Journalist Tom Brokaw wrote “The Greatest Generation,” borrowing from World War II flag officers. The sentiment was, for those who knew them, universal. Why, in the 80th anniversary year of the war’s end, was that generation so different?
General James Van Fleet, who served in WWI, WWII, and Korea and died at 100 in 1992 – is the originator of the phrase, saying they were “a magnificent lot…the greatest generation of Americans we have ever produced.” And yet why?
His sentiments were echoed by General P. X. Kelley, when dedicating the WWII Memorial in DC: “It was a conflict in which over 53 million souls departed from this planet—and it was a conflict in which over 400,000 Americans made the supreme sacrifice, but in the end it was a conflict in which our way of life prevailed.”
Two questions: What were the values that defined “The Greatest Generation?” And is “our way of life” – the one for which they fought and died – still “prevailing?”
Where do we begin? Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, after which droves rose and volunteered to defend America. They loved America.
More than 16 million Americans volunteered – 12 percent of the nation. Those ineligible were shattered. Then came action. In four years, almost half a million young Americans died in combat.
From North Africa to Sicily, Anzio and Monte Cassino to Normandy, Battle of the Bulge to the Pacific, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Leyte Gulf, Bataan, Tarawa, and the Solomons … Then losing the Battleships USS Arizona and Oklahoma, carriers USS Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, and Hornet, and that final loss of the USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945, grief was staggering.
But so was resilience. Shaped by their parents, schools, and leaders to be hardworking, patriotic, family- and faith-centered, young Americans stepped up. More were white and male, but they rose from a society defined by principles, minority, and majority.
Of the 16 million, a million were Black, half a million Hispanic, half a million women, nurses to pilots, across multiple branches. Honor, duty, and love of country were real.
Indescribably brave, they were propelled by honor, history, conviction, and heart, most from families with traditional values, most Christian, rising to defeat evil.
Enlistment age was 18, but hundreds of thousands joined at 16 and 17. Most have lived through the Great Depression, were defined by adversity – and resilience.
General Bradley wrote they were good with guns, which probably saved us – experts at “squirrel hunting” who just needed discipline, tactics, and “new targets.”
They were optimists, odds be damned – at Normandy and everywhere. When the US entered the war, we had a single division. Germans have 60. Young Americans trained, deployed, and fought to victory over and over, into the teeth of the enemy.
Facing heavy artillery, interlocking machine guns, ruthless tactics, killing zones, the enemy expected to break the Allied spirit – in both Europe and the Pacific. They failed.
These young Americans were quick thinkers, often innovative, knew how to be creative, can-do, and independent. They were problem solvers, took responsibility easily, never quit, prided themselves on being self-reliant, had goals, and prevailed.
They were taught to be law-abiding, honorable, and strong. At least 1.5 million were Boy Scouts. They all knew the oath: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
Their motto was “Be Prepared,” and the 12-point Law: “Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”
Made strong at home, they were strong overseas. Like the “Boys of Pointe du Hoc,” they defeated the Third Reich and Japanese Empire. In the process, they learned death, fear, pain, disappointment, grief, how to overcome adversity, and win.
On their return, they were different. They had done something immeasurably, saved the world, met evil, defeated it at great cost. So had parents, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, and friends. This was a generation that knew fear and defeated it.
These young Americans, and those who suffered with them in their absence, knew courage, can-do, faith, and how to manage adversity. In my experience with them, they were confident, self-assured, had survived the crucible, and had overcome fear.
Now that second question. Is the “way of life” for which they fought “prevailing?” Honest answer: I do not know. There are signs of hope, even in the modern torrent of unfathomable ignorance, indifference, ingratitude, and anti-Americanism.
Daily, as I travel Maine and the Nation, I see an awakening – even a revival, a new appreciation for faith, family, freedom, and what it takes to hold them, the very values for which the “The Greatest Generation” fought, and that their lives taught.
This I do know: As with them, responsibility for the future is on us. It is our generation to live and teach the values they imparted. History repeats in ways good and bad. We must know the difference, then carry the precious values they preserved for us forward in our time. Not to do so would be to let them down.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
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