"The Greatest Generation?" Noted Historian Questions Label in Lawrence Lecture

APPLETON, WIS. -- The servicemen of World War II have been hailed by Tom Brokaw and Steven Ambrose as America's "greatest generation" but in an upcoming address at Lawrence University, noted historian Gary Gerstle questions whether a generation that perpetuated racial inequality and exclusion is deserving of such high praise.

Gerstle, professor of history and director of the Center for Historical Studies at the University of Maryland, presents "Why Are There No Black Soldiers in 'Saving Private Ryan'? Race and Nation and Twentieth-Century America," Thursday, April 25 at 4:15 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102 on the Lawrence campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Using Stephen Spielberg's award-winning movie about the heroism and unity of American soldiers on D-Day and its aftermath, Gerstle will examine the issue of racial segregation in the U.S. military during World War II. Although there were several thousand black troops stationed in Great Britain at the time, almost no blacks took part in the landing on the beaches of Normandy. As a result of their absence, Gerstle argues blacks were subsequently denied the opportunity to partake of the honor that went to white servicemen for defending America in its hour of peril.

A specialist on immigration, race and labor in 20th-century America, Gerstle has written extensively on those subjects, including the books "American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century," which received the 2001 Saloutos Prize for the best book on immigration history, "E Pluribus Unum? Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation," and "Working-Class Americanism: The Politics of Labor in a Textile City."