On the other hand, my dad graduated high school in 1932 right into the teeth of the Great Depression. By the time that was ending, World War II came along and he found himself in the Army Air Force. He was in his mid 30s when he experienced ‘normal’ times for the first time in his adult life. That generation somehow managed to do all right for themselves. That generation enjoyed the American Heyday. As has been pointed out here, when the dust settled and the smoke cleared from the Second World War, the United States was the only western power standing. Anybody in the world who wanted anything had to buy it from us. And while our former enemies and our allies spent a generation rebuilding their countries and their economies, the United States middle class exploded in size; the economy of that time was ONLY going to go up.
That generation enjoyed the American Heyday.
Yes, they did. But they had 10-15 years of the beginnings of their adult lives under difficult conditions to say the least. One reason for the baby boom was that so many had put things like marriage and families on hold for so long.