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November 26, 2023: The Greatest Generation
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After the recent trip to France with a group of lovely folks, I unabashedly admit that my love for what is affectionately known as The Greatest Generation has deepened even more than before the trip. It was our time spent at Omaha Beach and Point du Hoc that brought home even more the sacrifice our soldiers made in 1944. It was from that stretch of land – in a foreign land – where the world’s worst “isms,” - Fascism, Nazism, Totalitarianism – and other “isms” that would flow from such evils, these “isms” that sought through force to control the lives of millions upon millions of people, placing them into a state of slavery and subjugation through the fear and terror of violence… From that small piece of land after crossing the English Channel, American, British, French, and Canadien soldiers began the taking back of land and countries that were dominated and, in some cases, decimated by the evil axis then present in Germany and elsewhere.
These young American soldiers who were mostly teenagers and early to mid-twenties, thousands of whom made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for freedom and democracy, would come to be known decades later as The Greatest Generation, a term coined by Tom Brokaw in the title of his popular book. I’ve been so blessed as a priest to have known many of these veterans, having presided at Funeral Masses for those who made it through the Second World War safely, as well as spouses of soldiers who were part of the war effort. And, pretty much across the board, they have been men and women of integrity, courage, sacrifice, goodness, responsibility, simplicity, and patriotism. They are men and women who love/loved this country with a red, white, and blue passion, understanding that what they fought for and won was worth every bit of the effort. For the survivors of Omaha Beach and other battles, the friends and relatives they lost to death during the war have not been forgotten. And what’s so impressive about most all of these folks is that they were the person next door, or lived upstairs, or worked at the local factory. They were/are humble in their approach to life, not glory-seekers, but men and women who loved God, their families, their country, and did their duty for freedom. As I’ve said many times at Funeral Masses for members of The Greatest Generation, “All they did was save freedom and liberty for the world. Other than that, they were pretty normal people.”
Standing there a couple weeks ago on Omaha Beach, seeing firsthand some of the sites (without the sounds) of what they did, and the obstacles they needed to overcome to make their attack successful, one can only be struck with amazement and awe at the fact they were able to pull it off. I mentioned to a couple folks how the Allied attack from Omaha and Utah Beaches reminded me of the famous attack at Gettysburg known as Pickett’s Charge, and how similar the charges were drawn up. Fortunately for our country in 1863, Pickett’s Charge did not succeed, although it came close. And even more fortunate was how Operation Overlord did succeed, leading to the end of World War II almost one year later. When a visitor to Omaha and Utah Beach looks at the cliffs that needed to be scaled by Army Rangers, the visitor can only ask, “How did they ever get this done?” What looks like an impossibility when standing there was somehow made possible through their bravery and determination to succeed.
The choice to write about this topic this Sunday is twofold. First, in our recent celebration of Thanksgiving, my personal favorite secular holiday with many religious overtones (probably because it involves lots of good food), we cannot forget our history, so it does not get repeated again and again. We live in a dangerous time and world where such events as the Second World War can be repeated for the same or similar reasons. This is why a daily prayer to God begging for peace throughout the seven continents is an absolutely necessary prayer. We give thanks, of course, for God’s abundant blessings. We give thanks, I pray, for what is supposed to be a country that defends and enjoys freedom of religion, speech, and (God help us) the media. But we give thanks in a special way to those men and women who helped to make freedom still ring today from their actions 80 years ago. The heroic actions they performed when in their younger years. There are not many of them left when compared to the time they performed their seemingly impossible deeds. But The Greatest Generation, if you know someone from that time still alive, deserves our thanks. They were not fans of fighting a world war. There was no enjoyment in what they accomplished back then, and the choices they had to make. But they did what they had to do for the greater good of our world. We recognize this fact alongside our continual prayer for peace.
And second, this topic of The Greatest Generation arises from a familiar reading from the Book of Proverbs this Sunday, and how this reading begins: ‘When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.” Again, one of the three major insights that defines The Greatest Generation is their spousal and parental love for family. Granted, this is not new. Families have loved one another since, well, Eve was tricked by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. I’m sure her and Adam had a few small battles after God called their not-so-innocent bluff concerning the decision they made that broke the universe in half. It took a Savior from Nazareth, born in Bethlehem, to redeem and fix the crack so we can once again enjoy friendship with God. Aside of this, many families have shown love between family members since the dawn of the age. So, what The Greatest Generation has accomplished in this regard is nothing brand spanking new.
However, possibly because of the war experience and the many deaths that generation was forced to confront, they became a generation of spouses and parents (those who returned home) who lived a life of continual sacrifice for the good of their own children. Were they perfect in this area or any other? No, they were not. But I can attest firsthand that their level of sacrifice for the good of their families was on the higher plane of sacrifice. Sacrifice that was consistent with being God-fearing men and women. I believe we can mostly agree that The Greatest Generation was a generation of what we call “Churchgoers.” Their love for God set the tone for all other parts of their lives. Again, not 100% of them. But a very high percentage? Yes. They were committed to their marriage, secure in their marriage, marriages that have lasted 60, 70, and in a few cases, approaching 80 years. I hope I live that long.
It would be fair to say that many couples from The Greatest Generation met at a dance hall on a weekend night, where a veteran back home from the war looked across the dance floor, noticed a certain lady over there who caught his attention, went over to her, asked for a dance, knowing this young lady was the future worthy wife whose value for her husband would become far beyond pearls. And he, in turn, would entrust his heart to her, offering an unfailing prize of togetherness. It’s a familiar story that’s been told many times about The Greatest Generation. A story from which today’s generation, and future generations, can learn about some of the more important lessons in life. And what matters most, like God, family, and country.
I’ve been blessed to witness such devotion and love between couples from The Greatest Generation a good amount of times. My favorite, if there is one, was a gentleman – and a gentle man – named John Hunt, a parishioner I came to know in my time at Immaculate Conception. John was a World War II veteran, and one of the humblest persons I’ve known in my priesthood. When his wife Clare died a handful of years ago, he acted like he lost his best friend. The reason? Because he indeed did lose his best friend. This has been a familiar refrain for so many of these couples. Not that today’s couples or even the generations that have followed The Greatest Generation do not have the same experience, because they do. I’ve witnessed such heartache, grounded in spousal love, from younger men and women in their 50’s and 60’s. But it seems like The Greatest Generation upped the ante, if you will, on this matter of spousal friendship. And we thank them for setting an example for others to follow if they so choose to recognize such devotion and goodness.
Omaha Beach, with Utah Beach seen in the short distance, is a place that can bring forth from us many thoughts connected to the bravery of so many who crossed those beaches for the protection of our freedom. It’s a most special place, known appropriately as hallowed ground. I’m proud to say that France does an A+ job of protecting our American history that occurred there. What they did should not be forgotten anytime soon, or later on, as we give thanks to God for the precious gift of our sometimes fragile freedom.