Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee—and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the weakness of true strength.
Then I, his father will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain. ”
“When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye.”
谨以此送给我最爱的儿子。
麦克阿瑟将军写给儿子的一封信
主啊！求你塑造我的儿子，
使他能够坚强到能认识自己的软弱；
能够勇敢到能面对惧怕；
使他成为一个败不馁.胜不骄的人。
恳求雕塑我的儿子，不致空有幻想而缺乏行动，引导他认识你，
同时又知道，认识自己乃是真知识的基石。
我祈祷，愿你引导他不求安逸，舒适。
相反的，经过压力，艰难和挑战，
学习在风暴中挺身站立，学习怜悯那些在重压下失败的人。
求你塑造我的儿子，
心地清洁，目标远大，使他在指挥别人之前先懂得驾驭自己，
永不忘记过去的教训，
又能伸展入未来的理想。
当他拥有以上的一切，
我还要祷求，
赐他足够的幽默感，
使他能够认真严肃,却不致过分苛求自己。
恳求赐他谦卑，
使他永远记牢，
真伟大中的平凡，
真智慧中的开朗，
真勇力中的温柔。
如此，我这作父亲的，
才敢低声说：我没有虚度此生！
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee—and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the weakness of true strength.
Then I, his father will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain. ”
老麦被解职不是军事原因，主要而是政治原因。
9万多美军当了俘虏，自己逃跑到澳大利亚。
“When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye.”