Gen MacArthur during his farewell address, part of which is given below, said: Old soldiers never die, they just fade away...
“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.”
* It's one of the greatest addresses by any general of any army. Sadly, in India more lt generals and generals lately after retirement are refusing to fade away and joining politics, as MP or MLA. Though it's their individual decision and but in the eyes of majority of soldiers and civilians, it's a big climbdown. After being the Chief of the Army Staff, one of the biggest armies in the world, the man donning a politician's garb is something that doesn't go down well with the men in uniform.
* The Army is the only secular organization left in the country and largely remains insulated from the social ills that affect people on the streets. A general joining one party or the other casts doubt over his ideological moorings when he was in the service. And it surely affects the morale of the troops on ground.
* To safeguard the interests of the army it's imperative that general officers after retirement learn to fade away.
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