People of the Greatest Generation witnessed World War I as children. They lived through the Depression of the 1930s and learned to cope in hard times. They learned to take responsibility and help their neighbors. They remained humble.
When World War II came to Europe, the Greatest Generation answered the call. Over 16 million served, including over a million African Americans and 44,000 Native Americans. In addition to serving in the military in various capacities, women went to work in factories turning out planes, tanks and munitions. Two hundred and fifty thousand U.S. personnel died in the European Theater.
May 8 of this year will mark the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, the official end of World War II in Europe. It was the final repudiation of Adolf Hitler and the horrors he initiated.
Members of the Greatest Generation returned home to the well wishes of a grateful nation. They set about rebuilding their lives. Those I have known were unwilling to talk about the horrors they witnessed on the battlefield, and in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.
Out of World War II came the Marshall Plan, which helped Europe to rebuild and helped restore the economies of Europe (including Germany) and the United States. NATO was created after the war to bind nations together for security.
Today, there are 32 NATO member nations. Each nation pledges to come to the aid of another member nation that is under attack. The only time this has ever been invoked was after the bombings of the World Trade Center, when a combined NATO force went into Afghanistan to root out the perpetrators.
It is generally understood that the past 80 years have been relatively peaceful due to the world order that was created after World War II — a legacy of the Greatest Generation.
Our president has said that Hitler did some good things. What those were is not clear. What we do know is that under his leadership, 6 million Jews were exterminated, many in gas chambers specially built for the purpose. Also, because of his thirst for expansion, Hitler started the bloodiest war in history, claiming the lives of over 60 million people. What were the good things he did?
Support for Ukraine was approved in bipartisan actions by our Senate and House of Representatives. Yet our president has decided that we should side with the aggressor nation. Why suddenly is Congress willing to remain silent while the president upends the 80-year-old world order and throws Ukraine under the bus?
Maybe it’s a good thing that most of the members of the Greatest Generation are no longer with us. They would be shaking their heads in disbelief.
Paul Rogers
Water Mill
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