JANUARY 2024
MY DAD IS A PART OF “THE GREATEST GENERATION”
History has never been a strong interest of mine; however, a few things recently collided and sent me down a different path. My son Blake, now 13, has always been curious about history, especially World War II.
A while back one of Blake’s assignments was to interview an older person about their life. He had to prepare open-ended questions and provide a written summary report for his class. He elected to interview my dad who is approaching 96 years old and is easily the oldest person Blake knows. Although my dad’s memory remains sharp, he doesn’t hear well at all. Blake is aware of this and prepared each question verbally and in writing. Somewhere around question five Blake asked, “Did you serve in World War II?” My dad replied, “Yes, I did. I left high school at 17 and joined the Navy.” Blake followed with, “Did you serve on a ship?” For the first time in my life, I could feel the disappointment in my father’s response. “No”, he said, “I was stationed in Washington DC. I volunteered expecting to join my brothers in battle; however, the government wouldn’t allow me to go overseas because two of my brothers were already fighting.” I never realized he was prohibited from a combat role because his brothers were in active battle. His brothers, John and Steve, both survived D-Day. Blake’s interview with my father left me with questions. I had heard a few stories about the war from my uncles when they were alive, though the tales were brief and the details scarce. I recalled hearing about Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation and decided to read it. The book was written in 1998.
The read was fascinating to me. Brokaw essentially interviewed individuals who served both at home and abroad. Through his interviews Clinician’s Corner by Lisa Guilbault and insights, he painted a picture of the generation that “came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to Danielson Physical Therapist POTS in the Rehab Setting build modern America.” Within the pages, I found a greater understanding and appreciation for 2023 Student Program Recap my parents. The stories, while not my parents’, provided me with a historical framework that undoubtedly shaped the way they approached Employee Spotlight: Lauren MacDonald, Essex PSA some of the “big things” in life. My parents lived through the Great Depression and WWII. Many of the stories Brokaw highlighted in the book reinforced the lifestyle my parents lived. For example: • Marriage: A life-long commitment. They were married 58 years before my mom passed away. • Work: You worked hard to provide for your family to give them a better life than you had. My parents both had small businesses. My mother worked in real estate and my father worked two jobs until he was able to co-own a small neighborhood auto repair shop. He finally retired well into his seventies! • God and Country: My dad still attends church and prays nightly. He is of Polish decent; however, he bleeds the red, white, and blue of an American Patriot.
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For me, the book was a great read. I learned a lot about our country and more about my family than I expected. All of this came from Blake’s interest in World War II and the conversation between him and my dad. I’m grateful that both Blake and I were able to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of my parents and the historical events that shaped their perspectives.
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Thanks, Alan
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