讀著這篇文章，很自然地想起了無數(shù)奮戰(zhàn)在抗震救災(zāi)一線的戰(zhàn)士們，他們有一個(gè)共同的名字——最可愛的人！雖然災(zāi)難無情，但軍人們的無私付出和忠誠守護(hù)讓我們堅(jiān)信：我們一定可以重建美好家園！讓我們向那些最可愛也是最可敬的軍人們致敬！并祈愿他們健康平安！

——Maisie

Memorial Day has always been a very special day to me. Whether camping with the family， swimming， fishing or preparing 3)BBQ for the 4)grill， I do my very best to keep the memory of my fallen brothers and sisters in the 5)foreground of my mind at all times.

As a young 17-year-old boy going into the service of my country， I was not the brightest 6)bulb on the tree. Truth be known， I was a bit of a 7)basket case in severe need of psychological counseling. After

almost two years， I was discharged from the United States Army as an “undesirable” individual. For some reason I just could not adapt to military life.

I should have been prepared for military life， having spent my entire childhood in a very strict and regimented 8)Jacksonville， Florida， orphanage. If not that， then my two years at the Florida School for Boys 9)Reformatory in 10)Marianna should have certainly prepared me for such rigid training.

“Freedom，” to me， had nothing to do with love or family. My mind was totally blank of what having a mother and a father felt like. I didn’t know anything about those types of people. The only freedom I was looking for was the right to get a drink of water or to be able to go to the bathroom without having to ask permission. Or being able to open a refrigerator and get something to eat when you were hungry (which I had never done before.) Just being able to do those things was something worth dying for.

For years I was ashamed of myself. I constantly wondered why I had failed in my duties and responsibilities as a young boy. Why did I find it so difficult to help defend my country’s freedom? Now， at age 61， I can clearly see what I could not see when I was a young man.

I was so proud of myself when I graduated from 11)boot camp at 12)Fort Gordon， Georgia. For the first time in my life， I had accomplished something of value. When the ceremony was over， thousands of soldiers ran off the 13)parade ground and into the waiting arms of their loved ones. Every

soldier screamed and yelled with joy as they hugged， laughed and headed off to spend time with their families. Every one of them had someone to be proud of them.

Within fifteen minutes everyone had disappeared into the distance. In the quiet， I stood alone on the large grassy field. Looking down at the one medal on my chest， I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. It was at that very moment that I realized that I had no reason to defend freedom. That freedom was not worth dying

for unless it brought one a sense of happiness and security. I sat down in the grass， placed my hands over my face， and I cried. Not for myself but because I rea-lized that I had no one to die for.

Today， as I look out my window I see my grandchildren running in play while smiling and laughing. I see no fear on their face or in their eyes. I can clearly see what I could not see back then. I now realize the sacrifice that a soldier must give. I now realize the sacrifice that I should have been willing to give so that others could be happy.

There is nothing I can do to undo my irresponsibility as a 17-year-old young man. The best I can do is to forever honor， with all my heart and the greatest of serenity， those who gave me and my family the freedom that we now enjoy.

Not only on Memorial Day but every day of the year.

陣亡戰(zhàn)士紀(jì)念日對(duì)我而言一直都是一個(gè)非常特別的日子。無論是和家人一起去露營、游泳、釣魚還是準(zhǔn)備燒烤，我總是盡自己最大的努力把我那些已經(jīng)倒下的兄弟姐妹們放在我記憶中最顯著的位置。

17歲時(shí)，我參軍為國效力。入伍后的我并不是軍隊(duì)里最耀眼的一員。事實(shí)上，我當(dāng)時(shí)精神瀕于崩潰，極需心理救助。過了將近兩年，作為美國陸軍部隊(duì)中的一名“不合需要的”士兵，我退伍了。不知什么原因，我就是無法適應(yīng)軍人的生活。

我應(yīng)該是早就為軍人生活作好了準(zhǔn)備的，因?yàn)槲艺麄€(gè)孩童時(shí)期就是在佛羅里達(dá)州杰克遜維爾市的一家管理非常嚴(yán)格有序的孤兒院里度過的。如果那樣還不夠，那么我在位于瑪麗安納市的佛羅里達(dá)少年管教所里度過的兩年毫無疑問應(yīng)該為我接受軍隊(duì)的嚴(yán)格訓(xùn)練打下了基礎(chǔ)。

對(duì)我來說，“自由”與愛或者家庭毫無關(guān)系。我完全不知道擁有父母是什么感覺。我對(duì)那些類型的人一無所知。我所追求的唯一自由就是——無需得到許可就可以自由地喝水、洗澡，或者饑餓時(shí)能夠打開冰箱，吃一些東西（而這些我以前都無法做到）。在我看來，僅僅是能夠去做那些事情就值得為之付出生命。

多年來，我一直很慚愧。我經(jīng)常在想，作為一個(gè)熱血青年，為什么我在服兵役和承擔(dān)應(yīng)有的責(zé)任上如此失敗。為什么我覺得參與捍衛(wèi)自己祖國的自由是如此艱難呢？如今，我已經(jīng)61歲了。我能夠清楚地領(lǐng)會(huì)自己年輕時(shí)曾無法領(lǐng)悟的東西。

當(dāng)我從喬治亞州的高登堡新兵訓(xùn)練營畢業(yè)時(shí)，我十分自豪。在我的人生中，我第一次實(shí)現(xiàn)了某種價(jià)值。畢業(yè)典禮結(jié)束后，數(shù)以千計(jì)的士兵們跑出閱兵場(chǎng)，投入他們關(guān)愛的人的懷抱。當(dāng)他們互相擁抱，開懷大笑，盡情地和家人一起共度美好時(shí)光時(shí)，每個(gè)人都高興地尖聲喊叫。每一個(gè)人都有以他們?yōu)轵湴恋娜恕?/p>

15分鐘后，所有人都不見了蹤影。周圍一片靜寂，我獨(dú)自一人站在那片寬廣的草地上，低頭看著掛在胸前的紀(jì)念章，我能感覺到淚水輕輕地滑下臉頰。就在那一刻，我意識(shí)到自己沒有任何理由去捍衛(wèi)自由。如果自由不能給人帶來幸福感和安全感，那么它就不值得人為之付出生命。我坐在草地上，掩面而泣，不是為自己，而是因?yàn)槲乙庾R(shí)到自己并沒有可以讓我為之付出生命的人。

今天，當(dāng)我眺望窗外時(shí)，我看到孫子們正在開心地笑著嬉戲玩耍，他們的臉上或者眼睛里沒有一絲恐懼。我清楚地明白了過去我不曾領(lǐng)悟的東西。現(xiàn)在我認(rèn)識(shí)到了一個(gè)軍人必須作出的犧牲。我意識(shí)到，為了使其他人獲得幸福，自己本該情愿作出的犧牲。

對(duì)于自己17歲時(shí)不負(fù)責(zé)任的行為，我不能做些什么來彌補(bǔ)。我能做的最好的事，就是永遠(yuǎn)全心全意地懷著最大的敬意向那些捍衛(wèi)了我和家人現(xiàn)在所享有的自由的人們致敬！

不僅僅是在陣亡戰(zhàn)士紀(jì)念日這一天，而是每一天！