I Never Met Them, 'but I Know Them'

Memorial service for 19 fallen Arizona firefightersに参加したバイデン副大統領の追悼スピーチが素晴らしかったと話題になっているようです。Psalm 122, verse 1 と聖書の詩編を引用していますが、耳で「サーム」となるのですぐに聖書のことだと分かるのは日本人には難しいかもしれませんね。　



"Psalm 122, verse 1 reads I will lift mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. It came, it came in the form of 20 Granite Mountain Hotshots who rushed toward the flames as everyone else retreated and in the process, 19 of them gave their lives. These men were some of the strongest, most disciplined, tenacious, physically fit men in the world. An elite unit in every sense of that phrase. Their motto to me sums them up better than anything I can think of: duty, integrity, respect."

(covered with pan of crowd; shot of McCain, his wife and Janet Napolitano; zoom of names with fire hats in foreground; pan of photos of 19)

"I didn't have the privilege--or Jill--have the privilege of knowing any of these heros personally, but I know them. I know them. A cliff jumper, a rock climber a mountain biker, a football player, and Iraqi vet, a marine, a son of a firefighter, oh I know them. Confident, committed, determined, trustworthy, passionate, they were firefighters. I know them because they saved the life of my two sons when a tractor trailer broadsided my daughter, my wife and my daughter and my two sons. My wife and daughter died and but for my fire service, my two sons would have, but the jaws of life working for over an hour and a half saved them."

(covered with shot of helmets, boots and jackets lined up)

告別式の動画は全編は以下です。ちょうど１時間あたりからバイデン副大統領のスピーチが始まります。紹介部分の箇所はフォーマットがある程度決まっていますので、実際に観て慣れておくとTOEICなんかにも役立てると思います。



ホワイトハウスでもスクリプトが公開されると思うので、そのときはまたリンクをご紹介します。