For our forces in Afghanistan, the Battle of Wanat was one of the most fierce of this entire war. Forty-eight Americans, along with their Afghan partners, were manning their small base, deep in a valley when they were attacked by some 200 insurgents. And those insurgents seemed determined to overrun an even smaller post just outside the base -- an elevated patch of boulders and sandbags defended by just nine American soldiers. 对我们在阿富汗的部队来说，瓦纳特战役是整场战争中最惨烈的战斗之一。四十八名美国人与阿富汗伙伴驻守在山谷深处的小基地，却遭到约两百名叛乱分子的攻击。叛乱分子似乎决心攻占基地外更小的一处哨所：那是一片由岩石和沙袋构成的高地，只有九名美国士兵守卫。
Soon, under the relentless fire, all nine of those men were wounded or killed. Insurgents broke through the wire. And that little post was on the verge of falling, giving the enemy a perch from which to devastate the base below. Against that onslaught, one American held the line -- Just 22 years old, nearly surrounded, bloodied but unbowed -- the soldier we recognize today with our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts. 在持续不断的火力下，那九人很快全部负伤或阵亡。叛乱分子突破了铁丝网。小哨所濒临失守，敌人一旦占据那里，就能从高处摧毁下方基地。在这场猛攻中，一名美国人守住了阵线：他年仅二十二岁，几乎被包围，浑身浴血却毫不屈服；今天，我们以国家最高军事荣誉——荣誉勋章——表彰这名士兵，瑞安·M·皮茨上士。
Now, I don’t want to embarrass Ryan, but the character he displayed that day was clearly forged early. I’m told that in kindergarten, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he drew a picture of a soldier. When he was in the 5th grade, his teacher sent home a note that described Ryan in words that would be familiar to all those who knew him today -- Ryan, she wrote, is "a very special human being." 我不想让瑞安难为情，但他那天展现的品格显然很早就已形成。我听说，他上幼儿园时，老师问他长大后想做什么，他画了一名士兵。五年级时，老师写信给家里，用今天所有认识他的人都熟悉的话描述瑞安：“他是一个非常特别的人。”
In Ryan Pitts you see the humility and the loyalty that define America’s men and women in uniform. Of this medal, he says, "It’s not mine alone. It belongs to everybody who was there that day because we did it together." 在瑞安·皮茨身上，你能看到定义美国军人的谦逊与忠诚。谈到这枚勋章，他说：“这不只属于我。它属于那天在那里并肩作战的每一个人，因为我们是一起做到的。”
So I want to welcome those who were there that day -- Ryan’s brothers in arms, and those who are going to be welcoming him into their ranks -- the members of the Medal of Honor Society. We are very proud of them and we are honored by the presence of the families of our fallen heroes as well. 所以，我要欢迎那天在场的瑞安战友，也欢迎即将接纳他加入行列的荣誉勋章协会成员。我们为他们深感自豪，也很荣幸今天有阵亡英雄的家属出席。
We welcome Ryan’s family, many from New Hampshire, including his wonderful wife, Amy. I have to take a pause because they are actually celebrating -- Ryan and Amy -- their second anniversary today. As Ryan put it, it’s going to be tough topping this one, as anniversaries go. But let me just give you a piece of advice as somebody who now has been married for over 20 years: You should try. I’m just saying don’t rest on your laurels after just two years. 我们欢迎瑞安的家人，其中许多人来自新罕布什尔州，包括他出色的妻子艾米。我得停一下，因为今天正是瑞安和艾米结婚两周年。瑞安说，就周年纪念而言，这次经历很难超越。不过，作为一个结婚二十多年的人，我给你们一点建议：应该努力超越。我的意思是，才两年，不要就此满足。
We welcome their gorgeous son, one-year-old Lucas, who Ryan is beginning to teach a love for all things New England -- of course, the Red Sox and the Bruins and the Celtics and the Pats. 我们也欢迎他们可爱的儿子、一岁的卢卡斯。瑞安正开始教他热爱新英格兰的一切——当然包括红袜队、棕熊队、凯尔特人队和爱国者队。
I want you to try and imagine the extraordinary circumstances in which Ryan and his team served. This was the summer of 2008, and this was a time when our forces in Afghanistan were stretched thin and our troops were deployed to isolated outposts. They had just arrived in Wanat just days before and they were still building their very small base -- a handful of armored vehicles and fighting positions and foxholes and sandbags. 请想象一下瑞安和他的战友当时服役的非凡环境。那是2008年夏天，阿富汗的美军捉襟见肘，部队被部署到偏远孤立的哨所。他们抵达瓦纳特才几天，仍在建设极小的基地：几辆装甲车、一些战斗阵地、散兵坑和沙袋。
Wanat, one report later concluded, had "significant vulnerabilities." Parts of the village sat on higher ground. On every side, mountains soared 10,000 feet into the sky. Heavy equipment to help build their defenses was delayed. In the 100-degree heat the soldiers ran low on water. And the aerial surveillance they were counting on was diverted away to other missions. 一份后来提交的报告称，瓦纳特“存在重大脆弱性”。村庄部分区域位于高地，四周山峰直插一万英尺高空。用于修筑防御工事的重型设备迟迟未到。士兵们在华氏一百度的高温中逐渐缺水，而他们依赖的空中侦察又被调往其他任务。
Early that morning, in the pre-dawn darkness, they spotted several men up the mountains. But before Ryan and his team could take action, the entire valley erupted. Machine gun fire and mortar and rocket-propelled grenades poured down from every direction. And those 200 insurgents were firing from ridges and from the village and from trees. Down at the base, a vehicle exploded -- scattering its missiles, back at our soldiers. It was, said a soldier, "hell on Earth." 那天清晨，天还没亮，他们发现几个人出现在山上。但瑞安和小组还没来得及行动，整个山谷突然爆发。机枪、迫击炮和火箭推进榴弹从四面八方倾泻而下。两百名叛乱分子从山脊、村庄和树丛中开火。基地下方一辆车辆爆炸，车上的导弹四处飞散，反过来袭向我们的士兵。一名士兵说，那是“人间地狱”。
Up at their tiny post, Ryan and his team were being pounded. Almost instantly, every one of them was wounded. Ryan was hit by shrapnel in the arm and both legs and was bleeding badly. Already, three American soldiers in that valley had fallen. And then a fourth. 在上方的小哨所里，瑞安和战友遭到猛烈轰击。几乎转眼之间，每个人都负了伤。瑞安的手臂和双腿被弹片击中，失血严重。那座山谷里已经有三名美国士兵倒下，随后又有第四名。
As the insurgents moved in, Ryan picked up a grenade, pulled the pin, and held that live grenade -- for a moment, then another, then another -- finally hurling it so they couldn’t throw it back. And he did that again. And he did it again. 叛乱分子逼近时，瑞安捡起一枚手榴弹，拔掉保险销，把它握在手里——一会儿、又一会儿、再一会儿——最后才扔出去，让敌人无法把它扔回来。他又这样做了一次，又一次。
Unable to stand, Ryan pulled himself up on his knees and manned a machine gun. Soldiers from the base below made a daring run, dodging bullets and explosions, and joined the defense. But now the enemy was inside the post -- so close they were throwing rocks at the Americans, so close they came right up to the sandbags. Eight American soldiers had now fallen. And Ryan Pitts was the only living soldier at that post. 瑞安无法站立，便跪起身操作机枪。下方基地的士兵冒险冲来，躲过子弹和爆炸，加入防守。但敌人已经进入哨所，近得可以向美国人投掷石块，甚至逼到沙袋跟前。此时已有八名美国士兵阵亡，瑞安·皮茨成了哨所里唯一还活着的士兵。
The enemy was so close Ryan could hear their voices. He whispered into the radio he was the only one left and was running out of ammo. "I was going to die," he remembers, "and made my peace with it." And then he prepared to make a last stand. Bleeding and barely conscious, Ryan threw his last grenades. He grabbed a grenade launcher and fired nearly straight up, so the grenade came back down on the enemy just yards away. 敌人近得瑞安能听见他们的声音。他在无线电里低声说，自己是唯一剩下的人，弹药也快用完了。“我知道自己要死了，”他回忆说，“也接受了这个事实。”随后，他准备做最后的抵抗。瑞安浑身流血、意识模糊，投出最后几枚手榴弹。他抓起榴弹发射器，几乎垂直向上射击，让榴弹落回到几码之外的敌人身上。
One insurgent was now right on top of the post, shooting down until another team of Americans showed up and drove him back. As one of his teammates said, had it not been for Ryan Pitts, that post "almost certainly would have been overrun." 一名叛乱分子已经冲到哨所顶部，向下射击，直到另一队美国人赶到把他击退。一名战友说，如果没有瑞安·皮茨，这座哨所“几乎肯定已经失守”。
Even with reinforcements, the battle was not over. Another wave of rocket-propelled grenades slammed into the post. Nine American soldiers were now gone. And still, the fighting raged. Ryan worked the radio, helping target the air strikes that were hitting "danger-close" -- just yards away. And with those strikes the tide of the battle began to turn. Eventually, the insurgents fell back. Ryan and his fellow soldiers had held their ground. 即使有增援，战斗仍未结束。又一轮火箭推进榴弹砸进哨所。九名美国人已经牺牲，战斗仍在激烈进行。瑞安操作无线电，协助瞄准近距离空袭，炸弹落点“危险至极”，就在几码之外。随着空袭展开，战局开始扭转。最终叛乱分子撤退，瑞安和战友守住了阵地。
This medal, Ryan says, is an opportunity to tell "our" story. "There was valor everywhere," according to Ryan. And so today we also pay tribute to all who served with such valor that day. Shielding their wounded buddies with their own bodies. Picking up unexploded missiles with their hands and carrying them away. Running through the gunfire to reinforce that post. Fighting through their injuries and never giving up. Helicopter pilots and MEDEVAC crews who came in under heavy fire. Said one soldier, "Never in my career have I seen such bravery and sacrifice." 瑞安说，这枚勋章提供了讲述“我们的”故事的机会。“勇气无处不在，”瑞安说。因此今天我们也向那天英勇服役的所有人致敬：用身体掩护受伤战友的人；徒手捡起未爆导弹并将其搬走的人；冒着枪林弹雨冲去增援哨所的人；带伤作战、永不放弃的人；以及在猛烈火力下赶来的直升机飞行员和医疗后送机组。一名士兵说：“在我的军旅生涯中，我从未见过这样的勇敢与牺牲。”
And so I would ask all those who served at Wanat -- on the ground and in the air -- to please stand, those of you who are here today. 因此，我请所有曾在瓦纳特服役的人——无论地面还是空中——如果今天在场，请起立。瑞安说，
Most of all, Ryan says he considers this medal "a memorial for the guys who didn’t come home." So today, we honor nine American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. 最重要的是，他把这枚勋章看作“献给那些没能回家的人们的纪念碑”。所以今天，我们缅怀九名为我们所有人作出终极牺牲的美国士兵。
The son who "absorbed love like a sponge;" the expectant father whose dream would later come true, a beautiful baby girl -- Specialist Sergio Abad. 他是那个“像海绵一样吸收爱”的儿子，是梦想后来成真的准父亲，是美丽女婴的父亲——塞尔希奥·阿巴德专家兵。
The boy who dominated the soccer fields, and fell in love with motorcycles, and there in that remote outpost took a direct hit in the helmet and kept on fighting -- Corporal Jonathan Ayers. 他是称霸足球场、爱上摩托车的男孩；在那个偏远哨所，他的头盔被直接击中，却仍继续战斗——乔纳森·艾尔斯下士。
The photographer whose beautiful pictures captured the spirit of the Afghan people, and who wrote to his family: "Afghanistan is exactly [where]…I wanted to be" -- Corporal Jason Bogar. 他是用美丽照片捕捉阿富汗人民精神的摄影师，曾写信给家人：“阿富汗正是……我想去的地方”——杰森·博加尔下士。
The father who loved surfing with his son; the platoon leader who led a dash through the gunfire to that post to reinforce his men -- 1st Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom. 他是喜欢和儿子冲浪的父亲，是带领部队冒着枪火冲向哨所、增援战友的排长——乔纳森·布罗姆斯特姆中尉。
An immigrant from Mexico who became a proud American soldier, on his third tour, whose final thoughts were of his family and his beloved wife, Lesly -- Sergeant Israel Garcia. 他是来自墨西哥、后来成为自豪美国士兵的移民，正在第三次服役；临终时想的仍是家人和深爱的妻子莱斯利——以色列·加西亚中士。
A young man of deep faith, who served God and country, who could always get a laugh with his impersonation of his commander -- Corporal Jason Hovater. 他是虔诚信仰的年轻人，服务上帝和国家，总能靠模仿指挥官逗大家发笑——杰森·霍瓦特下士。
The husband who couldn’t wait to become an uncle; the adventurous spirit who in every photo from Afghanistan has a big smile on his face -- Corporal Matthew Phillips. 他是迫不及待想当舅舅的丈夫，是一位充满冒险精神的人；在每一张来自阿富汗的照片里，他脸上都挂着灿烂笑容——马修·菲利普斯下士。
The big guy with an even bigger heart, a prankster whose best play was cleaning up at the poker table with his buddies and his dad -- Corporal Pruitt Rainey. 他身材高大，心胸更宽广，是个爱恶作剧的人；他最得意的“战果”，是在和伙伴及父亲打扑克时赢得满桌筹码——普鲁伊特·雷尼下士。
And the youngest, just 20 years old, the "little brother" of the platoon, who loved to play guitar, and who, says his dad, did everything in his life with passion -- Corporal Gunnar Zwilling. 他是最年轻的一个，年仅二十岁，是排里的“小弟弟”；他喜欢弹吉他，父亲说，他做人生中的每件事都充满激情——冈纳·茨威林下士。
These American patriots lived to serve us all. They died to protect each of us. And their legacy lives on in the hearts of all who love them still, especially their families. Mothers. Fathers. Wives. Brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters. 这些美国爱国者活着时为我们所有人服务，牺牲时保护我们每一个人。他们的遗产仍活在所有爱他们的人心中，尤其是他们的家人：母亲、父亲、妻子、兄弟姐妹、儿女。
To you, their families, I know no words can match the depth of your loss, but please know that this nation will honor your soldiers now and forever. And I would ask the Gold Star families from that deployment to please stand -- including Ali Kahler, age 11, and Jase Brostrom, who this week turns 12. Please stand. 对你们这些家属，我知道任何语言都无法匹敌你们失去亲人的深度，但请相信，这个国家现在以及永远都会尊崇你们的士兵。我也请那次部署中的金星家属起立，包括11岁的阿里·卡勒，以及本周即将满12岁的杰斯·布罗姆斯特姆。请起立。
This is the story Ryan wants us to remember -- soldiers who loved each other like brothers and who fought for each other, and families who have made a sacrifice that our nation must never forget. Ryan says, "I think we owe it to them to live lives worthy of their sacrifice." And he’s absolutely right. 这是瑞安希望我们铭记的故事：士兵们像兄弟一样彼此相爱、为彼此而战；还有那些作出牺牲、让国家永远不能忘记的家属。瑞安说：“我认为，我们有责任活出配得上他们牺牲的生命。”他说得完全正确。
As Commander-in-Chief, I believe one of the ways we can do that is by heeding the lessons of Wanat. When this nation sends our troops into harm’s way, they deserve a sound strategy and a well-defined mission. And they deserve the forces and support to get the job done. And that's what we owe soldiers like Ryan and all the comrades that were lost. That’s how we can truly honor all those who gave their lives that day. That’s how, as a nation, we can remain worthy of their sacrifice. 作为三军统帅，我相信，做到这一点的方式之一，就是吸取瓦纳特的教训。当这个国家把部队送入险境，他们应得到可靠的战略和明确的任务，也应得到完成任务所需的兵力和支持。这就是我们欠瑞安这样的士兵、欠所有牺牲战友的责任。这才是我们真正尊重那些在那天献出生命的人的方式；这才是国家保持配得上他们牺牲的方式。
I know that's a view that's shared by our Secretary of Defense and by our Joint Chiefs of Staff and all the leadership here. They’re hard lessons, but they’re ones that are deeply engrained in our hearts. 我知道，国防部长、参谋长联席会议以及在座各位领导都认同这一观点。这些教训沉重，却深深铭刻在我们心中。
It is remarkable that we have young men and women serving in our military who, day in, day out, are able to perform with so much integrity, so much humility, and so much courage. Ryan represents the very best of that tradition, and we are very, very proud of him, as we are of all of you. 令人敬佩的是，我们的军队里有这样一群年轻男女，日复一日以高度的正直、谦逊和勇气履行职责。瑞安代表了这一传统最优秀的一面，我们为他、也为你们所有人深感自豪。
So God bless you, Ryan. God bless all who serve in our name. May God continue to bless the United States of America. 愿上帝保佑你，瑞安；愿上帝保佑所有以我们的名义服役的人；愿上帝继续保佑美利坚合众国。
And with that, I would like our military aide to please complete the ceremony. 现在，我请军方助理完成仪式。