In response to another child of the Greatest Generation I posted this in another BBS I'm involved with. Puts things into perspective about Pearl Harbor and WWII.
Some of you know who Roger Freeman is. This is a quote from a book published 1 year before his death in 2005 about the Greatest Generation.
Pay particular attention to the first line. It is true.
I posted this awhile back in a response to a post Betty made.
This was written by Roger Freeman. A British Aviation History Journalist.
Explains the term "Greatest Generation" Those of us who are children of the greatest generation know why they are called the "Greatest".
Betty while looking at your father in laws pictures and reading you post I knew that I had read something about his generation (our parents). So I looked in my library where I might have read that statement. I found it in a book written by Roger A. Freeman. from England, a noted military aviation author who wrote "Wolfpack Warriors" a history of the famed 56th FG during WWII. This book was published in 2004 one year before his death....................and so he says
"Progress wrought by the passage of time changes the character of a nation. If honest endeavor backed by a charitable religious faith is the best mould of mankind, then for the citizens of the United States of America that period approaching the mid-twentieth century was the zenith. The good and bad, the strong and weak, are with all nations; but in general, by the yardstick of moral human assessment, the generation of young Americans raised in the nineteen-twenties and thirties were of the best. Decent people with an ingrained sense of duty to what in their subconscious was God's own country. Thus were they with an ethos that would serve them well but test them severely."
No truer words have been written. We owe them much. As an example let me explain. When US Bomber Crew started flying missions over fortress Europe their loss of life was very high. Morale was at an all time low. The airmen could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. They feared without some restriction that many, many of them would not return home. The US Army Air Corps gave them that "light", a foreseeable goal. After 25 missions they would be able to go home.
Let me post a sad fact telling us all about the resolve in which these air crew suffered willingly. 70% of these young men would not get to the 25 mission mark. 10 aircrew in a bomber, do the math. Our Navy and Army as well as our Marine Corps. fought with a resolve to finish this tragic conflict. They sacrificed willingly as our armed forces today and throughout our history have done in to many wars. Unfortunately to many to list.
I feel that is incumbent to us, the Sons and Daughters of that generation to teach what has been passed along to them by our parents. It is also important for us to criticize what we see today if we see something troubling. To point out fallacies and wrong doing today. It is in our peoples best interests, as it is the world's. I'm afraid we've lost what our parents did and how they faced wrongdoing.
