On the Greatest Generation

Who am I to judge you?

I have never stormed a beach.

Who am I to know hardship?

I have never lived through a depression.

Who am I to know exhaustion?

I have never marched across a country.

Who am I to know fear?

I have never been shot at by hostile soldiers.

Who am I to know glory?

I have never witnessed good surmount evil.

Who am I to you?

You, who at my age was crossing the Rhine.

You, who--while I bemoan homework--found time,

even at war, to study and learn.

You, first in your family to attend college.

You! You traveled the world,

to South America and Europe,

you lived in Panama and Venezuela,

you met your wife in Puerto Rico.

You ran a business, you owned a home,

you raised my father and uncles, you retired,

and surrounded by your loving family,

you died.

Who am I to you?

Your grandson,

who can only ever hope to be 

a tenth of the man you were.