This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

This is CBS, I on the World.

I'm John Batchelor.

The 6th of June, 2025, the 6th of June, 1944.

I welcome Colonel Jeff McCawson, United States Army retired, CBS News, visiting Professor Dickinson College, Diamond Sixth Leadership and Strategy.

Jeff has a wail of a story from the 5th of June, 1944.

I mentioned with the joy of this is that it is generally my experience because of my

father that the veterans don't talk much about what happened. They skip it, but Jeff's got a story

that is magnificently iconic. Jeff, a very good evening to introduce us to the 101st

Airborne on the afternoon and evening of the 5th of June. Fifth of June, 1944. You're right, John.

That was supposed to be the invasion day, actually, but had been postponed one day, you may

recall, because of the weather.

Preparations are in place.

Eisenhower will spend the day traveling from unit to unit, pilots, paratroopers, landing craft, sailors,

just to talk to the troops by their presence and suggested them,

despite the mass complexity of this operation, that this was going to work, really

demonstrating, I think, a key aspect of leadership, that the organization will be no more

optimistic than you are, and Ike was doing that. You'll recall, of course, the iconic photograph,

Eisenhower standing in a group of soldiers, the 101st Airborne Division, the young brother

slender lieutenant in the foreground.

His name was Wally Strobel, and I had a great pleasure of meeting Wally Stroble back in 1991

...