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Looking at him today, few would guess Paul Loong, 88, has a larger-than-life story. Even his daughter, Theresa Loong, a filmmaker, was taken by surprise when she discovered her father's diary from his time in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.

华裔移民龙毓华(Paul Loong)貌似平凡，谁也看不出这位老人有什么惊人之处，就连他的女儿、制片人龙慧安(Theresa Loong)都一点没有想到老爸居然有着传奇般的人生。最近，龙慧安发现了父亲二战期间被日本关押在战俘营时写下的日记。

 

She chronicles her father's story in the documentary "Every Day Is A Holiday," which is being released to coincide with Memorial Day in the United States, a time when Americans honor those serving in the military.

她把父亲的经历拍成了纪录片，题为《每天都是假日》(Every Day Is A Holiday)。影片在美国阵亡将士纪念日这天发行。

 

Japan entered World War II in December 1941, attacking British-controlled Malaya and Singapore almost at the same time as Pearl Harbor.

 

Paul Loong, a young Malaysian, was fighting with the British. When they surrendered the Malay Peninsula, Loong and thousands of others were shipped off to Japan, where they did hard labor as prisoners of war.

 

Life was brutal in the three years Loong spent as a POW. One out of every five prisoners died in the first year.

 

"I think they thought they were going to win the war," Loong says, "that they were not going to answer to any war crimes."

 

The POWs did hard labor from dawn to dusk and were beaten daily, according to Loong.

 

"With a stick, with rifle butts, with whatever they had handy," he says.

 

He began to keep the diary his daughter would discover decades later. In it he wrote that if he made it out alive, 'Everyday will be a holiday.'

 

"Can you imagine getting up, no one to bother you, no one to beat you up with a butt of a rifle," he says. "Peace at last. That's what I consider a holiday."

 

After being freed, Loong sailed to America, reaching San Francisco in 1947. But his road to US citizenship was long and difficult. He even enlisted in the US military and fought in the Korean war in hopes of becoming a US citizen. He finally became an American in 1956.

 

"This was one of the happiest days of my life," he recalls.

 

Over the nine years and despite attempts by US Immigration to deport him, Loong never lost hope.

 

"No regrets, no regrets," he says. "The main thing is I came here. I became a citizen. I have a nice family. What more do you want? Millions of dollars? You cannot take one red penny with you when you die, right?"

 

With the help of veterans' benefits, Loong attended medical school and then worked as a physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs in New Jersey, where he raised his family.

 

His daughter believes we should learn from people all around us who have served in the military.

 

"Whether it's about the war, World War II, Korea, Vietnam. We have these returning vets from Afghanistan and Iraq," says Theresa Loong. "Take some time to spend a few minutes with someone 'cause you really don't know what you're going to find out."

 

She says her father, like everyone, has his tough days but he continues to honor his personal philosophy, taking every day as a holiday.

注：文本转自VOANEWS

[page] 参考译文[/page]

1941年12月，日本加入第二次世界大战，几乎在袭击美国珍珠港的同时，向英国控制下的马来亚和新加坡发动了进攻。

年轻的马来西亚华人龙毓华和英国人并肩作战。英军投降，交出马来半岛后，龙毓华和数以千计的战俘被运往日本。

龙毓华说，战俘的生活是残酷的。在头一年，每五名战俘中就有一人死去。

他说：“我觉得，他们(日本人)以为自己要打赢战争，所以不用怕被追究战争罪。”

龙毓华说，战俘们从拂晓到黄昏一直都要做苦工，每天都会挨打。

他回忆说：“日本兵用棍子，用枪托，什么顺手就用什么打我们。”

他开始写日记。几十年后女儿才发现这部日记。他在日记中写道：如果他能活着出来，“每天都将是假日。”

老人说：“你能想象吗？早晨起来没人找你麻烦，没人用枪托打你，终于有了和平。这在我看来，就是假日了。”

龙毓华获得自由后，远渡美国，1947年来到旧金山。不过，他获得美国国籍的历程却漫长而艰辛。为了成为美国公民，他当兵入伍，参加美军，投入朝鲜战争，终于在1956年成为美国人。

在这之间的九年里，美国移民局曾试图遣返他，但龙毓华从未放弃希望。

他说：“我无悔无憾。重要的是：我来了美国，成为公民，有一个好家庭。人生如此，还有何求？几百万美元？你死的时候，一分钱也带不走。”

龙毓华靠着退伍军人的福利上了医学院，然后成为新泽西州退伍军人事务部的一名医生。他在新泽西州安家落户。

女儿龙慧安说，人们应该向自己身边曾经在军中效力的人学习。

她说：“不管是哪场战争，第二次世界大战、朝鲜战争、越南战争，我们现在还有从阿富汗和伊拉克返回的军人。

抽出点时间，和某位退伍军人呆上几分钟--因为你真的会发现你没有想到的东西。”

龙慧安说，和每个人一样，她父亲也有过苦日子，但他坚信自己的理念：把每一天都当成假日。