America's Greatest Generation

I am a baby-boomer, but my parents were members of a generation that Tom Brokaw has appropriately called America's "Greatest Generation." I concur in that description of those who were born between 1911-1925, though I realize those dates might be too limiting. In fact, some date this remarkable generation from as early as 1900--who were also members of the so-called "Interbellum Generation"--and extend it to some who were born in 1926 and early 1927, and therefore could have fought in World War Two. If you are one of those people, this tribute is for you, too.

A lot has been written about America's G. I. Generation, but I want to tell you what I see when I look into their now aging eyes and seek to comfort the hearts of those whom they so diligently nurtured through life. As one who now survives the passing of many of these very special Americans, I want to tell you about a generation that learned very early on how to do within, while they were doing without; A generation that knew and understood that what matters in life has nothing in the world to do with who is king of the mountain, and Lord knows, has even less to do with who has the most toys when he dies.

It was a generation born in the bowels of fearsome war, pride-inspiring triumph and sometimes, heady excess. It was a generation that bravely faced America’s worst economic disaster--we call it "The Depression," but they call it "The Great Depression," probably because they experienced enough in life to know the difference in a big Depression and a little Depression. Yet, they faced the Depression with ingenuity, courage and an indomitable spirit of achievement;

It was a generation that courageously threw itself into the face of world tyranny and, having gone to war, they came home and just went to work. For the most part, they bore their battle-scars in silence and never asked for sympathy, nor did they whine about their lot in life, like so many today, who whine that their parents made them go to church or brush their teeth, as though those parents were abusers. Their generation did not get their well-deserved National WW2 Memorial on the mall in Washington DC until about 20 years after my generation--we who are their sons and daughters--got our Vietnam War Memorial on the mall in Washington, DC. Some of us went off to fight an unpopular war and the names of more than 58,000 brothers and sons (and sometimes, sisters and daughters) of the G. I. generation are engraved on the black granite of our memorial. Some of the Baby Boomer generation burned our bras and draft cards, even as our peers fought in Vietnam, and I suppose a guilt-ridden nation decided they owed it to us--or the 58,000 listed on the memorial, but why we got "our" memorial before our fathers and mothers got "their" memorial, quite simply escapes me. What is clear is that their memorial came at long last because their sons and daughters and grandchildren rose up with one voice and said, "It's too late. They deserve it. Give it to them, now."

Others of that remarkable generation of G. I.s remained stateside, diligently accomplishing their own obligations, even as they filled the places of their fighting peers and brothers, becoming the "Rosie the Riveters" of legend. My own mother was one of them. Yet, they too, never asked for any special recognition, nor call attention to the magnitude of their achievements. And, there were others in that courageous and greathearted generation, who also remained stateside, either in necessary jobs or in keeping the home fires burning. Those who were railroaders or worked in other industries literally kept personnel and materiál flowing to the war effort. Although some had physical limitations that kept them from serving in the military, they embraced the cause, but actually felt guilt that they, perhaps, were not doing enough! For those who were fighting that awful war, there were none more important than those who remained at home, tending the homefires and caring for the children, to which those who were fighting might one day return, scarred though in body, yet resilient in spirit because of the hope that a warm hearth and loving arms were awaiting their return.

It was a generation that empowered itself with the music of happiness and the dance of love, the spirit of faith and the character of strength. It was a generation that would give to its heirs—my generation (the “Baby Boomers”)—the greatest standard of living ever known in America and equip us to be (as sociologists now tell us) the last American generation to earn more in our lifetimes than our parents.

It was a generation that witnessed man’s first crude attempts at flight and then watched as he walked on the Moon, even as it sent deep-space probes to distant planets that may never experience the fall of a human footprint. It was a generation that watched its President, a young JFK, go on television to challenge a nation to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade...and they did it with a year or so to spare! It would still be in a congressional committee, today; if indeed we had either Executive or Legislative branches of our government that might even think it was a possible goal or not steal the money or ravage the bodies of young women who work on such a project! And, if you doubt my words when I said that this generation had, "witnessed man's first crude attempts at flight," you need to remember that the Wright brothers first flew "controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight" in December 1903, 10 years closer to the day of the birth of the very youngest member of that generation (and more than a quarter century, for the oldest of them!) than we are to the establishment of Apple Computers in 1976!

It was truly a generation that bred great leaders, only to lose its brightest stars to war, assassination and sometimes, to excess. But, it was a generation that never gave up on itself or its heirs, and it never surrendered it's promises, hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, the America for which these proud patriots fought and died is no more. And, they pass their elder years with tears that our borders are overrun by scofflaws and our seats of government are held by crooks and immoral persons. The legacy they left for us has been squandered on pork-barrel projects that fatten the wallets of crooked politicians and, quite literally, take the hard-earned bread from the mouths of those who deserve it most.

It was then; it is today, and I am convinced it will forever be into the future, "America's--and perhaps even this world's--Greatest Generation"!

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