Greatest Generation
My father would often mention to me the sobering statistic that every day nearly 500 World War II veterans pass away. Last month, at the age of 92, my father became one of those people. He was just a 20-year-old kid from Brooklyn when he joined the Army in 1943.
He was among the many valiant and selfless young men who enlisted in the service to save the world from tyranny.
I’m reminded of his stories about the Veterans Day Parade in New York City when, as a child, he saw Civil War veterans marching.
Those men are long gone, as are our World War I vets. They are now but pages in history books. Sadly, that will soon be the fate of our World War II vets.
We are rapidly losing these men and women, these heroes of the Greatest Generation. We may never see their likes again. My father was buried with full military honors. The flag was draped and taps was played.
We will be hearing more of that now. And soon, for these patriots, we will hear it no more.
Rob Teitler,
Weston
This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Greatest Generation."