1909年，他在北極插下美國國旗

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

我們不久前關(guān)于誰是第一個(gè)抵達(dá)北極的人之爭的幕后故事中，提到了羅伯特·皮爾里上將(Adm. Robert Peary)1909年的探險(xiǎn)。

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.

那篇幕后故事沒有提及他的同行者馬修·亨森(Matthew Henson)，他原本是作為皮爾里的男仆雇來的，但成為了一名難得的向?qū)Ш头g。

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.

在那次探險(xiǎn)過后的幾十年里，亨森及他們的四位因紐特人成員——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.”

亨森是非裔美國人，他遇到皮爾里時(shí)，在華盛頓的一家商店里工作(上圖)。他們的合作持續(xù)了22年，經(jīng)歷了八次北極探險(xiǎn)。皮爾里承認(rèn)：“沒有他我走不了多遠(yuǎn)。”

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

當(dāng)皮爾里的團(tuán)隊(duì)相信自己抵達(dá)了北極點(diǎn)時(shí)，亨森是第一個(gè)插下美國國旗的人。

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，亨森凄涼去世，享年88歲。1988年，他被重新埋葬在了阿靈頓國家公墓，就在皮爾里的旁邊。

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.”

遷葬時(shí)，一直努力讓亨森獲得認(rèn)可的S·艾倫·康特(S. Allen Counter)說，“我們今天聚集在這里，來糾正一個(gè)悲劇性的錯誤，修正歷史記錄。”

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

“歡迎回家，馬特·亨森，回到你的朋友羅伯特·皮爾里的身旁。歡迎回家，回到美國新的時(shí)代。歡迎回家，兄弟。”