Remembering the great generations

By Carroll Gambrell

The veterans of WWII were dubbed “The Greatest Generation” and indeed it was truly a Great Generation, but to call it the “Greatest” is to forget previous great generations and their contributions.

The generation that persevered through eight long years of warfare against the world’s superpower, suffering defeat after defeat. The generation that left bloody footprints in the snows of Trenton that faced starvation without pay and finally triumphed in Yorktown. They gave us a free and independent nation, which is now being dismantled from within. We cannot possibly forget that generation.

Four score and seven years later we were engaged in a great War Between the States, testing whether the union or states’ rights would be preserved. The union triumphed and that settled that question forever. The losers went home and rejoined the union, where they more or less dwelled in peace with their Yankee brethren ever since. The boys on both sides of the question, who ran that test, were a pretty tough generation too … we cannot overlook their sacrifices.

Fifty-two years later, they joined forces against the Kaiser in “The War to End All Wars.” It was tough grinding trench warfare in which a million men died in the Battle of the Somme and nearly two million in the Meuse. Inept generals needlessly sacrificed those lives.

Then, American doughboys arrived, broke the stalemate, fought the Battle of the Marne, cracked the vaunted Hindenburg line and forced the Kaiser to his knees. A pretty handsome feat for a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies fresh off the farm. Sgt. Alvin York of Tennessee was among the heroes. Pvt. Horace Orr of Marietta, Ga. and Pvt. Joyce Kilmer, author of the poem, “Trees,” were among the KIAs. Weren’t theirs memorable sacrifices?

A mere quarter of a century, or one generation later, America was once again thrust into war by forces outside our borders. WWII was a wide war covering most of the globe. Struggle was not new to them, and they rose to meet the challenge. Five years after the close of WWII, they were once again fighting to contain aggression in Korea. Generations since have fought to defend our freedom in the jungles of Vietnam and the deserts of the Middle East. The only territory we have sought to gain is land upon which to bury our dead. The Vietnam veterans not only fought and died in the steaming jungle. Upon returning home, instead of a triumphant parade down Broadway, they were forced to run the gauntlet of taunts, abuse and insults from Hanoi Jane and other traitors.

GAMBRELL759560@BELLSOUTH.NET