Lessons from the Greatest Generation to Today's

Published on April 25, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

My daddy wasn't even a gleam in my grandfather's eye when soldiers from "the Greatest Generation" stormed the beaches at Normandy on June 6, 1944. Their sacrifice was one of the most prominent in a legacy of sacrifices made by them and their countrymen over our four year involvement in World War II.

As they stormed the beach, they flooded it with so many soldiers that, as one German soldier later recollected, "you couldn't fire a shot on the beach without hitting one of them". They knew the risks, and willingly took them to liberate France, and eventually defeat the Third Reich.

My, how times have changed.

There are many good, selfless soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't want this article to reflect negatively on their service in any way. But along with those good, selfless soldiers are far too many individuals coming home to solicit multimillion dollar book deals, calling parents to contact the "Today" show and reveal sensitive data and troop movements that enemy troops can access as easily as we can, and expecting a free ride because of their service.

They served. And they deserve to be recognized for that.

But I have a theory that, when you do a good deed, the more you speak out for recognition, the less you deserve it. Because the demand for recognition points out ulterior motives that, put simply, don't deserve a reward.

Many of the "greatest generation" toiled their lives away in relative obscurity, or worse, remained interred in forgotten graves on a foreign shore. They didn't come home demanding that the country owed them anything.

And yet, oddly enough, we owed them everything.

Comments

ParaTed2k

on Apr 25, 2005

From the dime novels that romanticized the "Wild West" and "Indian Wars" to the present, there have been books written, retelling (and retailing) the stories of troops from every war. Few ever see the light of day, and even fewer actually turn a profit. Jessica Lynch's book lost a lot of money for the publisher, but gave her a chance to tell her side of the whole story (and made her very rich).

These troops have every right to tell their stories. Then again, most of them will never get published, nor end up on morning news shows. As I've learned from my own experience, writing the book is the easy part!! ;~D

The way I see it, it's their 15 minutes, let them do with it what they want.

Ionolast

on Apr 25, 2005

"Many of the "greatest generation" toiled their lives away in relative obscurity, or worse, remained interred in forgotten graves on a foreign shore. They didn't come home demanding that the country owed them anything."
Maybe that has to do with how justifiable a war or the U.S.'s involvement in it was. Remember how badly the Vietnam vets were treated when they returned?

Moderateman

on Apr 25, 2005

ww1 fought for freedon
ww2 saved the world
vietnam. scorned
iraqi freedom. book deals

Texas Wahine

on Apr 25, 2005

Moderateman:

ww1 fought for freedon
ww2 saved the world
vietnam. scorned
iraqi freedom. book deals

Insightful for that one.

Gideon: I like this article very much, and I tend to agree with you. Military service members (and people in general really) no longer seem to possess the quiet strength and sense of duty that they once had. Everything seems to be, "What's in it for me?" (and I would be lying if I said that Adrian were in the Army out of sheer patriotism...what I am saying really goes for him and myself as well)

Good stuff to think about.

ParaTed2k

on Apr 25, 2005

Gideon: I like this article very much, and I tend to agree with you. Military service members (and people in general really) no longer seem to possess the quiet strength and sense of duty that they once had. Everything seems to be, "What's in it for me?"

True, Texas. I was one of very few that I knew who, when asked why I joined answered, "I wanted to be in the Army." I don't even have to tell you how much ribbing I took for that answer (most good natured, btw). ;~D

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