越南Dustoff机组人员杰里·保罗（Jerry Paul）获得了国会金牌挑战硬币

那是当地老将杰里·保罗（Jerry Paul）在越南担任美国陆军第498届医疗公司成员的时间。

Ten months and two days.

十个月零两天。

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.

那是当地老将杰里·保罗（Jerry Paul）在越南担任美国陆军第498届医疗公司成员的时间。

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

但是对于许多人来说，直升机MEDEVAC机组人员通常是由他们的无线电呼号“ 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.

根据陆军网站的说法，越南战争期间的尘埃飞机船员的任务是撤离受伤的士兵，并取回那些付出最终牺牲的人的尸体，通常在面对北越军队或越共大火的同时。

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.

根据网站，他们在没有任何捍卫自己的手段上做到了这一切，因为Dustoff Crews的直升机没有装备有武器来返火。

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

保罗在部署前接受过休伊直升机修理工的培训，实际上是自愿从事这份工作的。

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

但这就是保罗，那些对他说得很好的人，总是把别人放在首位的人。

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

因此，也许这就是使他上周一获得的荣誉更加特别的原因。

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，前总统乔·拜登（Joe Biden）签署了一项法案，签署了一项法案，授予了Dustoff飞行员和机组人员的集体国会金牌，公开承认他们的任务在极端条件下，在整个越南战争中拯救90万人。

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.

但是奖牌本身不会再铸造大约两年，而保罗（患有肝病）没有太多时间。

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

因此，上周一的保罗（Paul）目前居住在西拉斐特（West Lafayette）的印第安纳州退伍军人之家，他得到了下一个最好的事情。

A challenge coin.

挑战硬币。

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.

与硬币一起，官员们还在现场纪念保罗的几个宣言，其中包括来自科科莫市长泰勒·摩尔（Tyler Moore），其中一名来自霍华德县专员，印第安纳州州长迈克·布劳恩（Mike Braun）也写了保罗（Paul），后者还写了一封个人信。

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

罗宾·威廉姆斯（Robin Williams）是当地艺术家，诺瓦尔德（Nolaworld）策展人和保罗的表弟，参加了周一的仪式。

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.

她和保罗的女儿也是与越南Dustoff协会进行初步联系的人，以了解在完成实际奖牌铸造之前对Paul的纪念能力。

“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鲜花，”威廉姆斯告诉《论坛报》，指的是硬币和宣言。 “我认为这在这样的时刻非常重要。……我们都站在那儿哭了。我们都哭了，杰里也很重要。

“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.”

“很难看到有人在……的悬崖上。”她补充说片刻。 “我的意思是，只是房间里的重量，以及所有这些意味着，能够在他的撞击周围包裹红丝带是特别的。”

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

威廉姆斯指出，保罗的影响在霍华德县也随处可见。

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.

作为霍华德县纪念公司（Howard County Memorial Corporation）的总裁，保罗（Paul）在帮助设计和将几个军事纪念碑带到了第一届时，最近是戈耶路（Goyer Road）退伍军人纪念公园的OPHA MAY MAY MAY纪念馆。

“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.”

威廉姆斯说：“我们所有人都需要能够认出那些以非常有影响力的方式服务的人。” “当杰里离开越南时，他本来可以去其他任何地方。但是他回到了科科莫，并选择创建所有这些古迹供我们看到和学习​​。”

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.

但是保罗对科科莫和霍华德县的贡献也远远超过了纪念碑，霍华德县退伍军人服务官戴尔·特鲁克斯（Dale Truax）告诉《论坛报》。

“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.”

他说：“如果您经过克莱斯勒（现在是斯特兰蒂斯和保罗曾经工作的地方）或经过镇上的任何政府大楼，他们都会悬挂一个战俘旗。” “那是杰里·保罗（Jerry Paul）。杰里·保罗（Jerry Paul）确保每个地方都有一个。他曾经告诉我，如果他们不飞，你最好给他们地狱。”

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（也参加过上周一的仪式）说，保罗也是协助当地退伍军人获得VA福利的重要支持者，经常在当地企业开设商店，以捕捉可能进入内部的退伍军人。

“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.”

“还有谁？” Truax说。 “那是那样的事情。当他走了时，没人能取代那个。没有其他人可以填补那些鞋子。这不仅仅是他的人生任务。我的意思是，这几乎就像一种宗教。”

Which brings it all back to last Monday.

这使一切都回到了上周一。

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

根据接受采访的人，保罗将是最后一个说他是英雄的人。

But, also according to those interviewed, he is.

但是，根据接受采访的人，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，当保罗获得国会金牌（美国最古老，最高的平民奖）时，很容易看出为什么房屋中没有干眼症。

“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

威廉姆斯说：“一段时间以来，我已经为整个国会金牌做饭了。” “这真是一个荣誉。当我从