Even though LeMay was nearly 200 years younger than Franklin, Jefferson, or Washington-and in a field (aviation) our Founding Fathers could only dream of-he, Patton, Nimitz, Chesty Puller, etc, would have been instantly recognized as kindred spirits by them. The men who won WWII were cut from the same cloth as the brave men on both sides of the Civil War, or who won the Revolution. And the average American civilian man or woman were on the same page in outlook and capability.
I know we have many of the same great breed in our current military—but now they are the exception, not the rule, and now the popular culture is 180 degrees out from what made us great. Is it any wonder why we’re in the shape we’re in?
These days, pansies like “Weasley” Clark, Merrill McPeak, and Shinseki get promoted to the senior general officer ranks.