The Greatest Generation
It was the journalist Tom Brokaw who coined the phrase “The Greatest Generation” as a tribute to those born in 1924 and earlier. This generation faced more than its fair share hardship, coming of age during the Great Depression and fighting the evils of World War ll. There are still many lessons to be learned from this generation, and if we listen carefully enough, we might even learn that any generation can be called the “greatest.”
The Greatest Generation has also been called the GI Generation by historians, since 16 million Americans served in the military during World War ll. This shared trial created what has been called a collective ”ethos”, united mindset that grew out of the rally against oppressive tyranny of the Nazis in defense of freedom. America was a small country reeling from the Great Depression. The United States Army was smaller than that of Portugal. The Great Depression had also decimated government coffers, making it difficult to find money to support the military. But thanks to a never say die, can-do attitude forged in the hardships of the Great Depression, Americans went to work and by 1945 had built a massive army capable of fighting the Pacific, Asia, Europe, and in the Mediterranean, as well as civilian workforce to support it. Surely there were defeats and missteps in battle, but the Greatest Generation never did cast blame or look for a scapegoat. The instead forged ahead to the next challenge. Perseverance, bravery, and mutual respect would become their generational hallmarks.
Lessons learned during the war were use in postwar America. There was little room for patience or endless hemming and hawing on the battlefield. So, too, in the boardroom, in laboratories, and in politics. The most vicious policy fights on the floor of Congress gave way to mutual respect when the day was done. An entire generation had struggled together, fought together, and sacrificed together. This common experience united the Greatest Generation in bonds that could not be broken.
