“The Greatest Generation” is a term used to describe the generation that was the offspring of the Great Depression and became the adults of World War II (Brokaw). There may be strong reasons why other generations can be considered great. The generation born during the war took on the task of putting man on the Moon. This is perhaps the most important of all human endeavors. They are certainly worthy of being considered great but not the greatest. In fifteen years, America and the world endured the crushing poverty of the Great Depression and the costliest war in all of human history. The tremendous struggles and accomplishments of this generation are what make it the greatest. I intend to show through reason and evidence why this generation deserves the title it has been given. I will focus on the war years as they were the most transformative. The America that emerged from the war was radically different from the one that entered it. We were the most powerful nation left standing. One of the groups I will talk about are those who stayed at home. These people have brought our nation to the pinnacle of industrial production. Thanks to these hard-working people, the United States has provided allied nations with the tools they need to fight and win. I would also like to shed light on those men and women who fought in the war. The US Air Force in the European Theater and my fellow Marines in the Pacific. The United States had begun to rearm in 1940. From 1939 to 1941 the size of the U.S. military grew from 334,473 to 1,801,101, or 538 percent increase. At the end of the war there were over 12,000,000 men in the armed forces ("By the Numbers: The U.S. Army"). The vast majority of those who serve...middle of paper......Apr. 2014. .Register, Jeffrey. "The Pacific War: Strategy, Politics, and the Players Who Won the War. (Book Review)." Parameters September 22, 2009: 18. Print.Staff, History.com. "Rosie the Riveter." History.com. A&E and Web Television Networks. April 6, 2014. .Calze, Craig and Clinton Fernandes. “Airpower and the Myth of Strategic Bombing as Strategy.” Independent Scholars Association of Australia 5.2 (2006): 6-20. Print."GDP of the United States by year." About.com US Economy. InterActive Corp and Web. 6 April 2014. “Uncommon Value: 1940-1945.” The National Museum of the Marine Corps. Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, n.d. Web. 4 April. 2014. .