Reflecting on the Greatest Generation: A Legacy of Service and Leadership
How They Still Inspire
80 years ago today, the largest invasion in the history of mankind began. Success was not assured. As a matter of fact, Dwight Eisenhower had crafted a letter in case the allies were pushed back into the sea.
One of my Uncles was involved it that invasion, as was the father of a high school friend. As a matter of fact, my childhood was filled with people who were either a part of that specific invasion, or the Second World War in General. They had come home at the end of the war to live their lives. Most did so quietly, rarely if ever speaking of their contribution.
Yet, as I think back on those men (I can’t recall ever learning of any women I knew from my childhood who worked in the support services, though there were many), I can now see that they continued to contribute to those around them in their community, and many contributed to me specifically.
My elementary school principal. My next door neighbor. Family members as far distant as my grandmother’s cousins spouses, the man who owned our favorite restaurant….the list does go on.
Most were quiet about their service. If they did mention it, they were humbled by the sacrifices of their friends and minimized their own contribution to the ultimate success of the war.
Yet, you could look at these men and be in awe.
It would be a number of years until I began to realize that many of them likely suffered some form of PTSD. Likely their spouses were the only ones who really knew….and even they likely didn’t understand. Only those who had been there with them could understand a particular horror, or set of horrors.
Yet, they each continued in their lives. Teaching, managing, working, raising families, paying bills, building a life…..and leading.
Yes, most of the men I knew were leaders, even if their wartime experiences didn’t involve leadership.
They exerted influence in their communities and worked to effect change on the world around them. Some, I imagine, did so in hopes that the horrors they witnessed need never be seen again. Others, perhaps, in the hopes of simply preparing the next generation, and maybe even the one after that, for the harsh realities of life.
Whatever their reasons were, they chose to be mentors and role models. After my Dad and Uncles, these men were the people I turned to to find traits to emulate.
We call them now, “The Greatest Generation”….not because every single person of that generation was great. But because there were so many who had greatness thrust upon them by the happenstance of a brutal, yearslong world war.
I can only think of one attribute that all these men shared which equates to being an effective leader. That would be, “Service”. Because while my principal showed leadership in certain ways, my grandmother’s cousin’s husband Dick showed it in an entirely different way. Both had a sphere of influence upon which they exerted control, but they did it in different ways save the one common factor. Both, as well as the others, believed service to those they led was an important facet of leadership.
I reflect upon that today. They served our nation and families during the war, then came home to serve in other ways……quietly and humbly.
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