NPR SCOTT NEUMAN 11/06/2014

【英原文/中譯】

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, shown in an undated photo provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society, is expected to get the nation's highest military decoration --€” the Medal of Honor --” this summer, nearly 150 years after he died at the Battle of Gettysburg. -- Wisconsin Historical Society/AP

1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing, whose defense of a key ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg helped turn the tide of the Civil War and end slavery, was today posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by the country's first black president.

At the ceremony, President Obama said the award highlights the obligation the nation has to the military men and women who serve it.

"No matter how long it takes, it's never too late to do the right thing," the president said.

"This story is part of our larger American story and one that continues to this very day," he said.

More than 150 years after the pivotal battle, Obama bestowed the highest award for battlefield bravery to Cushing, who was killed at the age of 22 while repelling 13,000 rebel soldiers at Pickett's charge, one of the most famous tactical thrusts of the three-day fight in rural Pennsylvania.

The Wisconsin native commanded about 110 men and six cannons at Gettysburg. He defended Cemetery Ridge against an assault led by Confederate Gens. George Pickett and James J. Pettigrew.

The Union victory in July 1863 halted a Confederate advance into northern territory and is widely viewed by historians as a turning point in the brutal conflict.

Normally, the Medal of Honor is awarded — often posthumously — within a few years of the act that merits it. However, Congress granted an exemption in the case of Cushing, whose cause, as NPR's S.V. Date reported in September, has been the subject of a three-decade campaign by a Wisconsin woman, Margaret Zerwekh, now in her 90s, who lives on what had been the Cushing family farm.

Confederate soldiers are shown during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, as Gen. George E. Pickett orders his 15,000 men to charge.

In a statement issued by the White House when it first announced the award to Cushing, it said:

"Cushing was only two years out of West Point on that third day of the battle, in charge of an artillery battery in the Army of the Potomac. According to the White House announcement, Cushing was manning the only artillery piece in his unit that still worked.

" 'During the advance, he was wounded in the stomach as well as in the right shoulder. Refusing to evacuate to the rear despite his severe wounds, he directed the operation of his lone field piece, continuing to fire in the face of the enemy,' the White House statement said. 'With the rebels within 100 yards of his position, Cushing was shot and killed during this heroic stand.' "

The Milwaukee Sentinel reports:

"Receiving the medal will be Cushing's closest relative, Helen Loring Ensign, 85, of California.

"Cushing died childless at age 22, and none of his brothers had children. It took the Army Past Conflict Repatriations Branch weeks to find the closest living relative after the president announced in late August that he would present the posthumous medal to Cushing.

"Ensign is related to Cushing through Cushing's mother and is his first cousin twice removed."

葛底斯堡英雄阿隆佐·库欣中尉被追授予荣誉勋章

-美國總統追授150前的戰鬥英雄

《美国国家公共电台》斯科特·纽曼報道 2014年6月11日

阿隆佐·库欣中尉

威斯康星州历史学会提供的一张未注明日期的照片显示，阿隆佐·库欣中尉预计将于今年夏天获得美国最高的军事勋章——荣誉勋章，距离他在葛底斯堡战役中犧牲已經近150年。 -- 威斯康星州历史学会/美联社消息

第一中尉阿隆佐·H·库欣在葛底斯堡战役中保卫了一座关键山脊，帮助扭转了内战的潮流，结束了奴隶制。今天，他被该国首位黑人总统追授国会荣誉勋章。

奥巴马总统在颁奖典礼上说，该奖项突出了美国國家对服役军人應盡的义务。

总统说：“无论需要多长时间，做正确的事情永远不会太迟。”。

他说：“这个故事是我们更大的美国故事的一部分，一直延续到今天。”。

在这场关键战役150多年后，奥巴马授予库欣最高战场英勇奖。库欣在22岁时在皮克特戰役击退13000名叛军士兵时阵亡，这是宾夕法尼亚州农村地区为期三天的战斗中最著名的战术攻势之一。

这位威斯康星州本地人在葛底斯堡指挥了大约110人和6门大炮。他保卫了公墓山脊，抵御了南方将军乔治·皮克特和詹姆斯·J·佩蒂格鲁指揮的进攻。。

1863年7月联邦的胜利阻止了南方同盟軍向北方领土的推进，历史学家普遍认为这是这场残酷冲突的转折点。

通常情况下，荣誉勋章是在英雄事跡后几年内授予的，通常是在死后授予。然而，国会对库欣的案件给予了豁免，正如NPR的S.V.Date 9月报道的那样，他的事跡一直是威斯康星州一位90多岁的妇女玛格丽特·泽韦赫（Margaret Zerwekh）三十年来爲此而呼籲的運動主题，她住在库欣家庭农场。

1863年7月3日，在葛底斯堡战役中，乔治·E·皮克特将军命令他的15000名同盟軍士兵冲锋。 -美聯社照片

白宫在首次宣布授予库欣奖时发表的一份声明中说：

“在战斗的第三天，库欣离开西点军校仅两年，负责波托马克陆军的一个炮兵连。根据白宫的公告，库欣負責操縱他所在部队中唯一仍在工作的火炮。

白宫声明称：“在推进过程中，库欣腹部和右肩受伤。尽管伤势严重，但他拒绝撤离到后方，指挥了部隊中這唯一的一門野战炮，继续向敌人开火。”“在距叛軍100码以内的陣地上，库欣在这场英勇的战斗中被枪杀。”

《密尔沃基哨兵报》报道：

“获得该奖章的将是库欣的近亲、85 岁的加利福尼亚州海伦·洛林·恩桑。

“库欣在 22 岁时去世，没有孩子，他的兄弟也没有孩子。在总统于 8 月下旬宣布将向库欣颁发死后勋章后，陆军“过去冲突遣返处”花了数周时间才找到最亲近的在世亲属。

“恩桑通过库欣的母亲与库欣有血缘关系，是他的相隔两代的堂姊妹亲屬。”

【編後】此文九年前發表于本網。“洋爲中用”。中國八一建軍節將至。“將心比心”，希望以此文進一步喚起我國民衆更加對1840年以來為中華民族的生存和崛起而英勇犧牲的無數烈士的尊重和敬仰。-本網7/21/2023