Fred Manske
April 6, 1923 - December 25, 2011
The Last Great Generation 07.14.2009
I was recently having a conversation with a friend that I have known for several years. We usually talk old Fords and Mercury's, but this time was different. We talked Life. Fred is 85 years old and I asked him about his early years. I asked if he was in the war, and he said "Oh yes, I was a B-17 pilot and flew 30 missions over Germany." I was dumbfounded. As we talked, he proceeded to tell me numerous stories. Stories about different missions, being stationed near the Memphis Belle and how one time he and his crew made it back to England with the nose of their plane blown off. I asked him if he had any pictures and he said he did, and a few days later he brought them by. They were amazing pictures that were stuffed in an old envelope. As we looked at the tattered old pictures, I could tell that there were many memories in those images and it seemed like a lifetime ago for him. And yes, the nose of his plane was blown off, with a picture to prove it.
I have always had a deep respect for the men and women of his generation. From the time I was a little boy, I was fascinated at the stories I heard from my grandparents about how it was growing up as a child in the Great Depression and then how things were during the war. Stories from my grandmother about how things were in the home front; the scrap metal and rubber drives, the war bonds, war ration books, and V-mail. Stories from my grandfather about being overseas in the Army; chasing Rommel and the Germans out of North Africa, anti-aircraft searchlights, close calls, French villagers, a confiscated Luger, and the longing for the tobacco my grandmother would send from the states. My grandmother kept all of the V-mail correspondence that she and my grandfather had written. Reading a few letters like that and trying to imagine what they were going through will definitely put your life and current situations into perspective.
After their military service, many of the World War 2 veterans came home and helped to rebuild the nation in one form or another. Some came home and continued building onto hot rodding’s small but strong foundation that was abandoned during the war. They made the hot rods, the customs, the speed equipment, the associations, and the magazines that we still admire to this day. Names like Wally Parks, Ed Iskenderian, Sam Barris, Robert Peterson, and Alex Xydias just to mention a few. Not to mention the thousands of young innovative veterans all across America building cars in their garage. They built them with a purpose and with a freedom that they understood the true cost of.
People from this generation that are still alive, don't wear their life on their sleeve or go around bragging about it or pointing fingers at the whining, more selfish generations that have come since theirs. As most of them put it, they “did what we had to do”, or “did the best we could”. I often wonder how they feel about the current state of the country that they fought so hard for and about the attitudes of the generations that followed theirs.
If you have never taken the time to hear stories from people who lived through the Great Depression or World War 2, then you are missing out. They truly are The Last Great Generation. It is true that our country has had many great generations throughout its history, but in my opinion none since these men and women and none in the foreseeable future. They were alive in extraordinary times, made amazing sacrifices and had a hope and a unity as a nation that I don’t think this country will see again in my lifetime. The divides and rifts since have seemed only to grow deeper and wider. I hope and pray that our younger generations to come will prove me wrong. As the saying goes; United we stand, divided we fall.
Godspeed Fred. You will be missed.
