Four years later as the war wound to


its bloody conclusion, both Germany and Japan lay in near total devastation. Al- most all major cities were in ruin; trans- portation centers decimated; the men were either dead or in prisoner of war camps; governments had ceased to ex- ist. The only order that existed was by the point of the rifle held by the conquer- ing armies.


In world history what came next had


been as predictable as night following day, and one had to look only as far back as to the end of the First World War to see a perfect example:


The conquerors picked through the


ruins and carried home anything of value leaving the vanquished with nothing to eat and no seed crop to plant other than the bitter seeds of hatred. Those seeds needed only one generation to grow and blossom into the Third Reich.


While much of the world urged busi-


ness as usual in dealing with our defeat- ed enemies, American statesmen, led by President Truman, recommended a different approach, and under what be- came known as the Marshall Plan, gave aid to their former enemies and helped rebuild both Germany and Japan.


While millions of their fellow soldiers


came home, an army of occupation re- mained behind in both Germany and Japan. They would help their former foes not only rebuild their countries but plant the seeds of


friendship which have


blossomed into more than seventy years of peace and created new trading part- ners and allies.


Those that came home could have


spent the rest of their lives doing menial work and reminiscing about their glory days, but instead they went to college un- der the G. I. Bill and then set about turn- ing the United States into the most pros- perous country on earth. New, affordable, housing developments were built, and suburban living became a reality. The fifties gave birth to the notion that any- thing was possible. In their spare time this generation built the Interstate High- way system. Seemingly everyone could afford a car and a television; a few fami- lies had two of each. Life was good.


In October of 1957, everything


changed as the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite called Sputnik. The American public was told that the USSR now had or would soon have the capability to drop nuclear bombs on American cities from space and that we were incapable of stopping them.


This generation that had survived The


Great Depression, fought the war, and won the peace was now nearing middle age and dominated the work force in America. These same veterans that had returned to school after the war were now scientists, engineers, technicians, and builders. They would bear the heavy lift- ing in America’s attempt to not only catch, but surpass the Soviet Union’s lead in the space race.


And the men that would ride atop the


rockets that would be blasted into space in pursuit of the Soviets were all part of this magnificent generation.


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