End of the "Greatest Generation"

Much has been written about the end of the "Greatest Generation", that being those born between 1900 and 1925, those who saw, in their lifetimes, the titanic struggles of their neighbors in the Great Depression and World War Two, those who saw, in their lifetimes (if they lived through the War) the development of most of the technology that we follow-on generations take for granted. I can't hold a candle to most of the great writers who have gone before, but I'm taking my shot right here.

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Jack Hunt. Jack was born in 1920, and died just over a week ago, 92 years young. His life explains why he was a member of the Greatest Generation, and why that generation WAS the Greatest Generation.

I know Jack as he is the step-father of the wife of one of my best friends, and I have spent some time at his house with those close friends. Jack wasn't a wealthy man, but he followed his generational guidelines and saved a healthy proportion of what he earned, and so, lived out his final years comfortably and helped out his family with great compassion.

Jack was born and raised in coastal southern Oregon, and worked for his father early on. His dad owned a chain of small sawmills and operated them well enough to be able to send Jack to college. Jack attended Oregon State University, where he studied subjects related to the family business, and when he took that business over, after a short interruption called World War Two, he instituted enough new technology in both the physical and business ends of sawmill operations to keep Hunt's mills running through thick and thin, and to endow a scholarship foundation at Oregon Sate.

The Hunt family had always been world travelers, in the grand old traditions of packing the entire family's suitcases, and getting on ships and airplanes and traveling to far corners of the globe just to see how different folks did things differently. Jack himself went back to OSU, and took an advanced degree in Geography. Now, as our good friend Phil can tell you, the discipline of Geography (literally, "the study of Earth") is broad, and essential. It touches on all the physical sciences, and touches deep into the Earth sciences, and that was Jack's interest. As the harvest of timber began to fall off, Jack did some original research on timber production vs. climactic conditions vs. soil conditions. This got the attention of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, strangely enough, which was trying to manage timber-dependent tribes' resources for better benefit of the tribes. The Bureau asked Jack to look into the Warm Springs Tribe's timber operations, and Jack did that, directing improvements which made that growing and milling operation the most efficent mid-sized operation in Oregon, and probably the entire Northwest, where timber used to be King.

Jack was a private pilot, and never lost his love of flying, something essential to timber operators and geographers. When I first met him in the 80's, he was already retired, but decided he wanted to build an airplane. He chose an advanced type of ultra-light to build, and built it in his basement (which had only a man-door for entry and exit). The kit was a monocoque frame, dope-and-fabric covered type, with a pusher engine. It was designed with a removeable one-piece wing and designed for a 25-hp Rotax engine. Jack loved the frame and wing design, the most efficient of the type. He didn't like the Rotax engine, thinking it should have been a bigger engine, so he replaced the 25-hp model with one in the upper 30-hp range, strengthening all the support structure for it as he did so. He didn't like the fact that there was no re-start capability for the engine if it stalled while airborne, thereby requiring un-planned, off-field landings. He developed the first system of an extended rope-starter arrangement which could be pulled on from the pilot's seat. Rotax has since made it pretty much a standard option. He installed an actual instrument panel with the four basic instruments: compass, airspeed indicator, turn-and-slip and rate-of-climb. In the grand tradition of Howard Hughes and the "Spruce Goose", he flew this aircraft once. He transported it to an outlying Portland airport, assembled it, and was conducting taxi tests when the aircraft took off, unplanned. He was at the bitter end of the taxi-way, so he gunned the engine and made a couple of trips around the traffic pattern to test controlability. The airplane flew OK, so he lined up to land it and brought it in over the thresh-hold, cut power, and the aircraft immediately lost controlability, and he crashed. He survived with bumps and bruises and one broken arm, but the aircraft didn't. He sold the pieces and turned in his pilot's license for good.

At the Methodist Funeral yesterday, the Pastor noted that Jack was the last WW2 veteran left in the congregation, and now gone, an era had passed for the Sunnyside Methodist Church. When I heard that, I got a terrible chill, as if I just saw my own end, and the end of everything that's right with this Nation. Yes, Jack Hunt WAS a shining example of the industry, courage and perseverance that got this Nation to it's highest point. My generation was unable to take it higher, and now it is in decline.

Yesterday, I attended two funerals, one for Jack Hunt, and one for my Nation. I am still crying for both entities.

Comments

[Rivrsis]

Perhaps our new generation of war vets will turn out to be great benefactors to the nation. It's too soon to tell.

[Michael Donohue]

I enjoyed your analysis, but you forgot or overlooked one glaring issue. This church like many others of
that denomination and many other Protestant ones embrace and project this "co-pastoring HERESY!" If they
contend that they follow the Bible, it clearly commands that the pastors will only be male and that no
woman should be in a position to teach, correct, or educate over the males in the congregation. However,
most churches ignore this mandate of Christianity in favor of "political correctness" or "gender identity"
issues!!!!

Sincerely in Christ's Name,

Michael Donohue
mpd2810@msn.com

[Justthisguy]

Jerry Pournelle has often said, "Weep for the Republic."

However, he has said just as often, "Despair is a Sin."