What Is the Greatest Generation?

The Greatest Generation is a term used to describe those Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, or whose labor helped win it. The term "the Greatest Generation" is thought to have been coined by former NBC Nightly News anchor and author Tom Brokaw in his book by the same name.

Key Takeaways The Greatest Generation commonly refers to those Americans who were born in the 1900s through the 1920s.

The Greatest Generation members all lived through the Great Depression and many of them fought in World War II.

The Greatest Generation members also tend to be the parents of the Baby Boomer generation.

Understanding the Greatest Generation

There are no precise dates that define when members of the Greatest Generation were born, though many give a range of the early 1900s to the mid-1920s. The common characteristic of Greatest Generation members is that they lived through and experienced the hardships of the Great Depression and later either fought in World War II or worked in the industries that contributed to winning the war.

Newsman Tom Brokaw is often credited with popularizing the term through his book, "The Greatest Generation," which profiled people who came of age during World War II and was inspired by Brokaw's attendance at the 40th-anniversary commemoration of the D-Day invasion of mainland Europe. Brokaw's profiles focused on the soldiers who fought the war, as well as the workers whose labor provided the essential material and services in support of them. The Greatest Generation is also known as the "G.I. Generation" or the "WWII Generation."

In Australia, the Greatest Generation is known as the "Federation Generation."

How Many Remain?

The youngest members of the Greatest Generation, if using 1925 as the last year they were born, would be in their 100s as of the year 2020. Today, there estimated to be around 75,000 centenarians living in the United States.

As for WWII veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2016 there were only about 620,000 left out of the 16 million who served in World War II. About 372 Greatest Generation veterans are lost every day to old age. According to research by the Washington Post, the final member of the Greatest Generation (born in 1927) should die around 2046 at age 119, given advances in health care and improvements in life expectancy.

The Greatest Generation and Other Demographics

Generally speaking, the Greatest Generation are the parents of the "Baby Boomers" and are the children of the "Lost Generation" (those who grew up during or came of age during World War I). They preceded what is known as the "Silent Generation," a cohort born between the mid-1920s to the early-to-mid 1940s. The grandchildren of the Greatest Generation are members of Generation X, Generation Y, and their great-grandchildren tend to be Millennials and Gen Z.

Members of the Greatest Generation currently fall into the "retirees" demographic and are currently collecting Social Security benefits. The differences between generations have been extensively studied and socio-economic models have been created to help plan for future government expenditures and programs to plan for changes in current demographics.