PRESS RELEASES

Honoring The Greatest Generation

5/20/2005

WASHINGTON -- My emotions are deeply touched each time I visit the World War II Memorial, located on The Mall.

I'm often reminded of President Roosevelt's words inscribed on the memorial.

Roosevelt eloquently described the role that American women--and men who worked on the home front as well-- played in World War II when he said:

"They have given their sons to the military services. They have stoked the furnaces and hurried the factory wheels. They have made the planes and welded the tanks, riveted the ships and rolled the shells."

This quote appropriately acknowledges those who worked on the home front to defeat The Great Depression, which plagued their own towns and communities.

And although no names are mentioned, Roosevelt's words epitomize what journalist Tom Brokaw rightfully labeled "The Greatest Generation."

This quote reminds me of my own father's contributions to his nation.

My father didn't fight in the trenches on Asian soil or crash the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

Instead, like so many others working on the home front, he made his contributions to his nation by building airplanes that were used to win the last great World War.

My brother, Randy Alexander, a pilot, and I often wonder how many planes our father helped build during WW II.

My father may have left his hand prints on hundreds of planes that came off the factory floors in Memphis and New Orleans, which took to the skies to save American lives.

But nearly six decades later, our WW II veterans are dying at a rate of 2,000 per day, according to recent studies.

With each death, a part of oral history dies as well.

This saddens me.

As a child, I remember vividly listening to family and friends talk about fighting and serving during WW II.

Some of those stories were living testaments to true heroism and bravery, while others were about going to work in the factories, building weapons and ammunitions for GI's fighting overseas.

But all tasks, whether performed on the battlefield or in the factories, were pivotal to saving the United States.

When I talk to my parents' generation these days, I notice something today's society doesn't exude: selflessness.

Before my father passed away, I often heard his stories about rationing sugar, gasoline, fuel and tires.

There were so many hardships that my mother and father faced, but they overcame them as our nation overcame "fear itself."

I'm grateful to "The Greatest Generation," and each time that I run into a World War II veteran or a senior citizen who stayed and worked on the home front, I say "thank you."

I thank them for their sacrifices, heroism and bravery, and for the example that they left for all generations to come.

There will never be enough room in the world to build all the monuments for all the members of "The Greatest Generation," so we will look to words of President Roosevelt to remind us of all they did.

I encourage all to journey to Washington, D.C. and to read Roosevelt's words inscribed on the memorial's wall.

After all, those words sum up a generation that left an indelible touch on world history.

And I'm grateful.

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Contact: Adam Terry
(202) 225-8490

 

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