Oshkosh 2023 Live: The Greatest Generation | WWII Veterans And Their Memories

The Greatest Generation. Interviews and memories of WWII veterans.
Maj. John ‘Lucky’ Luckadoo, 101 years old, member of the “Bloody Hundredth”, and B-17 pilot.
Lt. Carl Verbanac, 99 years old.
Staff Sgt. Robert Holmstrom, 97 years old.
The Greatest Generation refers to those Americans born between 1900 and 1925, many of whom fought during World War II. These individuals grew up during WWI and lived through the Great Depression and are often the parents of the Baby Boomer generation. All of this has led these people to be characterized by a great deal of patriotism, commitment to work and family, frugal lifestyles, and motivation to work hard to succeed. The term itself was popularized by a book by newsman Tom Brokaw, entitled The Greatest Generation, which was first published in 1998.
The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II Generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The generation is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. They were shaped by the Great Depression and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II. Most people of the Greatest Generation are the parents of the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, and, in turn, were the children of the Lost Generation.

An early usage of the term The Greatest Generation was in 1953 by U.S. Army General James Van Fleet, who had recently retired after his service in World War II and leading the Eighth Army in the Korean War. He spoke to Congress, saying, “The men of the Eighth Army are a magnificent lot, and I have always said the greatest generation of Americans we have ever produced.” The term was further popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. In the book, Brokaw profiled American members of this generation who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II, as well as those who contributed to the war effort on the home front. Brokaw wrote that these men and women fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the “right thing to do”.This cohort is also referred to as the World War II generation.

The term “G.I. Generation” was first used in 1971 by Alberto M. Camarillo in an article for the academic journal Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, titled “Research note on Chicano community leaders: the GI generation.” The initials G.I. refer to American soldiers in World War II. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I. Generation term in their 1991 book Generations: The History of America’s Future.

General characteristics

Crew: 5 (one pilot, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner)
Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.13 m)
Wingspan: 67 ft 7 in (20.60 m)
Height: 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m)
Wing area: 618 sq ft (57.4 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23017; tip: NACA 4409R
Empty weight: 19,480 lb (8,836 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,876 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,700 hp (1,300 kW) each
Performance

Maximum speed: 272 mph (438 km/h, 236 kn) at 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h, 200 kn)
Range: 1,350 mi (2,170 km, 1,170 nmi)
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m)
Armament
Guns: 12–18 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 75 mm (2.95 in) T13E1 cannon
Hardpoints: 2,000 lb (900 kg) ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedo
Rockets: racks for eight 5 in (127 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR)
Bombs: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) bombs

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