My great-grandfather served during WWII. Before he died, he once told me the following "Whenever someone tells you about the "Greatest Generation" guard your wallet, and know that you are dealing with a jerk(He used a different word,, but we aren't going to use it here). We weren't the greatest generation. Why? Because it took our children coming along to do something about how people that look like us were treated. I was a part of the ****nal of democracy, but couldn't practice it when the war was over. I fought to keep ***** from conquering the world, but *****(and people that sympathized with them) had more rights in America than I or anyone that looked like me did. I served with people whose families were locked in internment camps, not because they did anything, but because of where their parents were born. I fought not because I loved this country with all my heart but because the alternative was demonstrably worse"
My great-grandfather was ****ed when my grandfather went off to West Point, because he came to believe that it was insane for us to continue to fight and die for people that hated us and only conferred upon us our rightfully earned rights only at gunpoint. Then again, my great grandfather also was someone that came to embrace the ideology of Malcolm, because he grew cynical about this country, especially as men he served with were murdered, fighting for their rights AFTER the war.
I appreciate those that stormed those beaches, but the "Greatest Generation" stuff is just mere propaganda. There is no such thing as a greatest generation. There are ****heels and heroes in every generation, and we should be equally grateful to all of those that answered the call.