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1925-1934: Baby
1935-1944: Tween/Teen
1945-1954: Twenties - Korean War Veterans
Nickname "Greatest Generation". Could this be because the Gen X children had Great Grandparents born in this generation? "Most people of the Greatest Generation are the parents of the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, and, in turn, were the children of the Lost Generation." - Wikipedia
An early usage of the term The Greatest Generation was in 1953 by U.S. Army General James Van Fleet, who had recently retired after his service in World War II and leading the Eighth Army in the Korean War. He spoke to Congress, saying, "The men of the Eighth Army are a magnificent lot, and I have always said the greatest generation of Americans we have ever produced."[2] The term was further popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. In the book, Brokaw profiled American members of this generation who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II, as well as those who contributed to the war effort on the home front. Brokaw wrote that these men and women fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do".[3] This cohort is also referred to as the World War II generation.[4]
The term "G.I. Generation" was first used in 1971 by Alberto M. Camarillo in an article for the academic journal Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, titled "Research note on Chicano community leaders: the GI generation."[5] The initials G.I. refer to American soldiers in World War II. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I. Generation term in their 1991 book Generations: The History of America's Future.[6]
G. I.:
Galvanized Iron
Government Issue
General Issue
Ground Infantry