Opinion | The 9/11 generation of warriors deserves our respect
- A quarter-century of combat leaves a generation of veterans disconnected from a nation that has moved on.
- Pentagon secrecy and political polarization are burying the human stories behind the 9/11 generation.
- Veteran population plummets to just 6 percent of U.S. adults, creating a dangerous civilian-military divide.
- Calls to honor Fallujah and Tora Bora veterans with the same reverence as the 'Greatest Generation'.
Brief Summary
Martha Raddatz reflects on the 25-year legacy of the post-9/11 wars, highlighting the personal toll on service members like Joshua Webster. While the initial call to arms was clear, the subsequent decades of shifting objectives and messy withdrawals have left the '9/11 generation' of soldiers feeling increasingly isolated from a public that barely acknowledges their sacrifice anymore.
Why This Matters
The shrinking number of veterans means you are statistically less likely to know someone who served, which erodes the national understanding of what these wars actually cost. As the Pentagon clamps down on transparency and political discourse consumes the military's mission, the reality of life in service is being erased from the public consciousness. Recognizing these warriors matters because it forces a confrontation with the reality of our foreign policy consequences and the heavy burden placed on the few who carry the weight of our national security.