Writing Fiction About the Greatest Generation

I have one piece where I was writing fiction about the Greatest Generation. It’s a short story called Three Minutes Back in Time.

The Greatest Generation’s earlier years are dominated by the Great Depression and the Second World War. When writing fiction about the Greatest Generation, particularly when writing about them as younger people, you really can’t avoid WWII.

And for characters from the Midwest, you should be at least mentioning the Dust Bowl.

Fact and Fiction About The Greatest Generation or GI Generation (1901 – 1927)

Every generation consists of a range of years, and some ranges will have more going on in them than others. Of course! Therefore, this information is meant to cover some of the bigger changes and news stories from the time.

If you think I’ve missed something big, feel free to let me know in the comments.

These events are mainly going to be America-centric or at least from a US POV. There is a lot more to the world than the United States, but I didn’t want to write a novel-length blog post!

So, let’s look at some pivotal moments, to help inform us when writing fiction about the Greatest Generation.

The GI Generation Turns 18 (1919 – 1945)

Of course, the two biggest events during this time frame are the Great Depression and the Second World War. And given when the oldest people in this generation turn 18, WWII looms extremely large for this group. Particularly because these people just missed fighting in WWI.

But there were plenty of other events during this time frame. For example, in 1919, this time period starts off with a bang as Prohibition begins in the United States. Also in 1919, Congress passes the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

This time frame ends with two major events—the end of the Second World War and the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

His successor, Harry S. Truman, drops the atomic bomb on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only time nuclear weapons have been used in combat. So far.

The Greatest Generation Turns 25 (1926 – 1952)

As this time frame begins, Gertrude Ederle swims the English Channel. And a newfangled technology called television is first demonstrated.

Naturally, WWII and the Great Depression dominate the middle of this period.

And as this time period concludes, Queen Elizabeth II succeeds her father. In the following year she will be crowned Queen of England. Evita Peron dies.

The first hydrogen bomb is detonated, and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is published in an English language translation.

The GI Generation Turns 35 (1936 – 1962)

As this time period starts, so do the Berlin Olympic games. This is also the year when King Edward VIII abdicates the British throne.

As before, the dominant event of the time is the Second World War.

This time frame concludes with the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK announces that the United States will go to the moon, and Marilyn Monroe dies.

The Greatest Generation Turns 65 (1966 – 1995)

When this time frame starts, Leonid Brezhnev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union, the Beatles play in Candlestick Park in San Francisco in their final live touring concert, and people celebrate the first Kwaanzaa.

The Vietnam War and its aftermath dominate this time period. Operation Desert Storm happens toward the end of this time frame.

By the time this period ends, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols have bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, and President Clinton announces the resumption of relations between the United States and Vietnam.

And former professional football player OJ Simpson is tried for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

When I’m Writing Fiction About the Greatest Generation

So, here are my characters from the Greatest Generation. Apart from Rosemary Parker and James Warren, a grandfather of Dr. Mei-Lin Quan from Mettle is born in 1926. Mei-Lin recalls him still referring to Taiwan as Formosa. The island’s name officially changed in 1949.

In addition, in The Duck in the Seat Cushion, main character MJ Tanner’s father, Walter Tanner, is born in 1924. Five of his nine siblings are born before him and they all perish before reaching maturity. Another two born after him also fit in the generation and die young.

Walt’s two other siblings are born too late for this generation. As one of just two of his parents’ ten children, and a survivor of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, Walt is a defeatist at times, but also down to earth and practical.

Takeaways for Writing Fiction About the Greatest Generation

When writing fiction about the Greatest Generation, the two world wars are like the elephants in the room. The second more than the first, but these people were teenagers during the Great War. So, don’t forget about it.

When writing them later in life, keep in mind that they need to adjust their way of thinking to the Computer Age at a rather late age, often in their forties or older.

Unlike for many later generations, computers and the internet are not second nature, and these folks may even resent those technological advances.

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Want more about writing fiction about current generations? Then be sure to check out my thoughts on multigenerational fiction writing and the other blog posts in this series:

• The Greatest Generation
† The Silent Generation
• Early Boomers
† Generation Jones
• Generation X
† Millennials AKA Generation Y
• Generation Z AKA Zoomers
† Generation Alpha