By Clyde Noel

At 62, Tom Brokaw retains his boyish good looks, but you see a little more salt than pepper in his hair.

Speaking before a sold-out Flint Center for the Foothill College Celebrity Forum on Dec. 6, his voice was surprisingly deep and resonant, much lower than he projects when delivering the NBC nightly news.

Brokaw selected comments from his two best-selling books, “A Long Way From Home” and “The Greatest Generation,” but the major point of his message was welcome to the new world of terrorism.

“Our freedoms have been restricted; the economy is no longer the trust fund where everyone cashes in; and patriotism and citizenship have been renewed as fundamental values,” Brokaw said. “Terrorism is no longer an abstract but a terrible reality and a continuing threat.”

On Dec. 6, Brokaw said younger generations are witnessing a war unlike previous wars and must face challenges unlike any the world has ever seen.

“We only saw protected sunny skies before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks; but that day changed everything and we went from peace to war,” Brokaw said. “Young people can take a lesson from the World War II generation which returned and discovered public service and selflessness.”

Brokaw recounted meeting a young firefighter in New York after attending a funeral. The firefighter vowed, “Mr. Brokaw, you watch my generation now.”

Brokaw recalled his own front-row exposure to terrorism when he received a letter from Trenton and it was opened by his assistant, Erin O’Connor. It contained an anthrax-tainted approach to terrorism and caused chaos in his world and office. It cost $3 million to sanitize the NBC newsroom.

“We have to work harder to understand our enemy. They are enraged by our entitlements and do not have our economic and cultural background,” Brokaw said. “How much is authentic, I don’t know; but young Muslims will continue their fight among us. It is a battle for our hearts and minds. By 2025, the Islam faith will be the predominant faith in the world.”

Many events from Dec. 7, 1941, to the present helped forge current history and formed the “hinge” generation. It wasn’t the greatest generation, in his estimation. There were rogues, racism and gender discrimination during that time, as well as atrocities.

“But there was a strong sense of loyalty to each other and a common ground of duty and honor because the stakes were so high,” he said.

Brokaw spoke of parts of his life, recounted in his latest book, “A Long Way From Home.”

It is openly pronounced in his writing and obvious in his commentary that Brokaw has been affected by the values of love, affection and a strong family life.

“The torch has been passed to a new generation,” Brokaw said. “It is lit again and in Churchill’s words, “This is the end of the beginning.’ We are in the same position now.”

During the question and answer period, Brokaw was asked which public figure he’d covered was most memorable and impressed him the most.

“Gorbachev’s influence over (mitigating) oppression and communism is influential and I still keep in touch with him. I think Ronald Reagan in his way was a man who had enormous presence. I covered him in 1966 when he first ran for governor of California and I learned to take him seriously early on as a major force in American politics,” Brokaw said. “Having said that, I don’t know their names, but the people who stick out in my mind over more than 30 years are the small, brave people that you and I have never heard from again.”