Surviving Life After War

After World War II, many men came back to their homes with no idea how to live their lives after the war. Since so many had gone away as very young men, they had no education beyond high school and no real skills that would market them to the jobs they wanted.

In The Best Years of Our Lives, we watch as these men, young and old, return after four or more years of fighting and try to reconnect with the family and friends they had left behind. In Al's case, he had left two young children when he went to war, and he returns to find that they have both grown up. One of the challenges he faces is learning to relate to them as young people instead of as children.

Fred, on the other hand, had gotten married just as he was leaving...