Before they were called the “Greatest Generation,” some men and women of the Tyrone area were still in school when they were called to serve their country on two sides of the world.
The Tyrone area produced its own greatest generation; it went into the branches of the armed forces while the families helped in the war effort state-side.
The Tyrone area gave to the United States, at a period in the nation’s history when they were needed most, brothers and sisters together in ranks, together in branches, and together in service.
The phrase “America’s Greatest Generation” was actually coined by a journalist to describe the men and women who grew up in the Great Depression and fought argueably the country’s greatest war, World War II.
NBC TV news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book back in 1998 with the same title. Brokaw visited Normandy, in 1984 to prepare for a 40th anniversary documentary on the D-day invasion, which was the beginning of the end of Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich.
He then visited the site again, 10 years later in 1994, and has said that through talking with veterans, he came to understand what the generations of Americans, those who grow up during the Great Depression and World War II, meant to the history of the United States.
Brokaw said he believed the generation’s “common purpose and common values of duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself” made it the “greatest generation any society has ever produced.”
The Daily Herald, in a specially-produced tabloid, wants to show every picture and salute every member of the Greatest Generation in the greater Tyrone area, including Bellwood, Warriors Mark, and the surrounding area.
If you, or a loved one served in any branch of the armed forces in World War II, we want to hear from you, so that we can include them in this special project.
Please stop by the offices of The Daily Herald at 1067 Pennsylvania Avenue, next to the Tyrone Post Office, and bring in your military photograph.
We’ll have a form to fill out with bio information on each person, and we will simply scan and return the photograph to you, unharmed in a few days.
Deadline for the photos is Friday, June 4 at 4 p.m.
The “Greatest Generation of the Tyrone Area” will be published and inserted into a June edition of The Daily Herald, just prior to the Fourth of July, as America celebrates our independence.
We look forward to seeing and meeting all of you.
