Herb Weiss: The Greatest Generation’s Last Hurrah
Friday, November 14, 2014
The G.I. Generation, born between 1901 to 1924 and coined the “The Greatest Generation” by nationally acclaimed journalist Tom Brokaw, grew up in the Great Depression and went on to fight World War II, considered to be the largest and deadliest global military conflict in the world’s history. The worldwide war directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries.
With the enactment of a formal declarations of war in December 1941, the ranks of the United States military, by draft and voluntary enlistment, swelled to 16 million soldiers. Ultimately, those serving in World War II came from every state, ethnic group and race, from poor and well-to-do families.
World War II veterans put their youth on hold to defend the country. Their ages ranged from ages 17 (with parental permission) to 37 years. When discharged a grateful country’s G.I. Bill Education benefits would send them to college, propelling them into professional careers, giving them a good income to raise a family and to economically spur the economy.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBrokaw, a well-known American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, who now serves as a Special Correspondent for NBC News and works on documentaries for other news outlets, claims that this was “the greatest generation any society has ever produced. ”He asserted that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was just the “right thing to do.”
The Last Man Standing
In their middle years, America’s “The Greatest Generation” would see the passing of the last Civil War veteran. According to Wikipedia, on August 2, 1956, the 20th century veterans would learn about the death of Albert Henry Woolson, 106, the last surviving member of the Grand Army of the Republic who fought in the nation’s bloody American Civil War. In 1864, Woolson had enlisted as a drummer boy in Company C 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment.
The free internet encyclopedia calls Woolson the last surviving Civil War veteran on either side whose status is undisputed. At least three men who died after him claimed to be Confederate veterans but their veteran status has been questioned.
According to the August 3, 1956 issue of the St. Petersburg Times upon Woolson’s death, President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated: “The American people have lost the last personal link with the Union Army. His passing brings sorrow to the hearts of all of us who cherished the memory of the brave men on both sides of the War Between the States.”
In 2011 a World War I veteran was nationally recognized, like Civil War Veteran Woolson, for being the last American doughboy. Frank Buckles, 101, had the distinction of being the last survivor of 4.73 million Americans who fought in the “War to End All Wars.” The 16-year old enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in France. Buckles left military service with the rank of corporal.
In his final years, Buckles served as Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation. As chairman, he called for a World War I memorial similar to other war memorials inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway. He would campaign unsuccessfully for the District of Columbia War Memorial to be renamed the National World War I Memorial.
Upon Buckles passing, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, issued a release, stating, “We have lost a living link to an important era in our nation's history." But we have also lost a man of quiet dignity who dedicated his final years to ensuring the sacrifices of his fellow doughboys are appropriately commemorated.” Corporal Buckles represents the first generation to witness the horrific slaughter of soldiers by modern day warfare.
The Twilight Years of WWII Veterans
On November 11, there were fewer aging World War II veterans attending ceremonies held throughout the nation honoring them. With their medium age pegged at 92 years, many of these individuals are quickly becoming frail, their numbers dwindling as the years go by.
Over the next two decades, America’s World War II soldiers will pass away like Woolson and Buckles.
At the end of World War II, there were 16 million soldiers who served our nation in that terrible war. Thirty years ago, when President Ronald Reagan traveled to the battle site of Pointe du Hoc, located at a 100 foot cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France, there were only 10.7 million U.S. veterans left. The President came to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, recognizing the American Ranger team that took heavy casualties in capturing the German-occupied cliff.
According to the U.S. Veteran’s Administration, in 2014 our frail World War II veterans are dying at a quick rate of 555 a day. This means there are only 1.34 million veterans remaining. By 2036, The National World War II Museum predicts there will be no living veterans of this global war that took place from 1939 to 1945 to recount their own personal battle experiences. When this happens, their stories, like Woolson and Buckles, will only be told in history books or by television documentaries or by historians and academics.
In my own case I wish I had asked my father, the late Frank M. Weiss, to tell me more about his World War II experiences. His scrap book of faded pictures from his long ago days in the military sits in a box in my basement. The names of his comrades, activities and base locations captured on film no longer have context with his passing.
Aging Veterans, Our National Treasure
Last Tuesday, Veterans Day ceremonies and activities were held in 15 Rhode Island communities to honor those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Today, there are only 3,951 World War II veterans alive in the Ocean State. The elderly veterans’ numbers dwindle at these celebrations and even at their reunions because of their frailty and health issues.
We are poised to see a generation of veterans vanish right before our eyes. I say, cherish them while you can. Urge those around you who fought in World War II to tell stories and oral histories for the sake of America’s future generations. They have much to say, we have much to learn.
To learn more about the Greatest Generation and the global war they fought in or to give your oral history, contact the National World War II Museum in Louisiana. Go to www.nationalww2museum.org.
Today’s commentary is dedicated to my father, Second Lt. Frank M. Weiss, who died in December 2003, in Dallas, Texas, at 89 years old.
Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at [email protected].
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