A seventeen-year-old who enlisted in the army in 1941 writes to describe the Bataan Death March. Other members of the greatest generation describe their war — in such historic episodes as Guadalcanal, the D-Day invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and Midway — as well as their life on the home front. In this beautiful American family album of stories, reflections, memorabilia, and photographs, history comes alive and is preserved, in people’s own words and through photographs and time lines that commemorate important dates and events. Starting with the Depression and Pearl Harbor, on through the war in Europe and the Pacific, this unusual book preserves a people’s rich historical heritage and the legacy of the heroism of a nation. Praise for The Greatest Generation “Brokaw offers examples of the many virtues he is celebrating: people who distinguished themselves both in battle and on the home front, men who built careers despite being disabled by the war, women who overcame the obstacles that were stacked against them, minorities who used adversity to improve their people’s lives.” —The New York Times “Thoroughly terrific, deeply felt, passionate...The stories Brokaw tells are so powerful that a spell is cast upon the reader, reminding us, in our more cynical and fragmented age, that with enough collective energy and spirit, anything can be accomplished.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin From the Trade Paperback edition. year-old who enlisted in the army in 1941 writes to describe the Bataan Death March. Other members of the greatest generation describe their war in such historic episodes as Guadalcanal, the D-Day invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and Midway as well as their life on the home front. In this beautiful American family album of stories, reflections, memorabilia, and photographs, history comes alive and is preserved, in people s own words and through photographs and time lines that commemorate important dates and events. Starting with the Depression and Pearl Harbor, on through the war in Europe and the Pacific, this unusual book preserves a people s rich historical heritage and the legacy of the heroism of a nation. Tom Brokaw , a native of South Dakota, graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in political science He began his journalism career in Omaha and Atlanta before joining NBC News in 1966. Brokaw was the White House correspondent for NBC News during Watergate, and from 1976 to 1981 he anchored Today on NMC. He’s been the sole anchor and managing director of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw since 1983. Brokaw has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including two Duponts, a Peabody Award, and several Emmys. He is the author of the best —selling books The Greatest Generation and The Greatest Generation Speaks. He lives in New York and Montana. From Part II: The War in Europe At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Europe is a stable, economically prosperous continent where the political and financial communities are engaged in historic cooperation. Six decades ago, however, less than an American lifetime, Europe was deeply divided by Fascist ambitions, ruthless military aggression, and fanatical political allegiance. Poland was the first country to fall, prompting Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany but without rushing to Poland’s side. In 1939 and 1940 Finland fell to the Soviets, who needed a buffer against Germany’s voracious appetite. Germany in turn invaded Norway and Denmark. British and French troops joined Norwegian troops in a stiff initial fight, but the Allies were forced to withdraw by Hitler’s pressures on their own countries. In the spring of 1940, when Germany was making its lightning strikes into the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, the Nazis had 2.2 million troops in uniform, nine motorized divisions, and ten panzer divisions protected by 3,500 combat aircraft. The Allies–France, Great Britain, and the lowland countries–actually had more men in uniform, more tanks, and more than 1,400 combat aircraft. But they had no common defense strategy and no unified political will. By June 1940 German troops controlled Paris, and France was humiliated into accepting a puppet government. Charles de Gaulle, one of the few senior French officials to flee, went to London, where he declared in a broadcast to the French people: “This war has not been settled by the Battle of France. This war is a world war. . . . Whatever happens the flame of resistance must not and will not be extinguished.” Great Britain, however, was not a safe sanctuary. Shortly after defeating France, Hitler began what came to be known as the Battle of Britain, opening with a bombing campaign designed to so diminish British airpower that an invasion would be possible. By then the British had a new, formidable weapon in their arsenal: the bulldog will and powerful rhetoric of Winston Churchill, who had replaced the pliable Neville Chamberlain as prime mi