Tom Brokaw said it was the "greatest generation." That WWII brought out the best in many of those who served is unquestionable. Consider the Princeton honors graduate, drafted at age 32, who initially failed the weight requirement for the Army Air Force. He weighed in at 143 lbs - falling five pounds short of the weight requirement for his height of 6' 4". He remained undeterred. Over the protestations of his boss - he was a valuable employee - he convinced an enlistment officer to "forget to weigh me" on his next test after winning an appeal for another chance. He accepted his salary of $21 per month with out complaint, though it fell significantly short of his civilian salary of $12,000 per month. Despite being a Princeton grad, he entered service as a private, but his flying experience soon landed him in training as a flight cadet. That cadet was Jimmy Stewart. His story is compelling - but no more so than the stories of so many others.

Brokaw said, "They faced great odds and a late start, but they did not protest. At a time in their lives when their days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting..."
I grew up, with my contemporaries, unaware of the sacrifices and the great personal price so many of our parents paid. I watched my generation with youthful arrogance declare, "if it feels good, do it." We only wanted a life of freedom while having no real conception of what real freedom is or the cost paid by those in our home or next door or down the street to secure the freedom we enjoy.