Leadership Stories
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Two Clicks
An afternoon in Needham, Massachusetts, with the children of WWII veterans, and perspectives on D-Day 82 years later.
Smart Just Got Cheap
Intelligence is now infrastructure. Wisdom and judgment are not. What Eisenhower's D-Day decision says about the age of AI.
Leadership Under Fire: The Secret of Richard Winters' Calm
On D-Day, with plans in pieces, Richard Winters steadied his men and moved. His secret was presence: calm is contagious.
WWII as a Guide to Corporate Decision-Making
What does a war fought eighty years ago have to do with your company? John points to Eisenhower before D-Day and Nimitz at Midway.
A Handshake with History: Remembering the Bedford Boys
In Bedford, Virginia, John shook hands with the sister of a soldier killed on Omaha Beach, then found her at her brother's grave.
How You Can Honor Our D-Day Veterans
On the 79th anniversary of D-Day, John offers practical ways to honor the veterans while some are still here to thank.
FDR's Radio Address: Prayer on D-Day, June 6, 1944
On the night of June 6, 1944, Franklin Roosevelt didn't give a speech. He led the nation in prayer. John on why it mattered.
Ike's Example: Making Tough Decisions with Imperfect Information
At Eisenhower's statue in Bayeux, John reflects on the hardest call of the war, made on an uncertain weather forecast.
WN62: Two German Soldiers Who Fought on D-Day, and Escaped
From a bunker above Omaha Beach, two young German soldiers fired on the Americans coming ashore. John on WN62 and the enemy's view of D-Day.
Photos of Sainte-Mere-Eglise during the Battle of Normandy
A destroyed assault gun on the N13, a Norman farmer and an MP, a French girl at a soldier's grave. John shares photographs of Sainte-Mere-Eglise in 1944.
Normandy American Cemetery
Above Omaha Beach, 9,387 Americans rest facing home. John explains why every Normandy trip should start here.
PFC Bill Tucker's Recorded Account of Actions at Ste. Mere Eglise
"We had no thought of failure." John shares Bill Tucker's own recorded account of jumping into Sainte-Mere-Eglise with the 505th.
From Omaha Beach to Berlin: Earnest Thomas "E.T." Roberts
First off his landing craft at Omaha Beach, he lost everything in the surf. E.T. Roberts fought on for 29 months and didn't speak of it for fifty years.
Chester "Chet" B. Hansen: General Omar Bradley's Aide, Diarist (and Personal Scout on D-Day)
Major Chet Hansen kept a diary at Omar Bradley's elbow and went toward Omaha Beach to find out what was happening. John on the aide history almost forgot.
D-Day: 75 Years Later
On the 75th anniversary, John recalls the men who landed in Normandy and the leaders who got them off the beach.