'Greatest Generation' is fading. Barely 50,000 World War II veterans left in California

Dec. 6--Saturday marks the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent entry of America into World War II.

More than 16 million Americans would serve in the military during that war. When the survivors came back, they made new lives and helped start the baby boom.

By 1970, about 1.4 million World War II veterans called California home. As of 2018, there were barely 50,000 still living in the state, new census estimates show.

World War II veterans have always been held in high esteem. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, 97 percent of Americans thought the United States' subsequent declaration of war was justified, according to Gallup. Nearly 65 years later, 90 percent of Americans considered World War II as a just war.

An 18-year-old who enlisted in 1945 -- the waning days of the war -- would be around 92 years old today.

Just since 2010, California has lost more than 150,000 World War II veterans, or nearly 20,000 a year. In Sacramento County, the number of World War II veterans has fallen from roughly 8,500 in 2010 to about 2,400 today, census estimates show.

Phillip Reese is The Bee's data specialist and teaches at Sacramento State: 916-321-1137

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