[音频]VOA慢速：什么是美国金星家庭？（附英文文本）
2016-08-03 19:38阅读：
Gold Star families have been in the news a lot in the United
States over the past week. But not all Americans know the term,
which is important to military families.
Gold Star families are immediate relatives of U.S. Armed
Forces members who died in battle or in support of certain military
activities. These relatives can be parents, sons, daughters,
brothers, sisters or other loved ones.
The term Gold Star was first used in World War I, when
families flew flags with stars representing each loved one fighting
in the conflict.
Gold Star traditions
The flags had a blue star for each immediate family member
serving in the U.S. military during any period of war or
hostilities. If a loved one was killed while serving, the blue star
was replaced by a gold star.
The gold stars were worn on clothing and added to flags to
let communities know the sacrifices made by armed forces members
and their families.
The stars were used to represent the honor and glory of the
soldiers killed.
The Department of Defense presents immediate family members
of fallen service members a flag with a gold star or a lapel pin
with a gold star.
The exact number of Gold Star families is not known. The
National Gold Star Family Registry reports at least 472,045 fallen
military members have been registered by relatives.
Military importance of families
The U.S. Army says honoring Gold Star families is a sign of
their importance to the military. “The strength of our army is our
soldiers,” it said. “The strength of our soldiers is our families.
The army recognizes that no one has given more for the nation than
the families of the fallen.”
Other groups followed the Gold Star program. In 1928, a group
of military mothers organized American Gold Star Mothers. Since
1936, the United States has observed Gold Star Mother's Day on the
final Sunday of September.
Gold Star Wives was formed during World War II by a group of
founding members including Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President
Franklin Roosevelt. It was created as a way for survivors to
support each other and work together to improve the assistance they
receive.
Gold Star families have been in the news since the parents of
a U.S. soldier killed in battle spoke last week at the Democratic
National Convention. The parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, are
Muslim. They appeared together on the convention
floor.
Gold Star controversy
The father shared how his son, Army Captain Humayun Khan, was
killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004. Noting his son's
sacrifice, Khan rejected Republican presidential nominee Donald
Trump's proposal to restrict Muslim immigration. Khan also held up
a copy of the U.S. Constitution and urged Trump to read
it.
His comments led the candidate to criticize Khan in
television broadcasts and on social media. “Mr. Khan, who does not
know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now
all over TV doing the same -- Nice!” Trump tweeted on
Monday.
In another tweet, he said: “This story is not about Mr. Khan,
who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL
ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!”
Trump's criticism was condemned by Senator John McCain, the
Republican presidential candidate in 2008.
Trump's comments were also criticized by other members of
Congress, family members of fallen military members and veterans
groups.
President Barack Obama did not react directly to Trump's
comments in a speech this week to the Disabled American Veterans of
America. But he praised Gold Star families for making “a sacrifice
that most of us cannot even begin to imagine.”
“They represent the very best of our country. They continue
to inspire us every day, every moment. They serve as a powerful
reminder of the true strength of America. We have to do everything
we can for those families - and honor them, and be humbled by
them.”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
