It is spring of 1943 during World War II.
1943年的春天，正值第二次世界大战。

Standing among hundreds of new soldiers at Camp Grant, in Illinois, my father, Sam, just 18 years old, waits as a truck slowly drives by.
在伊利诺伊州的格兰特营地，我的父亲山姆，年仅十八岁，和其他好几百个新兵站在一起等待着缓缓驶来的补给卡车。

A full field pack is randomly tossed to each soldier. 
（卡车）上的备战包裹，被随意投递给每一个士兵。

How strange, my father thinks, as he sees his last name, Litrenti, marked on each item in his pack.
让父亲奇怪的是，他居然在包裹上看到自己的姓氏。

How did they know it was me when they tossed the pack?
（不是随便发的么）他们怎么知道我的名字？

He was impressed! Beating all odds, my father was tossed a field pack from World War. It’s his own father’s.
他觉得很奇怪！原来这个包裹是他父亲（我的爷爷）参加一战时遗留下来的。

 

（翻译：林浔鸥）