is a propaganda term invented by the ill-neducated, unintelligent, loathsome leftist Tom Brokaw. It is a stupid term. Greatest??? Really? Greater than the men who fought the Revolution and then forged the several states into this Great Republic? Greater than the men who fought the War Between the States? Seriously? Greater than their own fathers, who fought the Great War?
Get a grip, Tommy. The term "Greatest Generation" is pure, unadulterated nonsense. Drivel. Foolishness.
In fact, this whole business of trying to force-fit millions of people into "generations" that all supposedly think and act alike is foolishness. It is leftist group-think at its absolute worst.
Hi, NorthMountain:
No love lost here either for Brokaw. But I believe that the expression is meant to refer to living generations.
Again, I want to stress that the dire challenges posed to that generation by the war in Europe and then the attack on Pearl Harbor were not their doing - they were foisted upon them - but that they mastered them admirably.
Subsequent generations were never given the opportunity to "show their stuff," to "shine," to display their merits under duress. "Some are born to greatness, others have it thrust upon them." The latter applies to the "Greatest Generation." Subsequent generations lacked that stellar opportunity.
Regards,