By
Andrew DeMarco
Last week, we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy when young men opened the second front and brought about the beginning of the end of World War II. For the United States Military, specifically June 6, 1944 was the bloodiest single day loss of life. This battle and others as well as the sacrifices made by all has led to World War II veterans to be referred to as “The Greatest Generation,” a term made popular in a book of the same name by the journalist Tom Brokaw. Now I mean no disrespect to those who served in World War II, after all my father and most of my uncles served in that war and are members of that great generation but I feel Mr. Brokaw is selling other generations short. So please allow me to explain.
This country will soon celebrate its’ 243rd birthday and looking back one might say that those young men who fought in the American Revolution fought for a cause they believed in to be free of tyranny. They fought at places like Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton, Brandywine and numerous other “skirmishes” and suffered through a brutal winter at Valley Forge. These young men got the ball rolling for this great experiment which became the United States and without them and the help of France, there might not have been a greatest generation. Let’s call them the first of Great Generations!
The next group are those who fought in the Civil War, whether on the side of the Union or the Confederacy they were young men who fought again for causes they truly believed were just. They fought in battles which resulted in some of the bloodiest days in our history. The Battle of Antietam was the largest single – day loss of American lives in our history when over 3,600 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed. This was topped by the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg where over 6,000 American lives were lost. This was all to preserve the union which if they had not, would have made this a very different country. Might we look at them yet as another of our Great Generations!
Still others to consider are the Doughboys of World War I who went “over there” to fight what they felt would be the “War to End all Wars.” Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and these men made the sacrifice for what they thought would save the world and became the next of the Great Generations. This led to Mr. Brokaw’s greatest generation to those who fought in World War II. But if not for the success of all the previous great generations from the Revolutionary War on down, we might not have been there to help our old ally France and there would not have been a Greatest Generation.
Even after that we had those who fought in the Police Action that was the Korean War and those who fought in what was probably one of the most dividing conflicts in our history the Viet Nam War. Aren’t all those who served in those actions members of other great generations?
So, who is to say which is the Greatest Generation, as I now realize that this country is made up of a succession of Great Generations. It also got me thinking that what makes this country great are these great generations and the less than 1% who have served, are serving and will serve this country in the future they are all members of Great Generations. Knowing this gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call a …..Rosy Glow!
Bob's Rosy Glow 