Conclusion

Abstract

This quote from a veteran of the Vietnam War, in its criticism of the ex-servicemen of World War II, in many ways supports the heroic understanding that most Americans have of the “Good War” and the men who fought it. But the ex-soldier found the unity of purpose that is a hallmark of the image of World War II veterans to be a negative aspect of the earlier generation; one that inspires conformity and repression rather than acclaim. In supporting the development of the cold war consensus of the 1950s, he implied that World War II vets helped to foster the homogeneity of American cultural and intellectual life. This soldier of another, more controversial war also articulated the popular notion that the return of the World War II veteran was a simple process accomplished without debate or difficulty. The supposed ease of World War II veterans’ return to civilian life, and the unanimity of their postwar opinion, further bolsters their already heroic image while it degrades the accomplishments of soldiers of other wars that can never measure up to the Greatest Generation.

I would rather deal with a nonvet than a World War II vet…. The “World War II Generation” came out with this attitude. The way to take care of yourself is to fit in with the team. It’s worked good for us. It should work good for you. If you don’t want to fit in, there’s something wrong with you. If you don’t want to loud enough, we’ll cut your water off…. That’s what they did in the McCarthy period. They purged all the guys who didn’t fit in. That’s why we didn’t hear any criticism about the country when we went to school in the fifties. Everybody was a team player.¹