CNN Student News:美国纪念战死老兵

 

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Back from the Memorial Day weekend, I'm Carl Azuz and this is CNN Student News! It's a short week for us. It's also our last week of the school year, so let's go ahead and get started.

First Up: Remembering the Fallen

AZUZ: First up, Americans pause to honor service members who gave everything they had. Memorial Day is a tribute to the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Ceremonies were held around the country yesterday, President Obama helping lead the ones at Arlington National Cemetery. He laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and later visited Arlington's Section 60; it's a site that's primarily for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During a speech, the president said the courage, unselfishness and devotion to duty of the servicemen and women who gave their lives is what has sustained the country. President Obama also said that Memorial Day is about the families who have lost loved ones serving in the military. The wife of a fallen service member said she sees Memorial Day as a chance to celebrate her husband's life.

NICKI BUNTING, WIDOW OF FALLEN SERVICEMAN: I want everyone to realize that these aren't just graves; they aren't just numbers. They're real people, and they had real families. They had wives and husbands and children and parents and siblings and friends. And so, that's what today is about, just celebrating their life and making sure that everyone knows that these are real people that we've lost. And so, when I get to talk about my husband, I love to laugh and smile when I talk about him and really share the great guy he was.

AZUZ: For the past 40 years, the 3rd U.S. Infantry has had a special assignment. They're the ones who place flags on every gravestone at Arlington Cemetery for Memorial Day. That's more than 250,000 flags! In this next report, two members share why they consider this responsibility an honor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT CHERRY SMITH, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: Now that I've actually served and came from Iraq, they paved the way. So, without them, we wouldn't be here.

STAFF SERGEANT BRADLEY FALLS, AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERAN: It's especially an honor for us when you've been on the other side of it, and now you can come here and you can bring honor to their final resting place. Most of the leaders here are combat vets. They are coming from other units. They've deployed before. We all know somebody buried here personally.

SMITH: I thank them. I give thanks all the time for just doing what they did. There's so many of us that have fear of doing what they did.

FALLS: During our fifteen months, my battalion lost 24 soldiers and our brigade lost, I believe, 44. We have three 173rd members buried here, to include my platoon leader, First Lieutenant Benjamin Hall. I try to visit him on special occasions, you know, his birthday or his passing. I usually sit down for a while and talk to him, let him know how things are going, how life is, and how much I appreciate his sacrifice and his leadership while we had it. He was a great man. Sometimes it's a bit of a remembrance of good times and bad. You know, you've got comrades in arms that have died and you feel for them and you feel for your families, but you try to put that aside to give honor to those that you can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is this legit?

STAN CASE, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? More tornadoes strike the U.S. than any other country. This is true. The U.S. averages more than 1,000 recorded tornadoes every year.

Tornado Devastation

AZUZ: We've talked about a string of tornadoes hitting across parts of the U.S. recently. One of the deadliest in U.S. history struck Joplin, Missouri. Officials say this massive storm tore a 13-mile path across the city. Recovery efforts are getting started, and the president visited the area over the weekend. Dan Lothian has the details on that trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Before touching down, Air Force One flew over Joplin, Missouri, giving the president an aerial view of the devastation. What took months and years to build was destroyed in a few moments: homes, businesses and anything else in the tornado's path. On the ground, it was a somber president surveying the breathtaking damage up close. Meeting with officials, survivors, and promising not to abandon this city.

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: What I've been telling every family that I've met here is we're going to be here long after the cameras leave. We are not going to stop until Joplin is fully back on its feet.

LOTHIAN: There is plenty of pain here, but also plenty of hope. Roadways were lined with thousands of people, some waving flags or holding signs with messages like "God bless Joplin." At a memorial service on the campus of Missouri Southern State University, that escaped the tornado's wrath...

OBAMA: We will be with you every step of the way. We're not going anywhere.

LOTHIAN: ...President Obama thanked the people of Joplin for their courage.

OBAMA: You've banded together. You have come to each other's aid. You've demonstrated a simple truth: that amid heartbreak and tragedy, no one is a stranger. Everybody is a brother. Everybody is a sister.

LOTHIAN: Recovering from one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history will not happen overnight, but Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is optimistic about the future.

GOVERNOR JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: Joplin will look different, and more different still in two years and three and five. And as the years pass, the moral of our story will be the same: love thy neighbor. God bless.

LOTHIAN: President Obama also had a message for people across the country, urging them to get involved by supporting organizations such as the Red Cross, which is providing food and shelter for all of the people who have been displaced by the tornado. Dan Lothian, CNN, Joplin, Missouri.

(END VIDEO)

Texas Wildfires

AZUZ: Moving southwest to Texas now, where officials and emergency workers are battling a different kind of natural disaster: wildfires. In fact, this has been one of the worst wildfire seasons in Texas history. Two blazes around the city of Amarillo forced hundreds of people to leave their homes this weekend. They were starting to come back yesterday as firefighters got the majority of those flames under control.

Dry and windy conditions are spreading the flames, though, and that is what the weather's been like in Texas for a while now. This video, another wildfire, is from more than a month ago. In total, hundreds of homes have burned; millions of acres of land have been scorched by these wildfires.

Shoutout

MICHELLE WRIGHT, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Sommer's and Ms. Bensfield's students at Nichols Middle School in Evanston, Illinois! How many launches are left in the NASA space shuttle program? You know what to do! Is it: A) 0, B) 1, C) 2 or D) 3? Start the countdown at three seconds -- GO! Atlantis is scheduled to make the next -- and last -- shuttle launch in July. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Endeavour Undocks

AZUZ: Atlantis will be dropping off supplies and spare parts to the international space station. That's scheduled to be the last shuttle mission. But the current one isn't over yet. It's getting close, though. This was the scene on Sunday, when the space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the ISS. It had been connected to the orbiting outpost for more than a week and a half. Now, Endeavour is on its way home. The shuttle is scheduled to land around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. That'll wrap up its 16-day mission to space. And once it's back on the ground, Endeavour will head off into retirement.

Web Promo

AZUZ: We are not retiring, but we are wrapping up the school year this week. Doesn't mean we're going anywhere, and neither is CNNStudentNews.com. We're planning to have special shows on our site all summer long, plus new blog posts. So, make us your home page and check out what we're up to while you're on break. You know the address: CNNStudentNews.com!

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, hope you're not afraid of heights. For example, a pair of intersecting tight ropes over a giant canyon. Apparently the young lady you're about to see right here has no fear. Or, she just knows it's all an optical illusion. It's actually the world's largest 3D painting. It's on a street in China. But it looks real enough that some people said they actually felt dizzy when they were standing on top of it. When it comes to this kind of artwork...

Goodbye

AZUZ: ...That sounds like the highest of compliments. And it proves that the artist should have no illusions about the quality of his work. I think you see what we mean. Hope you have a great day. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.