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.

我們不久前關于誰是第一個抵達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。

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，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。皮爾里承認：“沒有他我走不了多遠。”

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

當皮爾里的團隊相信自己抵達了北極點時，亨森是第一個插下美國國旗的人。

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，一直努力讓亨森獲得認可的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，回到美國新的時代。歡迎回家，兄弟。”