The Greatest Generation Comes Home (review)

Once soldiers are discharged from service, the military historian typically loses interest in them. However, the study of veterans' affairs is crucial to understanding the overall impact of military service on individuals, as well as the connections between war and society. In recent years, a small but enlightening body of scholarship has emerged on the history of veterans. A welcome addition to this literature is The Greatest Generation Comes Home by Michael Gambone.

Gambone argues that the return of sixteen million World War II veterans was one of the central problems Americans faced at mid-century, yet one most historians "gloss over" (p. 11). "The broad array of places where the veterans touched America after World War II deserve to be integrated into one complete story," he contends (p. 13). He focuses his narrative on two questions: "How did sixteen million veterans come home after World War II?" (p. 11), and "how did these veterans change America?" The second question, he believes, "might be one of the most rewarding and untouched segments of twentieth-century American history" (p. 12).

The author builds on the growing body of scholarship on World War II veterans. He explores familiar topics like the GI Bill of Rights—the one aspect of the World War II veterans' experience that has been studied in detail—but devotes most of the work to social and cultural issues. One chapter covers women veterans, for example. A chapter on minorities focuses on African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Latinos. Another explores depictions of veterans in film, from The Best Years of Our Lives to Saving Private Ryan. He even includes a chapter on "retreads" pressed back into service for the Korean War.

Given the vastness of the topic and the dearth of scholarship on it, providing a "complete" narrative of the World War II veteran is perhaps too lofty a goal. Readers will note many topics the author might have covered more fully. Despite his focus on culture, for example, Gambone does not provide a detailed discussion of veterans' organizations and reunions. The chapter on minorities omits Native Americans. Nevertheless, Gambone argues convincingly that veterans influenced postwar society and culture in numerous ways not fully appreciated. For example, he notes that having fought against Hitler's racism, it became harder to deny civil rights to minority veterans—nor would these veterans tolerate second-class status any longer. For anyone interested in the history of veterans and their connection to society at large, this book is essential.

With the ongoing campaigns in the Middle East, Gambone's work is also timely. Unless historians pay more attention to veterans' affairs, the successes and failures of past attempts to reintegrate veterans back into society will be incompletely understood, forcing lawmakers to reinvent the wheel for each new generation of veterans. Gambone's work ensures that the lessons of history's greatest war will not be lost. One hopes others will follow his lead and contribute to an even deeper understanding of the veteran in history.