Fred Pride: The Man Who's Seen It All

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Fred Pride: The Man Who’s Seen It All “We saved America.” These are the words of Fred Pride, recounting the contribution he and his fellow American servicemen and servicewomen made when called upon to defend their country after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. What made the greatest generation? According to Fred Pride, “We came out of hard times, and we made it.” We made it, as Americans, young men, and family men. In the 20th century there were many different major historical changes that helped develop the United States that we see today, such as World War II, the hippie movement in the sixties, the space race and other technological achievements. Growing up in the Depression, Fred Pride spent most of his childhood on his own. He was raised in a household of females, two sisters and three …show more content…

Wanda was with another guy, but as time went by, Fred began driving Wanda around on his motorcycle because Wanda’s boyfriend’s motorcycle had broken down. As the friendship between Fred and Wanda grew, Fred found that he liked Wanda. As he got to know her better, he began to like her more than a little. Eventually, Fred and Wanda married, and as Fred recounts, “We’ve been married for 68 years.” Another hobby that Fred Pride enjoyed was racing cars after he left military service. When asked about it he responded “I had a 1941 ford and I decided to make a racer out of it.” It turned out to be quite the project he took out the windows and the seats then put in a seat belt then he was ready to go. He then took it to a local race track and started racing he even went out some state for some of his races. Overall he loved racing and he turned out to have a love for cars in general after that. When asked what was the best and most memorable experience of their relationship, his wife Wanda Pride replied that just getting to know each other had more long lasting meaning for her than any one