The Greatest Generation also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II generation commonly refers to those Americans who were born in the 1900s through the 1920s. These individuals have often been described as driven, patriotic and team-players.  Of the 16 million Americans who fought in World War II, only about 167,000 were still alive as of 2022.  Now there are fewer than 100,000 of the Greatest Generation left today in the U.S.

The Greatest Generation was a 1998 book written by former NBC anchor and journalist, Tom Brokaw.  It profiles those who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression and then went on to fight in WWII as well as those whose productivity within the home front during WWII made a decisive material contribution to the war effort.  The book popularized the term Greatest Generation for the name of the cultural generation before the Silent Generation.  

Brokaw profiles those who came of age during WWII in the United States, stemming from his attendance at the D-Day 40th anniversary celebrations.  In the book, Brokaw wrote "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced."  He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was "the right thing to do". 

There's something about a man in uniform.