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Members of the G.I. generation are high achievers, fearless but not reckless, patriotic, idealistic, and morally consciences. This generation produced America's first astronauts, Nobel laureates, legendary movie stars, and political leaders. Many members have been label heroes for their outstanding accomplishments. The initials "G.I." stand for general issue or government issue. Throughout the G.I. life cycle, the federal government has directed and supported its members with new programs and departments. The G.I. generation learned early on in life how to be a good team player putting their trust in government, authority and community. A generation of "doers' and "believers," many achieved a higher standard of living and education than their parents. G.I.'s are survivors of the great depression - easily made happy with a good job, mild future, and a little house for family.

Three most popular names
Male: Robert, James, John
Female: Mary, Betty, Barbara
www.charm.net/~shack/name/historic.html

Adult height rose by one inch from previous generation

A dollar in 1924 is equal to $9.47 in 1998
www.aier.org

Popular movies
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front
1937 Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
1939 Gone with the Wind
1940 The Grapes of Wrath
1940 Fantasia
1946 It's A Wonderful Life
1951 The African Queen

Contributing Members
Birth	Name	(Death)
1901	Walt Disney	(1966)
1902	Charles Lindbergh	(1974)
1902	John Steinbeck	(1968)
1903	Bob Hope
1907	John Wayne	(1979)
1908	Jimmy Stewart	(1998)
1914	Joe DiMaggio
1918	Billy Graham
1922	Judy Garland	(1969)
1911	Ronald Reagan
1913	Richard Nixon	(1997)
1917	John F. Kennedy	(1963)
1924	George Bush
1903	George Orwell	(1950)
1906	Leonid Brezhnev	(1982)
1917	Ferdinand Marcos	(1989)
1916	Walter Cronkite
1924	Lee Iacocca

Cultural Achievements
The Grapes of Wrath book - John Steinbeck
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film - Walt Disney
In the Mood music - Glenn Miller Band
The Honeymooners TV show - Jackie Gleason
West Side Story film - Leonard Bernstein

Charles Lindbergh
During 1927, Charles Lindbergh completes first transatlantic flight. Capt. Lindbergh flew 3,600 miles in the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris in 33 hours, 29 minutes. In 1936 Charles Lindbergh and Alexis Carrel worked with experiments to prove that the body could be kept alive with the use of substitutes for blood and artificial supplies for blood. From these experiment results Carrel produced the Lindbergh Machine - or rather the perfusion pump. This perfusion pump supplies blood to the organs of the body, keeping those organs alive. This perfusion pump would later lead to improvements that would permit open-heart surgery, artificial hearts, and organ transplants.

The Great Depression - Black Thursday
In 1929 was the Stock Market Crash. In the three years after the crash the U.S. national income fell by half. Farms were sold, businesses folded, banks failed, and unemployment skyrocketed. Millions of the G.I. generation suffered hardships of unemployment and hunger. Many children were not in school but were forced to work for low wages in sweatshops.
www.scruz.net/~kangaroo/the_great_Depression.html

Pearl Harbor
Japanese bombers struck the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii during 1941. Almost 2400 people were killed as a result of the attack. President Roosevelt called it "a date which will live in infamy". The following day the United States declared war on Japan.

Radio
The main source of amusement was the radio. By 1931, 85% of the U.S. population owned a radio. In the early afternoon, programs of romantic adventure like "The Guiding Light" and "Ma Perkins" were broadcast. In the late afternoon, adventure stories like "The Lone Ranger" and "Green Hornet" were popular. Stars such as Bob Hope, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Orson Welles, Jack Benny, and Eddie Cantor provided variety programs and dramas for evening listening.

Movies
Americans facing economic depression at home turned to the movies to help them forget their troubles. Walt Disney, with his creativity, and Roy Disney, with his shrewd business sense, released two movies - The Three Little Pigs and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, entertaining thousands through economically difficult times.

Babe Ruth
The great bambino, the sultan of swat, George Herman Ruth was a legend. The Babe was the ultimate in sports heroes, he was everything the crowd called for - loud, happy, and people friendly, this man was a living legend. With a record of sixty home runs in one season for the New York Yankees (1927), Ruth was an idol to most baseball fans and inspired many youngsters to do like Ruth, chewing tobacco and playing ball. The Babe gave hope to young members of the G.I. Generation everywhere, street urchins and the like, for he was once like them, a near orphan abandoned by his parents at the orphanage only to rise to fame and fortune when he was discovered to have an amazing talent for playing baseball. Ruth, never forgetting his roots, often would stop by orphanages and hospitals to visit the children and spend time with them.
www.baberuth.com

Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey was considered an authority on heavyweight boxing. Being the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926, Dempsey fought with his head as well as with his hands. Dempsey's defeat by Gene Tunney in 1927 led to his fighting in exhibition fights. This Manassa Mauler was considered to be the perfect boxer of his time and would be considered as the best boxer ever, years after he had retired from the ring. In his retirement Dempsey pursued business interests, opening up a successful restaurant in New York City. Dempsey was often found at the restaurant giving customers photo opportunities and signing menus years after he had retired, Dempsey was still considered a champ to many and a sign of hope to those who had lost hope during the Depression. Dempsey would later go on to become the director of the U.S. Coast Guard's physical-fitness program during the Second World War, no doubt an inspiration to many marines and soldiers to fight with both their head and hands.

All men have fears
But the brave put down their fears
and go forward
Sometimes to death,
But always to Victory.

~ Motto of the King's Guard, Ancient Greece

Boy and Girl Scouts Founded
The G.I. Generation were the first group of children to experience the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts were first started in Great Britain when Robert Baden Powell organized a camp for 20 boys. A British boy scout helped D. Boyce, an American businessman, find his way in the London fog and as a result Mr. Boyce founded the scouts in America in 1910. Mr. Powell's sister Agnes started the Girl Guides program in 1909 which became the Girl Scouts.

Typical household and neighborhood
Technological developments added to the nation's well being. The use of alternating electric currents allow electricity to be transmitted over great distances to outlying suburbs and farms. Between 1913 and 1927 their was approximately a 500 percent increase of electricity to households. Households could now become equipped with refrigerators, toasters, electric irons, and stoves. Radio became part of the living room furniture.

Retail stores started to appear in the neighborhood. Frank W. Woolworth's five and tens had set the pattern of buying goods in large quantities. Sear, Roebuck and Company had a large mail order business supplying customers all over the country.

Love affair with the car
The mass production of Henry Ford's model T in the 1900's started the popular interest in cars. In 1928 the Ford's Model A, a well designed four cylinder automobile with standard stick gearshift, became a popular item.

Music and Dance
Jazz was a big part of the music scene. George Gershwin produced hit songs like "Swanee" and "Rhapsody in Blue". Louis Armstrong dazzled his audiences with a strong beat on his trumpet. His improvised melodies and singing influenced Jazz across America and around the world.
www.jass.com

Fashion
Women had gained the right to vote in 1920 and fashion reflected their achievements. Short haircuts swept the nations in a cut called the "bob." The cut was short hair with a boylish look. It was sensible, healthy, and neat. Shirt lengths went just above the knee. Corset which constricted the waist were thrown into the trash along with layers of petticoats. Some felt women's fashion was a symptom of moral decay while others regarded it as a symbol of freedom and progress.

The 1920's, Jazz Age, was an explosion of wailing sounds, fast rhythms, color, and energetic dancing. This was a decade of flappers and a period of escapism. Women's casual wear consisted of flappers sometimes with fur trim and artificial silk textile, turban, and a cigarette holder. Women could also wear tweed and wool jerseys, cloche hats, garters, and frocks. Women's formal wear usually was long, draping, and exposing either the neck, shoulders, or back. It was also decorated with metal bead embroidery or ostrich plumes. Women's bathing suits were usually two piece. The top was a V-neck shirt and the bottom was a normal length pair of shorts. Women's shoes had low heels and sometimes had buckles or buttons. Men's casual wear consisted of lace up shoes, knee socks, knickers, long sleeved sweater, collar shirt, tie, and a hat that rested upon their head. Men would wear "Oxford bags", wide leg trousers. Gentlemen would wear suits, double breasted vest and double breasted overcoat, and a tie. Men's formal wear consisted of stiff-winged collar, white bow tie, white pointed vest, tails, and a top hat.

The 1930's began with the depression. Many people were poor and few were rich. Designers reduced their prices and produced more practical clothes. Fashion, beauty, and glamour were still important aspects of everyday life for many people however. Women's fashion of this decade were stylish and elegant. Many women could not afford the luxury of new clothes so they simply added new fabric or fur to their hems. They could also add new material to their collars or sleeves. Long narrow skirts flared out to the lower calf. Women grew long hair and wore skull hats attached to a draping fabric which hid one eye. The sleeves were now full length. There was a cheap mass production of affordable clothes. Women started wearing little black dresses, sweaters, pearls, blazers, pants, and hats. Teens would wear ponytails, blue jeans rolled to the knee, oversized men's shirts, bobby sox, ankle bracelets, saddle shoes, and felt poodle skirts. Girls' bathing suits were either one piece with shorts style and sleeveless top or bikini with a shorts bottom. Men would wear pants with a sweater or jacket top. There would either be a T-shirt or collared shirt with a tie underneath their other clothes. This is what men would wear when dressing casual. For formal wear men would wear the typical suit which consisted of pants, jacket, collared shirt, vest, and tie. Boy's bathing suits were a pair of tight fitting shorts. In the 1940's fashion was not that big of a deal for the public. The style was largely unchanged from its previous couple of years. In the early 1940's a woman's figure usually consisted of wide padded shoulders, naturally narrow waists, thin hips, knee length skirts, along with a pair of wedged heels. Women wore hats that tipped over their foreheads or that laid on the back of their head. During the war, many factory working women wore scarves or turbans instead of hats. Women's knitted or crocheted "Snoods" were worn with fashionable neck length long hair. Women's evening gowns were usually couture. The gowns would usually be long and off the shoulder or sleeveless which gave it a classic and timeless design. Teenage girls would wear bobby sox, pleated skirts, sweaters, round collars, tied back hair, and sometimes penny loafers. When it was time to hit the beach or pool women would wear a two piece bathing suit or a one piece bathing suit. In both suits the bottom portion is boy cut (really short shorts). Men's wear in the 1940's was also largely unchanged from the previous years. Men usually had broad square shoulders, narrow hips and waists. This let their figure look like an inverted triangle. They would also war heavy shoes. Men would usually wear a suit with a hat. Sometimes if they wanted to dress casually they would wear pants with a T-shirt. Men wore boy cut (really short shorts) when swimming.

Freon
(1930) Freon is discovered. The compound freon was used as a coolant for refrigerators and air conditioners. Thomas Midgley, Jr., found this compound to be stable and non toxic, meaning it would be safe for people to use. It would only be during the seventies, that scientists would discover freon (a chlorofluorocarbon - CFC) is harmful to the environment and contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer (the earth's protective layer of ozone - a form of oxygen that has three molecules - it filters out the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays and keeps the earth from overheating).

Deuterium
(1931) Deuterium is discovered. An isotope of hydrogen (meaning a form of hydrogen - it has a different number of neutrons than what the typical hydrogen atom has) containing only one neutron, deuterium was dubbed "heavy hydrogen" by it's discoverer American chemist Harold Urey. This isotope deuterium would be used to trace radioactive material in biochemical reactions in living tissues and would be a major factor in the making of nuclear bombs and reactors.

Model of Atom

(1932) Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist, who would go on to work with the Nazi regime and secretly thwart their plans to create nuclear weapons by slowing their work on creating effective weapons, produces a model of the atom. This modified model would contain both the protons and neutrons at the nucleus with the electrons orbiting around the nucleus. Heisenberg also proposed the theory of exchange forces which were what held the atom's nucleus together.
www.cormedia.com/css/

Vitamin C
(1933) The first synthetic vitamin C is produced. Tadeusz Reichstein produces the first synthesized vitamin C. It was also at this same time that Walter Haworth synthesized vitamin C, naming it ascorbic acid. This feat helped to bring about the change of synthesizing other vitamins that further led to the ability to produce synthesized vitamins in mass production and eliminate vitamin-deficiency diseases.
www.cforyourself.com/

Radioactivity
(1934) Irene and Frédéric Joliot Curie induce radioactivity using artificial means. The two used bombardment that released particles. This release of particles transformed one element into another. In another part of the world, Enrico Fermi (Italian-American nuclear physicist) used atoms to bombard uranium in hopes of creating new elements.

Richter Scale
(1935) Seismologist Charles F. Richter develops a means of rating the size of an earthquake. Named the Richter Scale after it's creator, it measured the intensity of earthquakes with a nine-point geological scale. Each point on the scale was ten times stronger than that of the point before it. This Richter scale would prove to be an excellent means of comparing and studying earthquakes.
library.advanced.org/12151/

Turing Machine
(1937) The "Turing Machine" is published. Alan Turing, British mathematician and logician, published his paper on the "Turing Machine" a theoretical machine that would analyze and identify problems that could be solved using logical machines (using mathematics). His analysis of the theoretical "Turing Machine" would be used in developing the modern day computer.

Panzerkampfwagen
(1938) The Panzerkampfwagen is developed. Able to travel ten times faster than early World War One British tanks, these German engineered tanks would be a deadly weapon come the Second World War. Hailed "panzer" units, the tanks came in assorted models and sizes - each being as dangerous as the last.

Nuclear Chain Reaction
(1939) Possibility for a nuclear chain reaction is realized. Once more we meet up with our friends Frederic and Irene Joliot-Curie who have been experimenting with making a nuclear fission process that could last on its own for a reasonable amount of time - nuclear chain reaction. The pair stopped their experimenting with the fall of France in 1940, only to smuggle their heavy water (deuterium which can be used with nuclear fission) and hide their store of uranium. Both Irene and Frederic returned to fight against the Nazis in the secret French group the Resistance.

Choose a person below to read their interview:

• Anonymous Male Age 78, born 1920