In his 1988 book, Tom Brokaw stated that the generation of Americans who grew up during the deprivation of the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II as well as provide the productivity of the home front during that war is, “the greatest generation any society has ever produced.” He argues that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the “right thing to do.” There is much good and accurate information in the book and certainly that generation of Americans made a huge impact on our national story. They continue to provide leadership across our nation.

It is also true that Brokaw’s book overstates things and promotes a kind of hero worship that is not particularly helpful as our nation moves into the future. First of all, his claim that one generation is somehow greater than another might have some basis, but to say that the G.I. generation contributed more to American history than the generation that produced the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution is subjective at best. The truth is that each generation is shaped by the circumstances of their particular place in history and that some circumstances invite people to rise above the common and accomplish extraordinary things. Fortunately, there have been many generations of greatness in our history.

Perhaps Brokaw’s title will stick and the name “greatest generation” will be the name by which this age cohort will be known. Prior to his book, the most common name was “G.I. Generation.” That name has its origins in a war term. G.I. stands for “General Infantry” and refers to the foot soldiers that contributed greatly to the war effort. Of course there were plenty of members of that generation who never served in the infantry and the war was won in part by innovations in technology and skilled contributors like pilots, engineers and strategists. The letters “G.I.” originally referred to galvanized iron, such as metal trash cans. The Army inventories and supply records were filled with many items made of galvanized iron. During World War I, U.S. soldiers referred to incoming German artillery shells as “G.I. cans.” During World War II the letters began to refer to anything that had to do with the army. Some people came to believe that G.I. stood for “government issue.” It became a nickname for American soldiers.

G.I. generation isn’t a bad moniker for the generation. They did participate in military service in numbers that was unprecedented and hasn’t since been seen. They also supported and developed government at the state and national level that provided services at a level not experienced by previous generations and probably not sustainable in future generations. I once heard a comedian make a joke about one of the institutions of the G.I. generation: “Do you know what the letters AARP stand for? It is the American Association of persons who are out to force their children to pay for services that they would have never dreamed of providing for their parents and don’t you ever forget it.” The joke probably doesn’t make many of the people who founded AARP laugh. But it is true that the G.I. generation not only contributed deeply to American Society, they also benefitted greatly from it. The generation that began with the deprivations of the Great Depression ended their lives with a higher percentage of the total wealth of the nation controlled by a single generation than ever before. They are ending their lives with the highest level of government support through social security, Medicare and other government programs. Both the budget proposed by House Republicans and the Democratic Administration are proposing cuts to Medicare. It is becoming evident that sustaining that level of government support for retired persons is not feasible. Subsequent generations will not retire as early nor will they have the same level of tax-supported services as this particular generation.

Another quality of the G.I. generation that is seldom noted, but evident in our society is found in the fact that great leaders often don’t share leadership easily. My father was a member of the G.I. generation. By the time he was in his late forties and early fifties he was the senior member of many public boards on which he served. He had chaired church boards, civic boards, non-profit corporation boards and served on the board of trustees of a college for many years. As I approached a similar age, those boards had far fewer positions for people my age as persons the age of my parents continued to serve and dominate the leadership positions. They were great leaders, but they didn’t pass on leadership to others easily. I can quickly name three community boards on which I serve that are chaired by persons in their mid to late eighties who show no signs of stepping down or sharing power. Other boards are dominated by the next generation, who had to wait until the G.I. generation members died in office before they could assume leadership and so see the leadership pattern as belonging to the oldest members of the group. In some of these boards the age of the leadership is shaping the organization in negative ways.

The few members of the World War II generation who remain and those a decade or so younger will bemoan the decrease in involvement in service clubs as a sign that the generations that follow them aren’t as community minded as theirs. Those of us who are a bit younger think it is obvious that these community groups are dying because of the inability of leaders to pass leadership to a new generation. In a service club if you do agree to serve in a leadership position, you’d better do it the way your elders tell you or you’ll soon find another person in that position. Changing time-honed formulas is forbidden and there is little appeal in maintaining the institutions of a previous generation.

I’m comfortable to allow history to sift and sort and identify the great contributions of a great generation. There are a few things that I have learned from my elders. One of those things is that it is time for me to learn to step aside and allow younger leaders to develop. My role can be mentoring and consulting instead of occupying the leadership positions. By the time I reach my seventies, I hope to be serving my community as a worker, contributor and a volunteer without the need to be in charge of institutions or boards. I can already see some wonderful new leaders emerging.

I truly believe that Tom Brokaw got it wrong. Despite the real and significant contributions of the World War II generation, the greatest generation in the story of this nation is yet to come.

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