越南Dustoff機組人員傑里·保羅（Jerry Paul）獲得了國會金牌挑戰硬幣

那是當地老將傑里·保羅（Jerry Paul）在越南擔任美國陸軍第498屆醫療公司成員的時間。

Ten months and two days.

十個月零兩天。

That was the length of local veteran Jerry Paul’s service in Vietnam as a member of the United States Army’s 498th Medical Company.

那是當地老將傑里·保羅（Jerry Paul）在越南擔任美國陸軍第498屆醫療公司成員的時間。

But for many, the helicopter medevac crews were commonly referred to by their radio call sign, “Dustoff.”

但是對於許多人來說，直升機MEDEVAC機組人員通常是由他們的無線電呼號“ Dustoff”提到的。

According to the Army’s website, the mission of the Dustoff crews during the Vietnam War was to evacuate wounded soldiers and retrieve the bodies of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, often while facing heavy fire from the North Vietnamese Army or the Viet Cong.

根據陸軍網站的說法，越南戰爭期間的塵埃飛機船員的任務是撤離受傷的士兵，並取回那些付出最終犧牲的人的屍體，通常在面對北越軍隊或越共大火的同時。

And they did all that without any means of defending themselves, per the website, as the Dustoff crews’ helicopters were not equipped with armament to return fire.

根據網站，他們在沒有任何捍衛自己的手段上做到了這一切，因為Dustoff Crews的直升機沒有裝備有武器來返火。

Paul, who was trained as a Huey helicopter repairman prior to deployment, actually volunteered for the job.

保羅在部署前接受過休伊直升機修理工的培訓，實際上是自願從事這份工作的。

But that’s just who Paul is, those who know him well said, always one to put others first.

但這就是保羅，那些對他說得很好的人，總是把別人放在首位的人。

And so perhaps that’s what made the honor he received last Monday that much more special.

因此，也許這就是使他上週一獲得的榮譽更加特別的原因。

Last year, former President Joe Biden signed a bill into law awarding a collective Congressional Gold Medal to the Dustoff pilots and crews, publicly recognizing their missions under extreme conditions to rescue over 900,000 individuals throughout the Vietnam War.

去年，前總統喬·拜登（Joe Biden）簽署了一項法案，簽署了一項法案，授予了Dustoff飛行員和機組人員的集體國會金牌，公開承認他們的任務在極端條件下，在整個越南戰爭中拯救90萬人。

But the medal itself won’t be minted for about two more years, and Paul — suffering from liver disease — doesn’t have that much time.

但是獎牌本身不會再鑄造大約兩年，而保羅（患有肝病）沒有太多時間。

So last Monday, Paul, who currently resides at the Indiana Veterans Home in West Lafayette, got the next best thing.

因此，上週一的保羅（Paul）目前居住在西拉斐特（West Lafayette）的印第安納州退伍軍人之家，他得到了下一個最好的事情。

A challenge coin.

挑戰硬幣。

Along with the coin, officials were also on hand to honor Paul with several proclamations, including one from Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, one from the Howard County Commissioners and one from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who also wrote Paul a personal letter.

與硬幣一起，官員們還在現場紀念保羅的幾個宣言，其中包括來自科科莫市長泰勒·摩爾（Tyler Moore），其中一名來自霍華德縣專員，印第安納州州長邁克·布勞恩（Mike Braun）也寫了保羅（Paul），後者還寫了一封個人信。

Robin Williams, local artist, NOLAWORLD curator and Paul’s cousin, attended Monday’s ceremony.

羅賓·威廉姆斯（Robin Williams）是當地藝術家，諾瓦爾德（Nolaworld）策展人和保羅的表弟，參加了周一的儀式。

She — along with Paul’s daughter — was also the one who made initial contact with the Vietnam Dustoff Association to see what could be done about honoring Paul before the actual medal minting is completed.

她和保羅的女兒也是與越南Dustoff協會進行初步聯繫的人，以了解在完成實際獎牌鑄造之前對Paul的紀念能力。

“I wanted to see him get his flowers,” Williams told the Tribune, referring to the coin and proclamations. “I think that’s so critically important in moments like this. … We all stood there and cried. We were all in tears, and Jerry was too.

“我想看到他得到他的鮮花，”威廉姆斯告訴《論壇報》，指的是硬幣和宣言。 “我認為這在這樣的時刻非常重要。……我們都站在那兒哭了。我們都哭了，傑里也很重要。

“It’s just hard to see somebody at the very precipice of …,” she added trailing off for a moment. “I mean, just the weight of it in the room and what all of that means, to be able to wrap a red ribbon around his impacts was special.”

“很難看到有人在……的懸崖上。”她補充說片刻。 “我的意思是，只是房間裡的重量，以及所有這些意味著，能夠在他的撞擊周圍包裹紅絲帶是特別的。”

And Paul’s impacts are seen everywhere throughout Howard County too, Williams noted.

威廉姆斯指出，保羅的影響在霍華德縣也隨處可見。

As president of the Howard County Memorial Corporation, Paul has been instrumental in helping design and bring several military monuments to the City of Firsts, most recently the Opha May Johnson Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park off Goyer Road.

作為霍華德縣紀念公司（Howard County Memorial Corporation）的總裁，保羅（Paul）在幫助設計和將幾個軍事紀念碑帶到了第一屆時，最近是戈耶路（Goyer Road）退伍軍人紀念公園的OPHA MAY MAY MAY紀念館。

“We all need to be able to recognize those who have served in a very impactful way,” Williams said. “And when Jerry left Vietnam, he could have gone anywhere else. But he came home to Kokomo and chose to create all of these monuments for us to see and learn from.”

威廉姆斯說：“我們所有人都需要能夠認出那些以非常有影響力的方式服務的人。” “當傑里離開越南時，他本來可以去其他任何地方。但是他回到了科科莫，並選擇創建所有這些古蹟供我們看到和學習​​。”

But Paul’s contributions to Kokomo and Howard County also extend far past just the monuments, Howard County Veterans Service Officer Dale Truax told the Tribune.

但是保羅對科科莫和霍華德縣的貢獻也遠遠超過了紀念碑，霍華德縣退伍軍人服務官戴爾·特魯克斯（Dale Truax）告訴《論壇報》。

“If you go past Chrysler (now Stellantis and where Paul once worked) or past any government building in town, they all fly a POW flag,” he said. “That’s Jerry Paul. It’s Jerry Paul that made sure every place had one. And he told me once that if they aren’t flying them, you better give them hell.”

他說：“如果您經過克萊斯勒（現在是斯特蘭蒂斯和保羅曾經工作的地方）或經過鎮上的任何政府大樓，他們都會懸掛一個戰俘旗。” “那是傑里·保羅（Jerry Paul）。傑里·保羅（Jerry Paul）確保每個地方都有一個。他曾經告訴我，如果他們不飛，你最好給他們地獄。”

Truax — who also attended last Monday’s ceremony — said Paul was a big proponent of assisting local veterans with their VA benefits too, often setting up shop at local businesses to catch veterans that might come inside.

Truax（也參加過上週一的儀式）說，保羅也是協助當地退伍軍人獲得VA福利的重要支持者，經常在當地企業開設商店，以捕捉可能進入內部的退伍軍人。

“Who else does that?” Truax said. “It’s little things just like that. When he’s gone, no one can replace that. No one else can fill those shoes. It’s been more than a life mission for him. I mean, it’s almost like a religion.”

“還有誰？” Truax說。 “那是那樣的事情。當他走了時，沒人能取代那個。沒有其他人可以填補那些鞋子。這不僅僅是他的人生任務。我的意思是，這幾乎就像一種宗教。”

Which brings it all back to last Monday.

這使一切都回到了上週一。

According to those interviewed, Paul would be the last one to say he’s a hero.

根據接受采訪的人，保羅將是最後一個說他是英雄的人。

But, also according to those interviewed, he is.

但是，根據接受采訪的人，他是。

And so when Paul was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal — the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States — it’s easy to see why there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

因此，當保羅獲得國會金牌（美國最古老，最高的平民獎）時，很容易看出為什麼房屋中沒有乾眼症。

“I had been cooking up this whole Congressional Gold Medal thing for a while,” Williams said. “It’s such a high honor. And when I met back up with him when I came back from

威廉姆斯說：“一段時間以來，我已經為整個國會金牌做飯了。” “這真是一個榮譽。當我從