1909年，他在北极插下美国国旗

Our recent back story on the dispute over who was first to reach the North Pole mentioned Adm. Robert Peary’s expedition in 1909.

我们不久前关于谁是第一个抵达北极的人之争的幕后故事中，提到了罗伯特·皮尔里上将(Adm. Robert Peary)1909年的探险。

What it didn’t mention were the people with him, specifically Matthew Henson, who was originally hired as Peary’s valet but became an invaluable navigator and interpreter.

那篇幕后故事没有提及他的同行者马修·亨森(Matthew Henson)，他原本是作为皮尔里的男仆雇来的，但成为了一名难得的向导和翻译。

In the decades after the expedition, the roles of Henson and the party’s four Inuit members — Ootah, Seeglo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah — were played down.

在那次探险过后的几十年里，亨森及他们的四位因纽特人成员——Ootah、Seeglo、Egingwah和Ooqueah——都被忽略了。

Henson, who was African-American, was working at store in Washington when he met Peary, above. Their partnership lasted through eight Arctic expeditions over 22 years. Peary admitted: “I can’t get along without him.”

亨森是非裔美国人，他遇到皮尔里时，在华盛顿的一家商店里工作(上图)。他们的合作持续了22年，经历了八次北极探险。皮尔里承认：“没有他我走不了多远。”

Henson was the first to plant the American flag when Peary’s group believed it had reached the North Pole.

当皮尔里的团队相信自己抵达了北极点时，亨森是第一个插下美国国旗的人。

Henson died in obscurity in 1955 at the age of 88. In 1988, he was reburied in Arlington National Cemetery next to Peary.

1955年，亨森凄凉去世，享年88岁。1988年，他被重新埋葬在了阿灵顿国家公墓，就在皮尔里的旁边。

At the re-internment, S. Allen Counter, who campaigned to have Henson recognized, said: “We are assembled here today to right a tragic wrong, to right the record.”

迁葬时，一直努力让亨森获得认可的S·艾伦·康特(S. Allen Counter)说，“我们今天聚集在这里，来纠正一个悲剧性的错误，修正历史记录。”

“Welcome home, Matt Henson, to the company of your friend Robert Peary. Welcome home to a new day in America. Welcome home, brother.”

“欢迎回家，马特·亨森，回到你的朋友罗伯特·皮尔里的身旁。欢迎回家，回到美国新的时代。欢迎回家，兄弟。”