This is not the ‘Greatest Generation’

“Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth...” Those were the words of Lou Gehrig during his commemorative day of retirement at Yankee Stadium in 1939. Lou was dying of ALS.

I share that thought and consider myself lucky to have been living during the time of the greatest generation in the greatest Nation ever to exist on the face of the earth.

As a volunteer at the Pima Air and Space Museum, I am continuously reminded of the wonderful men and women who united to face the Axis powers during WWII. At a time when we, as a nation, were not prepared to fight a war of any kind, much less a war on two fronts, these people mobilized a war effort like never had been experienced in history.

The stories of sacrifice are endless. I am a docent in Hangars 3 and 4 housing WWII aircraft. Inside are the B-24 Liberator; Mitchell B-25 (“Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo); the C-47 “Gooney Bird”; the F4U-4 Corsair of “Pappy Boyington” fame; the B-29 Superfortress that was responsible for bringing the war in the Pacific to an end; and many more famous airplanes.

I rub shoulders with WWII veterans and visitors who share their war experiences. Many visitors had relatives who were crew members on these airplanes. They were fathers, brothers, uncles, sisters, moms, aunts and grandparents who served their nation with quiet aplomb. Patriots all!

While draft-aged men went to war, women built the machinery. They were “Rosy the Riveter.” Aircraft were flown by Women Air force Service Pilots (WASP) on ferry and training missions.

These men and women valued their freedom so much that they were willing to make huge sacrifices to be sure that their families would continue to enjoy their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am reminded that prior to the beginning of WWII, the U.S. military did not have many qualified pilots or aircraft. By the end of the war, we had built over 100,000 aircraft, trained over 125,000 pilots, 6,000 ships were built and huge numbers of other equipment. Over 15 million men and women serviced. Doolittle raiders bombed Japan four months after the Pearl Harbor attack. U.S. citizens moved immediately to save our Republic.

This remarkable fete happened because the citizens of America united for a common cause and prevailed in winning the war.

Could a united effort of this magnitude happen again? I think not! We don’t have the same spirit. Our leadership is incapable of such decisive action. Narcissism, greed, selfishness and incompetence, in politics, rule the day. These are not the times of great statesmen. And, our citizens are vastly divided philosophically. It unlikely that our grandchildren will experience true greatness of leadership that will unite our nation for a common good. Unfortunately, it is improbable that theirs will be a great generation to match those of the WWII era. Sad, but true.

The writer lives in Green Valley.