The greatest generation....

The greatest generation....

Several years ago, Tom Brokaw, wrote a book about the generation who lived through the depression and World War 2 and coined the phase, "the Greatest Generation."

As both my husband's parents and mine were part of that generation, we found the book interesting. We listened to it on CDs as we travelled about...

That generation is quickly diminishing leaving we "boomers" aging as well..handing more and more over to the gen-xers and the millennials...

We are realizing our mortality...and what comes next... 

It has been hard and  sad to watch these generations pass into eternity...but, a relief for others whose lives had become shells of who they once were....some so desiring of walking those streets of pure gold with their loved ones, while others have not hope....

We are loosing a wealth of wisdom, hardiness, humbleness, sacrificial mentors...I hope we boomers will be remembered with some positive traits....as well as the generations to follow...

Many Bible personalities died with many years behind them...Abraham, Jacob, Noah, David, Moses, John to name a few...they each left behind a legacy similar to the greatest generation...and more important some left the Written Word  breathed by God into their hearts and minds to pass on from generation to generation, until we hold it in our hands, now, thousands of years later...still as appropriate today as it was then...

Thank YOU for those who have gone before, leaving us examples of lives well lived, of service to God, family and country...

Genesis 9:28-29 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died. 

Genesis 25:7-8 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 

1 Chronicles 29:26-28 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king. 

Job 42:16-17 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years. 

Proverbs 10:27 Proverbs 9:11a For through wisdom your days will be many,and years will be added to your life. 

The fear of the Lord adds length to life,....

Characteristics of the Greatest Generation. http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/generation-gaps/greatest-generation1.htm

In "The Greatest Generation," Tom Brokaw argues that the World War II generation's perseverance through difficult times is a testament to their extraordinary character. Their remarkable actions, during times of war and peace, ultimately made the United States a better place in which to live. Born and raised in a tumultuous era marked by war and economic depression, Brokaw asserts, these menand women developed values of "personal responsibility, duty, honor and faith." These characteristics helped them to defeat Hitler, build the American economy, make advances in science and implement visionary programs like Medicare. According to Brokaw, "[a]t every stage of their lives they were part of historic challenges and achievements of a magnitude the world had never before witnessed."

Brokaw credits the Greatest Generation with much of the freedom and affluence that Americans enjoy today. "They have given the succeeding generations the opportunity to accumulate great economic wealth, political muscle, and the freedom from foreign oppression to make whatever choices they like," he writes. Despite these achievements, however, Brokaw believes that the Greatest Generation remains remarkably humble about what they've done. He concludes, "it is a generation that, by and large, made no demands of homage from those who followed and prospered economically, politically, and culturally because of its sacrifices."

In an effort to personify these lofty accomplishments, Brokaw profiles a few dozen members of the Greatest Generation, including some who gained significant notoriety in the years following World War II. Andy Rooney, best known for his segment on television's "60 Minutes," was a young sergeant reporting for the Army's newspaper, Stars and Stripes, during the war. Another notable member of this generation was Julia Child, an American chef who spent the war years working for the Office of Strategic Services (a precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency). Several prominent politicians also served in World War II. George Bush, the 41st president of the United States, was a Navy Air Corps pilot who survived after being shot down during a bombing run on a Japanese target. Another was 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole, an Army lieutenant who was gravely wounded as he led a charge against a fortified German position.

Brokaw is passionate in his favorable assessment of such people and the ideals they represent. Click over to the next page to learn what moved him to write about this generation and how others criticize his nostalgic viewpoint.