Executive Mansion, Washington, November 21, 1864

Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts

Dear Madam:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln

My Dear Mrs. Ryan:

It's with the most profound sense of joy that I write to inform you your son, Private James Ryan, is well and at this very moment, on his way home from European battlefields.

Reports from the front indicate James did his duty in combat with great courage and steadfast dedication. Even after he was informed of the tragic loss your family has suffered in this great campaign to rid the world of tyranny and oppression.

I take great pleasure in joining the Secretary of War, the men and women of the United States Army, and the citizens of a grateful nation, in wishing you good health and many years of happiness with James at your side.

Nothing, not even the safe return of a beloved son, can compensate you or the thousands of other American families who have suffered great loss in this tragic war. And I might share with you some words which have sustained me through long, dark nights of peril, loss and heartache.

And I quote, “I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”—Abraham Lincoln.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

George C. Marshall, General, Chief Of Staff.

后记：

   《拯救大兵瑞恩》中的这两封信来自林肯和五星上将马绍尔，分别寄给了在南北战争和第二次世界大战中失去5个和3个儿子的两个母亲。战争是残酷的，但在战争中闪现出的人性光辉，却又是超乎寻常地震撼人心。

最后引用的林肯信中内容的翻译如下：

“我恳求上帝抚平您失去爱子的哀伤，心中留下对英烈们珍贵的记忆，以及您当之无愧的为自由而奉献的神圣的自豪感。”