God, a Browning and a Long Day

The Daily Reckoning Presents... June 6, 2014 God, a Browning and a Long Day "The whole Earth was shaking," remembers an 89-year-old. He was just 18 on that fateful day... Why they're the "Greatest Generation" and why we're not. A look at what we've done, and our admittedly small contribution to our fellow man's freedom... Plus, a 2001 Bill Bonner classique in honor of D-Day's 70th anniversary. He explains that long day of invasion from the historic sands of Omaha Beach and wonders what it might've been like... Don't Buy -- Sell Did you know that the real money on Wall Street is not made from buying… but from selling? I'm not talking about cashing in a winning stock. No, this is something completely different. And it's so easy, some might call it cheating… even though it's completely legal. It involves two words. That's it -- two words. CLICK HERE to discover the two most lucrative words on Wall Street and the secret of how the real money is made. Baltimore, Md. June 6, 2014 Peter Coyne, remembering Operation Overlord... "It looked like raindrops," recalled the 89-year-old as if he were there again. "The whole Earth was shaking..." "The bullets, artillery, bombs... "We didn't have any cover at all." It was only by God's grace and the barrel of a Browning automatic rifle that he lived to tell the tale. Ross Milianti -- veteran of the 30th Infantry who was deployed for his first time on the beaches of Normandy, 70 years ago today, on D-Day -- is one of a whole generation we're having trouble identifying with today. Yet we admire them. "Let me tell you something,'' Milianti told interviewers, holding back tears. "A soldier is not your buddy. He's your brother. When you see him die, you want to take that German and stab him a million times.'' Your editor is at a disadvantage. We've never been "over there," let alone know what it's like to want to kill a man. And if all goes according to our wishes, we never will. But there's a humility and sincerity that WWII veterans exude despite having being conscripted that we deeply respect... or at least wish we understood. What do we know, though? A computer crash is a crisis for us. We've never dealt with real hardship -- let alone been shot at. From our first day outside the womb, the U.S. has been the dominant force on this planet. Men like Milianti played a part in that. We suppose that's why they're the "Greatest Generation." We, on the other hand, never went a day without good food, luxurious shelter, warm clothing and a caring family. Instead of war, we went to college. We feel small. Like we've hardly done anything for our fellow man. We're no soldier... no public servant... no patriot, even. The idea of America gives us a fuzzy feeling... but we don't even care much for what the U.S. has become. We're not a businessman... or a journalist... or an economist. In fact, we don't know what we do, exactly. We look around at men and markets... think about how absurd they are... and then write. Then we think some more and write that down too. And for some reason, you read it. Thank you, dear reader. Men like Milianti changed the course of history -- and liberated millions. We have to set our bar a lot lower. Liberating one person -- from the Fed, from your elected representatives, from your broker and from your in-laws -- one reckoning at a time, is the best we can do. "Here in Normandy," our founder, Bill Bonner, wrote to us from France yesterday, "the creaky veterans of D-Day are gathered on the coast": "Every heart beats with pride for those who survived. Every eye mists in remembrance of those who didn't. "The French newspaper Le Figaro tells the story of 19 young men from the small town of Bedford, Va., who died on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. "But what were they doing there? What dog did those Virginia farm boys have in the Europeans' fight? The Nazis were awful. But so were the Soviets. The Bedford boys may have helped defeat one group of nasty people... but they contributed to the victory of another. And what for? So America's political elite could throw its weight around on the international stage." It was 14 years ago that Bill wrote from the sands of Omaha Beach, wondering, "How could anyone have gotten to safety across the open beach and up the sandy bluff? And yet they did. By the end of the day on June 6, there were 150,000 troops on the continent. "As Hitler remarked, 'The God of War has gone over to the other side.'" Bill gives the full account in his 2000 classique, below... [On second thought, consider A Man's Right to Happiness, our contribution to our fellow man. No, we're no Ross Milianti, but for $7 -- 165 pages crammed with 101 tips to reclaim your personal liberty, reduce your taxes, keep your privacy, opt out of Obamacare, start your own business and goose your investment returns -- it's the best we can do. Did we mention it's absurdly cheap? Click here to grab your copy now.] "Shocking Secret Behind the 'World's Greatest Investor'" It's a matter of public record that the "world's greatest investor" made over $10 billion off the 2008 financial crisis. But what most Americans don't know is how he did it. Forget value investing, buying shares of Coke or anything else reported in the mainstream press. He made his real money exploiting an 80-year-old mysterious "dividend program" designed for elite executives… You've never seen anything like this. We've just uncovered this incredible story… Click here for full details. The Daily Reckoning Presents... This is one of our "Daily Reckoning Classiques" that Bill Bonner wrote 14 years ago from the sands of Omaha Beach. "How could anyone have gotten to safety across the open beach and up the sandy bluff?" he wonders. Read on... ****************************** A Long Day by Bill Bonner I thought of the famous painting by Norman Rockwell. A deeply furrowed and weathered farmer from out on the plains sits on the runner of his pickup truck, while his son awaits the train. The son is going off to college and is full of the bright expectations of youth. The father is more concerned with how he will get the next crop in without his son's help. The picture appeared to be from the late `30s. There, in section D of the American cemetery, on the bluff overlooking the English Channel, was the simple cross that marked the grave of Nils Wennberg, private first class, from South Dakota. Is that what happened to the boy? I wondered. The 6th and 7th of June, 1944, were black days for the Nindel family of Indiana. The crosses at Omaha Beach record that two Nindel boys, Preston and Robert, died within 24 hours of each other on those two days - two of the nearly 10,000 American casualties. Also of interest was the grave of Jimmie Montcrieth - whose heroism on the 6th of June was so remarkable that he was awarded a Medal of Honor - posthumously. Montcrieth ran from position to position, exposing himself to enemy fire, rallying his troops and managing somehow to advance against the German bunkers. He was killed - but the bunkers were taken. "All I remember," said Stanley, a stout oysterman and carpenter, and D-Day veteran, whom I worked with back in the `60s, "was jumping in the water and running up to the beach. I had never been shot at before. I didn't care for it. Guys were getting shot all around me. And I had so much sh...[gear] hanging off me, I could barely move. But I made it to the beach and crouched behind the dunes and started shooting back. I didn't know what I was shooting at. But I hoped to hell I hit some son of a bitch in a German uniform." "Stanley," I once asked during the terminal phase of the Vietnam War...when the draft lottery numbers were being handed out, "couldn't you have gotten out of it? Didn't you have polio or something?" Stanley had had polio as a child and walked with a limp. "Hell no. I didn't tell them about the polio. Besides I didn't want to be sitting around here with my thumbs up my [bleep] while everybody else was getting their [themselves] shot up. Of course, it was different back then...." I walked along the beach where Stanley must have come ashore. I tried to imagine what it was like. The German's reinforced concrete bunkers are still there. They still look massive, impregnable and unassailable. Today's Internet Is Toast… and Here's What Could Replace It Just think how the Internet has changed everything… and made fortunes… these last 15 or so years. Then imagine what happens when it gets replaced by something nine times bigger. And that's just one of seven exponential wealth events you won't want to miss between now and 2024. Click here for more… How could anyone have gotten to safety across the open beach and up the sandy bluff? And yet, they did. By the end of the day on June 6, there were 150,000 troops on the continent. As Hitler remarked, "The God of War has gone over to the other side." The God of War had indeed changed allegiance. Rommel, in charge of the German defense west of the Seine, committed suicide. His successor, Kluge, followed in his footsteps - shooting himself a few months later. Less obedient to the God of War was von Choltitz, in charge of the German garrison in Paris. Hitler ordered him to destroy the city. But von Choltitz may have been in Paris too long. He disobeyed orders. He surrendered Paris, intact. The American cemetery at Omaha Beach is the setting of the first and last scenes of "Saving Private Ryan." As in the film, there were a number of WWII vets wandering among the crosses and stars of David. Like the father in the Rockwell painting, they wore baseball caps - often with indicators of their military affiliations - and bore the creases of age and hardship. Accompanied by younger relatives, they walked slowly, reverentially. Most were very friendly and open - relaxed, as Americans tend to be. One older guy seemed to be stunned, though. It was as though he was trying so hard to recall something, that he had forgotten where he was and what he was doing. I wondered what they were thinking...and what memories they brought with them. And how things could have changed so much...so that even though these events happened during their lifetimes - it is as if they happened a thousand years ago. I thought, too, about how all the great changes and challenges of our century were over before I was born. The baby boomers have faced nothing like the Depression, or Electrification, or Automobilization, or National Socialism, or WWII. We have had an easy time of it. Let's hope it stays that way. Your very humble correspondent, Bill Bonner for The Daily Reckoning Bill Bonner is the founder of Agora Inc. and cofounder of The Daily Reckoning. He is also a three-time New York Times best selling author. BE SURE TO ADD dr@dailyreckoning.com to your address book. Additional Articles & Commentary: Join the conversation! Follow us on social media: The Daily Reckoning is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Agora Financial delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Daily Reckoning, feel free to click here. Please read our Privacy Statement. 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