里根于1984年紀(jì)念諾曼底登陸四十周年演講

里根于1984年紀(jì)念諾曼底登陸四十周年演講 英文版

We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty.

For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved and the world prayed for its rescue. Here, in Normandy, the rescue began. Here, the Allies stood and fought against tyranny, in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, two hundred and twenty-five Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs.

Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs, shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only ninety could still bear arms.

And behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. And these are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your“lives fought for life and left the vivid air signed with your honor.”

I think I know what you may be thinking right now—thinking“we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.”Well everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago, today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren’t. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.

Lord Lovat was with him—Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge,“Sorry, I’m a few minutes late,”as if he’d been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he’d just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.

There was the impossible valor of the Poles, who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold; and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.

All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore; The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland’s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots’ Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England’s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard’s“Matchbox Fleet,”and you, the American Rangers.

Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief. It was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead, or on the next. It was the deep knowledge—and prays God we have not lost it—that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought—or felt in their hearts, though they couldn’t know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4:00 am. In Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying. And in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

Something else helped the men of D-day; their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Walkerton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer, he told them:“Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we’re about to do.”Also, that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.

When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together. There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall Plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall Plan led to the Atlantic alliance—a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.

In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. The Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They’re still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost forty years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as forty years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose: to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two world wars. It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent. But we try always to be prepared for peace, prepared to deter aggression, prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms, and yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.

It’s fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II. Twenty million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.

We will pray forever that someday that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.

We’re bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we’re with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened:“I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

里根于1984年紀(jì)念諾曼底登陸四十周年演講 中文版

我們?cè)谶@里紀(jì)念那歷史性的一天，盟軍聯(lián)合作戰(zhàn)，為自由而收復(fù)這片大陸的日子。

在四年之久的時(shí)間里，眾多歐洲人生活在恐怖陰影之中，自由國(guó)家陷落，猶太人在集中營(yíng)哭泣，數(shù)百萬(wàn)人為自由而哭喊。歐洲被奴役，世界為營(yíng)救行動(dòng)而祈禱。在這里，諾曼底，營(yíng)救行動(dòng)開(kāi)始。為了這項(xiàng)人類(lèi)歷史上空前絕后的偉大事業(yè)，聯(lián)軍從這里開(kāi)始奮起反抗暴政。

我們此刻站在這個(gè)法國(guó)北方海岸人跡罕至、風(fēng)霜盡吹之地，空氣清新。但四十年前的此刻，這里硝煙彌漫，呼聲鼎沸，槍林彈雨，炮聲隆隆。黎明，1944年6月6日那個(gè)黎明，225名突擊隊(duì)員跳下英國(guó)登陸艇，沖向這些懸崖峭壁的底端。

這次登陸任務(wù)中，他們的使命異常艱巨：攀上這些陡峭荒蕪的懸崖，解除敵人的武裝。盟軍獲悉這個(gè)灘頭裝備了高效的殺傷武器，將用于阻止盟軍登陸。

突擊隊(duì)員們仰面看到敵軍士兵就在懸崖邊，用機(jī)槍向他們掃射并投擲手榴彈。美國(guó)突擊隊(duì)員開(kāi)始攀援。他們把繩索投往頭頂?shù)膽已?，借此引體向上。一個(gè)突擊隊(duì)員倒下，另一個(gè)接續(xù)上去;一根繩索打斷，抓住另一根繩索繼續(xù)攀援。他們邊攀登，邊駐足還擊。不久，他們一個(gè)接一個(gè)攀上崖頂。他們奪回懸崖之上堅(jiān)實(shí)土地之時(shí)，也是他們奪回歐洲大陸的開(kāi)始。225名人來(lái)到這里，兩天的戰(zhàn)斗之后，只剩下90名士兵一息尚存。

在我背后是紀(jì)念碑，象征那些刺入懸崖頂端突擊隊(duì)員的威力。在我前面是那些投身于此役的人。他們是奧克角之子，他們是戰(zhàn)勝懸崖絕壁的勇士，他們是協(xié)助解放一個(gè)大陸的冠軍，他們也是結(jié)束一場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的英雄。先生們，看見(jiàn)你們，我想起了斯蒂芬·斯彭德的詩(shī)句，你們是那些人：“以命相許你的榮耀譜寫(xiě)了天空的絢麗。”

我想，我知道你們此刻可能在想什么：“我們不過(guò)是偉大戰(zhàn)役的一部分，在那個(gè)日子里無(wú)人不勇。”是的，無(wú)人不勇。你們記得51高地上貝爾·米林的故事嗎?四十年前的今天，英國(guó)軍隊(duì)被困于一座橋的附近亟待增援。突然，他們聽(tīng)到了風(fēng)笛的聲音，有人以為他們?cè)谧鰤?mèng)。但這不是夢(mèng)，他們抬起頭看見(jiàn)貝爾·米林吹著風(fēng)笛，帶領(lǐng)援兵冒著槍林彈雨，進(jìn)入他們所在的戰(zhàn)地。

勞得·拉瓦特是其中之一。勞得·拉瓦特是蘇格蘭人。他走向橋的時(shí)候平靜地宣布：“對(duì)不起，我來(lái)晚了幾分鐘。”好像他因交通擁擠受阻，其實(shí)他剛剛與戰(zhàn)友們從血戰(zhàn)中的劍灘殺出。

這里有勇猛出奇的波蘭人，當(dāng)入侵開(kāi)始時(shí)投身于敵戰(zhàn)區(qū)與歐洲最后的自由領(lǐng)土之間，還有已經(jīng)在這個(gè)海岸見(jiàn)識(shí)了征戰(zhàn)之殘酷的大無(wú)畏的加拿大人。他們知道在那里等待他們的是什么，但是他們沒(méi)有退縮。而且一旦越上加諾海灘，他們決不回頭。

所有這些人都是一份榮譽(yù)花名冊(cè)的一部分，這份花名冊(cè)上的名字呼之驕傲而自豪，明亮如他們色彩斑斕的著裝：皇家溫尼伯突襲隊(duì)、波蘭第二十四騎兵、皇家蘇格蘭槍手、尖叫之鷹、英格蘭義勇軍裝甲師、法國(guó)自由武裝、海岸警衛(wèi)“火柴盒艦隊(duì)”、還有你們，美國(guó)突擊隊(duì)。

自你們參與的那場(chǎng)征戰(zhàn)至今，四十個(gè)寒暑過(guò)去了。拿下這些峭壁時(shí)你們正年輕，有些不過(guò)初出茅廬，熱愛(ài)置身其間的生活。但是你們卻打包了自己的和平，進(jìn)入他人的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。為什么?為什么你們這樣做?是什么驅(qū)使你們不顧自我保護(hù)的本能，冒著生命危險(xiǎn)攀登這些峭壁?是什么激勵(lì)所有到這里集合的軍人?望著你們，我們覺(jué)得我們知道答案。這個(gè)答案就是信心與信仰，就是忠誠(chéng)與愛(ài)。

諾曼底人堅(jiān)信：在這個(gè)灘頭陣地或下一個(gè)陣地上，他們所戰(zhàn)是正義之役，所為是博愛(ài)之舉，所獲將是正義上帝應(yīng)允他們此戰(zhàn)的奇跡。這是一種深深的認(rèn)知——祈禱上帝我們不要失敗——使用武力爭(zhēng)取自由和使用武力實(shí)行侵略征服，兩者在道德上有天壤之別。你們到此是捍衛(wèi)自由，不是侵略征服。所以，你們和你們的戰(zhàn)友們沒(méi)有懷疑自己的出征理由。你們確信是正確的。

你們都知道有些事值得為之獻(xiàn)身。一個(gè)人的國(guó)家值得為之獻(xiàn)身，民主值得為之獻(xiàn)身，因?yàn)樗亲罡邩s耀的政府形式，由人民設(shè)計(jì)而成。你們都熱愛(ài)自由，你們都堅(jiān)決反對(duì)暴政，你們都知道自己國(guó)家的人民站在背后支持你們。

那個(gè)早晨，在這里參戰(zhàn)的美國(guó)軍人都知道，開(kāi)戰(zhàn)的消息在自己家鄉(xiāng)的黑夜中擴(kuò)散。人們雖然無(wú)法確定，但他們心有靈犀。以致于在喬治亞，他們凌晨四點(diǎn)涌入大小教堂;在肯尼亞，他們?cè)谧约洪T(mén)前跪下祈禱;在費(fèi)城，他們敲響了那座自由鐘。

還有一些事幫助了諾曼底登陸日的人們，他們堅(jiān)信上蒼于此事件中將在這里施展其大手筆，而上帝乃是這一偉大事業(yè)的盟友。所以，在開(kāi)戰(zhàn)前夜，當(dāng)沃·武爾頓上校要求他的傘兵部隊(duì)與他一起跪下祈禱時(shí)，他告訴他們：“不要低下你的頭，而要抬起來(lái)，所以你能仰望上帝并要求他為我們的所為祝福。”也是在那天夜里，馬修·萊德威將軍在他的帆布床上，于黑暗中聆聽(tīng)上帝對(duì)約書(shū)亞的承諾：“我將不使你失敗也不會(huì)拋棄你。”

正是這些激勵(lì)了他們，凝聚盟國(guó)團(tuán)結(jié)一致。

當(dāng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束，生活得以重建，政府得以回歸人民，新的民族得以誕生。在所有這一切之上，新的和平得以確立。工作繁多，任務(wù)艱巨，但是盟國(guó)以倒在這里人們的信仰、信心、榮譽(yù)和愛(ài)凝聚力量，他們共同重建了一個(gè)新的歐洲。在那里，在從前的敵人之間(他們都曾承受了如此巨大的痛苦)第一次產(chǎn)生了偉大的和解。美國(guó)盡了自己的義務(wù)，開(kāi)創(chuàng)馬歇爾計(jì)劃幫助我們的盟友和我們先前的敵人重建家園。馬歇爾計(jì)劃導(dǎo)致大西洋聯(lián)盟，偉大的聯(lián)盟作為我們自由、繁榮與和平的保障延續(xù)至今。

無(wú)論我們擁有多么偉大的成就與成功，并非戰(zhàn)后的一切都令人滿意或按照計(jì)劃進(jìn)展。一些獲得解放的國(guó)家失敗了，失敗的巨大悲哀回蕩在華沙、布拉格和東柏林的大街上，渲染了我們的時(shí)空。進(jìn)入這片大陸腹地的蘇聯(lián)軍隊(duì)在和平降臨時(shí)并未撤離。他們?nèi)匀淮谀抢?，未?jīng)邀請(qǐng)，不受歡迎，強(qiáng)硬不退，直到戰(zhàn)后至今已將近四十年之久。今天，一如四十年前，我們聚集這里只為一個(gè)目的：保護(hù)和捍衛(wèi)民主。我們唯一占據(jù)的領(lǐng)地是類(lèi)似這樣的紀(jì)念地，還有墓地，在那里安息著我們的英雄。

在美國(guó)，我們從兩次世界大戰(zhàn)中學(xué)到了痛苦的教訓(xùn)。守在這里，枕戈待旦，護(hù)衛(wèi)和平，比喪失自由后再背著擋箭牌沖過(guò)大洋，倉(cāng)促應(yīng)戰(zhàn)要好一些。我們懂得了，針對(duì)欲意擴(kuò)張的殘暴政府，孤立主義過(guò)去不是而且永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)是最恰當(dāng)?shù)姆磻?yīng)。但是我們總是試圖準(zhǔn)備適應(yīng)和平、準(zhǔn)備阻止侵略、準(zhǔn)備談判以削減軍隊(duì)，而且在內(nèi)心準(zhǔn)備再度追求和解。事實(shí)上，沒(méi)有和解像與蘇聯(lián)和解那樣更使我們充滿期盼。所以，我們?cè)谝黄鹂梢詼p少戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)危險(xiǎn)，從現(xiàn)在到永遠(yuǎn)。

不應(yīng)該忘記的是俄國(guó)人民在二戰(zhàn)期間的巨大損失中承受的痛苦：兩千萬(wàn)人死亡，這向全世界表明了結(jié)束這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)所需的駭人聽(tīng)聞的代價(jià)。我可以捫心稟告你們：我們美國(guó)人不想要戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。我們想從地球上抹去現(xiàn)在持在人類(lèi)手中可憎的武器。而且讓我告訴你們：我們準(zhǔn)備好了收復(fù)那片失地。我們期待來(lái)自蘇聯(lián)的某些跡象：他們?cè)敢庀蚯白叩嫩E象，他們持有與我們相同意愿與愛(ài)好和平的跡象，以及他們?cè)敢夥艞壵鞣赖嫩E象?，F(xiàn)實(shí)必須有所改變，以便能夠使我們將希望付諸實(shí)際。

我們將恒久地祈禱有朝一日變化的到來(lái)。但是現(xiàn)在特別是今天，重申我們彼此之間的、對(duì)自由的以及對(duì)保護(hù)這一自由之聯(lián)盟的承諾，不僅必要而且正當(dāng)其時(shí)。

四十年前的盟誼使我們今天以同樣的忠誠(chéng)、傳統(tǒng)和信念連結(jié)在一起。我們?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)結(jié)盟。美國(guó)盟國(guó)的意志對(duì)于美國(guó)至關(guān)重大，美國(guó)安全的保障對(duì)歐洲民主國(guó)家的持續(xù)自由至關(guān)重要。我們過(guò)去跟你們站在一起，現(xiàn)在也跟你們站在一起。你們的希望就是我們的希望，你們的命運(yùn)就是我們的命運(yùn)。

在這里，在這個(gè)西方共同守護(hù)的地方，讓我們向我們的死難者起誓。讓我們用自己的行動(dòng)向他們表白，我們深知他們?yōu)楹味?。讓我們用行?dòng)告訴他們，馬修·萊德威聽(tīng)到的那句承諾：“我將不使你失敗，也不會(huì)拋棄你。”

他們的勇氣支撐我們，他們的價(jià)值激勵(lì)我們，他們的記憶凝聚我們，為了那些他們生死與之的理想，讓我們繼續(xù)恪盡職守。

非常感謝你們，上帝護(hù)佑你們。