Posted on Jan 12, 2016
The Greatest Generation Wasn’t Always That Great
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Bill Mauldin’s 1947 book, “Back Home,” sheds light on the postwar experiences of World War II vets and how they compare to today's generation.
The narrative myths of the Greatest Generation are so fixed in the American psyche that it can take a supreme cognitive effort to remember they were once angry young men who both feared and resented home.
The narrative myths of the Greatest Generation are so fixed in the American psyche that it can take a supreme cognitive effort to remember they were once angry young men who both feared and resented home.
The Greatest Generation Wasn’t Always That Great
Posted from taskandpurpose.comPosted in these groups: 
WWII World War Two
PTSD
WWII World War Two PTSD
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 4
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I guess I always thought of them as the greatest generation (not perfect) since they came of age during the great depression and lived a pretty meager life in their childhood, one we could not even imagine today. As they became adults, they were cast into one of the greatest conflict the world had ever seen. They fought ruthless and despotic enemies all over the globe and came home clear winners.
I think it is safe to say that many did feel a disconnect with "the world" after the war. How many today feel the same disconnect? Many do I think. They were great because the challenges of their age did not overcome them. They persevered, moved forward, even when it wasn't comfortable to do so.
I remember as a kid watching the movie "The Best Years of our Lives" and then watching it again when I was perhaps 30. It is a far different movie with the perspective. I think it did a nice job of showing the challenges returning veterans of WWII faced. Not all peached and cream for the returning veterans of WWII but I still think they set the bar for enduring incredibly challenging years from childhood into young adulthood and even the post war years which were challenging too.
I think it is safe to say that many did feel a disconnect with "the world" after the war. How many today feel the same disconnect? Many do I think. They were great because the challenges of their age did not overcome them. They persevered, moved forward, even when it wasn't comfortable to do so.
I remember as a kid watching the movie "The Best Years of our Lives" and then watching it again when I was perhaps 30. It is a far different movie with the perspective. I think it did a nice job of showing the challenges returning veterans of WWII faced. Not all peached and cream for the returning veterans of WWII but I still think they set the bar for enduring incredibly challenging years from childhood into young adulthood and even the post war years which were challenging too.
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SGT (Join to see) The 'greatest generation' had few expectations and we're accustomed to a harsh' life style w/?few luxuries.
One of the aunts and uncles would visit 'us' on the farm in OH, there was no expectation of a flush toilet or running water. That generation was able to furnish servicemen and women willing to accept and thrive in the austere environment of the times. Like the wooden barracks you may have lived in w/ 4 shower heads in the common shower and 6 open, exposed 'johns' in a row!
One of the aunts and uncles would visit 'us' on the farm in OH, there was no expectation of a flush toilet or running water. That generation was able to furnish servicemen and women willing to accept and thrive in the austere environment of the times. Like the wooden barracks you may have lived in w/ 4 shower heads in the common shower and 6 open, exposed 'johns' in a row!
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SGT (Join to see)
CSM Charles Hayden, I know my mom and dad pinched pennies until they squawked. They went through the depression as kids and my dad joined the Army National Guard for the extra pay, then WWII broke out and his unit was activated regular Army. We didn't have a lot of money when I grew up. In fact I had to drop out of my junior year in high school to get a job. I graduated a year late, then I went to Vietnam, and so on, and so on.
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CSM Charles Hayden
My dad was in the Guard a few years before yours. I look back on 1944/48 as some of the nicest years of my life. I am proud to have milked cows and teaching a calf to drink skim milk and ? meal from a bucket, My right shoulder still droops from carrying buckets on the farm.
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