[citation needed] The oldest members of this generation came of age at the close of the 1910s in 1919, while the majority had matured during the Roaring Twenties, and the minority had turned 18 during the initial phase of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1932, prior to the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the promulgation of the New Deal.
This fact contributed to the core of this generation holding lifelong left-liberal views in politics, especially on economic issues (many of them joined Communist fronts during the 1930s), although with a few prominent dissenters such as Barry Goldwater.
[citation needed] Richard Arvin Overton (born in 1906), formerly the oldest living World War II veteran, was a member of this generation.
However, all four served in World War II with younger members of the Greatest Generation.
Like their American counterparts, they also served alongside later Greatest Generation members in World War II.