going off to fight for one's country. I listened closely to what he had to say, but I didn't take his advice. And that day was my 18th birthday. And when the commencement ceremony ended, I went on into Boston and enlisted in the Navy as a seaman 2d class. And I never regretted it. 这就是我想在这个场合分享的内容。你们开始为国家服务，而我即将结束我的服务。整整半个世纪前，1942年6月，正如格雷夫斯将军提到的，我们正处于战争中，我即将从学校毕业。那天在安多弗的演讲者是当时的战争部长亨利·史汀生。他的信息是关于公共服务的，但有一个转折——关于在为国家战斗之前完成学业的重要性。我仔细听了他所说的话，但我没有接受他的建议。那天是我的18岁生日。毕业典礼结束后，我去了波士顿，以二级水手的身份加入了海军。我从未后悔过。
You, too, have signed up. You, too, will never regret it. And I salute you for it. Fortunately, because of the sacrifices made in years before and still being made, you should be able to complete this phase of your education. 你们也已经报名了。你们也永远不会后悔。我向你们致敬。幸运的是，由于多年前做出并仍在做出的牺牲，你们应该能够完成这一阶段的教育。
A half century has passed since I left school to go into the service. A half century has passed since that day when Stimson spoke of the challenge of creating a new world. You will also be entering a new world, one far better than the one I came to know, a world with the potential to be far better yet. This is the challenge. This is the opportunity of your lifetimes. I envy you for it, and I wish you Godspeed. And while I'm at it, as your Commander in Chief, I hereby grant amnesty to the Corps of Cadets. 自从我离开学校去服役以来，半个世纪已经过去了。自从史汀生谈到创建新世界的挑战那一天以来，半个世纪已经过去了。你们也将进入一个新世界，一个远比我所了解的世界更好的世界，一个有潜力变得更好的世界。这是挑战。这是你们一生的机遇。我羡慕你们，祝你们好运。顺便说一句，作为你们的总司令，我特此赦免学员团。
Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Good luck to all of you. Warm up here. Good luck to you guys. Thank you. 非常感谢大家。谢谢。非常非常感谢大家。祝你们所有人好运。在这里暖和暖和。祝你们好运。谢谢。