Posted on 09/30/2005 3:34:31 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Retired NBC Nightly News anchorman Tom Brokaw learned many life lessons at the knee of what he calls the "Greatest Generation" - the men and women who survived World War II and helped build the nation.
Their lessons - unity, humility and sacrifice - are sorely lacking in today's culture of political polarization, where there is little dedication to maintaining common ground, he said Thursday during a visit to Corpus Christi.
The challenges Americans face today, whether it be the war on terrorism abroad or the war against mother nature at home, present an opportunity to find that common ground and eliminate the culture of blame, Brokaw said.
Brokaw's speech at the Lexington Museum on the Bay, a fundraiser for the aircraft carrier, drew about 500 people and raised $540,000. The venue was appropriate, as those he credits with shaping the country into an economic powerhouse would have served on this World War II ship and others like it.
Rocco Montesano, executive director of the Lexington, said Brokaw's message reflects the ship's history.
"The people in his book are the people who served on this ship," Montesano said.
And the money raised will further that history by providing for the first phase of implementing interactive displays on the ship.
Since visiting Normandy Beach on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, Brokaw has made it his mission to help preserve the legacy of a generation. The Lexington, Brokaw said, helps to do the same.
"It's a reminder of a great passage in our lives," Brokaw said. "It's a reminder to the generation coming up of the sacrifices that were made."
His book, "The Greatest Generation," and other documentary efforts have been the highlight of his career, Brokaw said.
"This is probably the most important thing I've ever done," said Brokaw, who has received a variety of awards including several Emmys and a Peabody Award. "It's my lasting contribution."
Contact Adriana Garzaat 886-3618or HYPERLINK mailto:garzaa@caller.com garzaa@caller.com
Tom Brokaw (left) autographs a copy of his book, "The Greatest Generation," for Darius Radzius.
Just go away little Brokaw. You were a news reader. You stand on a box when you read your lines. Where you could you bashed America...then you wrote a book talking about what most Americans already knew and lived. You worked against us. Now move off the stage. Please God. Just move on.
"unity, humility and sacrifice"
Well, if the portion of them represented by AARP is any guide, they certainly have unity. I'm not so sure about the other 2.
Oh gawd, I had to blow my nose twice. Which generation did Brokeshaw belong to? I've never seen that printed anywhere.
Evidently, Brokaw thinks he is an important man in America. Delusional!!
Both of my aging parents voted for AlBore because he got all teary eyed about old folk, a/k/a "big voting block". It got so bad that my dad finally said we'd not ever discuss it again, which we didn't. But my brother and I conspired many plans to keep them out of the voting booth, to no avail. Curses, foiled again!
A noble effort indeed! I think part of the problem is that the Old folk still seem to believe the Rats are for the "working" man failing to realize they are now for the welfare man. I wonder if they realize how much more SS money they would have if personal accounts were always used?
The modern American left, of which Brokaw is a card-carrying member, cut its teeth in the 1960's by rejecting and spitting on the values of the 'greatest generation'. Brokaw's self-serving praise is not only hollow but obscenely hypocritical. After the damage the left-wing MSM has done to this country, it's reprehensible that this man should profit from pretending to admire and respect that which he was instrumental in destroying.
Unyielding greed, raising a generation of hippies, and social programs. Greatest generation my @$$!
"Which generation did Brokeshaw belong to?"
He was born in 1940, which would make him part of the Vietnam War Generation.
Lived out by americas left.. also those in URP...
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