As I see our country continue to spiral rapidly downhill, it’s nice to come across something that provides a brief escape -- back to the days when we were innocent young kids and when everyone loved and stood up for America. A time when we shared common goals, family values, and a culture of work, sacrifice and religion. We bought only things that we could afford, paid the bills and looked for no government “bail-outs.” A time when our fathers, uncles, older brothers, friends and neighbors gladly joined together and went off to war to fight for our freedom. Hundreds of thousands of brave Americans never returned. Although we were just children, it is, nevertheless, an honor and privilege to have lived during that time and been a small part of what Tom Brokaw correctly called “America’s Greatest Generation.”
The clip below captures much of the spirit of what I'm trying to say. In 1940, Kate Smith first introduced her signature song, God Bless America (written 22 years earlier by Irving Berlin but never released) on her weekly national radio broadcast. Of course, it took our patriotic nation by storm. Frank Sinatra said that when the song was first sang on the radio, a million guys got “dust” in their eyes and had to wipe the tears created by this “dust” (American men, especially in those days, were not supposed to show emotions) .
This clip is from the movie “You’re in the Army Now.” If you watch it, I think there’s a good chance you might also develop a little “dust” in your eye. Look for a familiar face near the end of the clip who became quite famous in later life.