Service, patriotism, history

VFW Magazine, Nov, 2002

According to the Washington Post, 81% of Americans say they are "very proud" of their armed forces (versus 47% who said the same in 1996). Most younger Americans, however, would not serve if called.

When asked if they would volunteer for the military to fight terrorism, only 11% of the female and 24% of the male students (ages 18-24) surveyed answered yes, USA Today reported on Sept. 26.

Perhaps this is so because of the abysmal knowledge of history among our youth. For instance, one study found that more than one-third of high school seniors thought the U.S. allied with fascist Italy, Germany or Japan in WWII. Forty percent of these same seniors could not place the Civil War in the correct half-century.

Historian David McCullough said, "To our shame, we're raising a generation of young Americans who are, to a very large degree, historically illiterate."