I had read somewhere that several prominent historians consider this country to have 3 great generations . All the greatest I think . The first was that of our founding fathers and independence . The second was the Civil War generation where they forged their way west and settled the land under difficult situations as well as the war . The third was as discussed, the children of the depression and WW2. My later father was a WW2 vet, so I am biased but the other two for sure as well.