Death of the Greatest Generation.....

As I sit here, on this Veteran's day, I think back to my Grandparents generation. The "Greatest Generation". Here are my thoughts, as disjointed as they are.

My grandfather lived. And I mean, he REALLY lived. He was a glider pilot during WWII, as well as the Korean war. Let's just cover that for a minute.

During the days of the draft, men had a choice...enlist, and it was likely you could CHOOSE what you wanted to do. Or, you could wait and get drafted, and 99% of the time, you would become a grunt, a.k.a. cannon fodder. Now, I have nothing against the men who waited to get drafted...think about it...could YOU willingly enlist when you KNEW you would be going into brutal war? Exactly.

Anyway, my thoughts are disorganized....back on track....

Imagine yourself back in the early 1940's, the world is at war, and the Japanese have just bombed Pearl Harbor. You're 19. What goes through your head?
My grandfather, like most men, young and old, got angry. We were attacked....without provocation. We were not involved in the war at this point. Why? Why did this happen?

Skip ahead......massive influx of new enlisted men. Men for new divisions. Special forces. Airborne. And of course, the men who were just foot soldiers.
They knew that they were most likely going over there to die. There were over 60 million casualties during WWII. And yet they went anyway.
My grandfather was one of the few who decided to take it one step further. He was an American Kamikaze....aka....a Glider pilot.
He willingly "flew" across enemy lines, with no engine, in a "plane" made of fiberglass and plywood. Carrying troops, carrying supplies, making intel runs.
He knew that most of the men he was friends with would die. He knew it was likely that he would die.
He actually came close a few times.
And yet, he came home.

These are my disjointed thoughts. And at the moment, I have to stop talking about my grandfather. That was just a little background.

We live in a country with no draft. No service is REQUIRED here. Everyone who joins the military does so voluntarily. I don't think i've met 10 people who ENJOY, or EVER enjoyed, being in the military. That's not to say I don't know anyone who does not like it. But imagine 60 years ago......they were heroes.....they were patriots. I doubt they could have IMAGINED EVER posting some of the SHIT that our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan post on Youtube. Sigh, i'm getting off track again.

My point is this. The people who willingly enlist now for the same reasons my grandfather and most of the men of his generation enlisted back then are few. There are VERY few people who now join to make the world a better place. More people join for various reasons, most of which are understandable.....to get money for school(more power to you), because it's that or prison(choices, choices), or just to be able to kill someone who is different from you.

I am the first to admit.....I could never join the military......I'm not a coward....my priorities just lie elsewhere.

Back to my point.....the reasons, for the most part, have changed. I believe that most of our military are good people. But they hold no candle to my grandfathers generation. They were the greatest. They stood for something. What do we stand for? Our generations x, y, z, whatever we are. We're slowly losing the Greatest Generation.....they're old......they're dying.....they're losing what they remember. Talk to them now, before it's too late. LEARN about their experiences. It can only make you a better person. And while I believe it's too late for our generation, maybe we can pass on the values of our grandparents, so that the Greatest Generation doesn't actually have to die, but can be reborn. Maybe we can change the world.


Thanks for reading the randomness that has come from the mess that is my brain to the tips of my fingers punching the keys. Again, sorry for the disjointed, rambling thoughts. And to any veterans or military personnel who read this.....thank you. You do it, so I don't have to.......