For Americans of the Greatest Generation that fought World War II and of the Silent Generation that came of age in the 1950s, the great moral and ideological cause was the Cold War. It gave purpose and clarity to our politics and foreign policy, and our lives.

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The greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign policy.

— Ramsey Clark

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Both World War II and the subsequent Cold War gave America's involvement in world affairs a clear focus. The objectives of foreign policy were relatively easy to define, and they could be imbued with high moral content.

— Zbigniew Brzezinski

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I had seen the films out of World War II, the great 82nd Airborne, the 101st, and all of those of you in the greatest generation and the service that you had provided.

— Hugh Shelton

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World War II brought the Greatest Generation together. Vietnam tore the Baby Boomers apart.

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World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.

— Stephen Ambrose

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