
Remembering D-Day 80 Years Later
06/05/24 • 51 min
2 Listeners
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 160,000 troops participated in the invasion of Normandy. Today just a few thousand of these veterans are still alive, with the youngest in their late nineties. As their voices, and those of the million combatants and leaders who swept into motion across Europe 80 years ago, fall silent and pass from living history, Garrett Graff has captured and compiled them in a new book: When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day.
Drawing on his project of sifting through and synthesizing 5,000 oral histories, today Garrett takes us back to what was arguably the most consequential day in modern history and helps unpack the truly epic sweep of the operation, which was hard to fathom even then, and has become even more difficult to grasp with the passage of time. We talk about how unbelievably involved the planning process for D-Day was, stories you may never have heard before, a couple of the myths around D-Day, and the sacrificial heroism born of this event that continues to live on.
Resources Related to the Podcast
- AoM Podcast Episode #1: We Who Are Alive and Remain
- AoM Article: The 70th Anniversary of D-Day — Remembrances from the Brave Men Who Were There
- AoM Podcast #514: Remembering D-Day 75 Years Later
- The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw
- AoM Article: How Eisenhwoer Made the D-Day Decision
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff
Connect With Garrett Graff
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 160,000 troops participated in the invasion of Normandy. Today just a few thousand of these veterans are still alive, with the youngest in their late nineties. As their voices, and those of the million combatants and leaders who swept into motion across Europe 80 years ago, fall silent and pass from living history, Garrett Graff has captured and compiled them in a new book: When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day.
Drawing on his project of sifting through and synthesizing 5,000 oral histories, today Garrett takes us back to what was arguably the most consequential day in modern history and helps unpack the truly epic sweep of the operation, which was hard to fathom even then, and has become even more difficult to grasp with the passage of time. We talk about how unbelievably involved the planning process for D-Day was, stories you may never have heard before, a couple of the myths around D-Day, and the sacrificial heroism born of this event that continues to live on.
Resources Related to the Podcast
- AoM Podcast Episode #1: We Who Are Alive and Remain
- AoM Article: The 70th Anniversary of D-Day — Remembrances from the Brave Men Who Were There
- AoM Podcast #514: Remembering D-Day 75 Years Later
- The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw
- AoM Article: How Eisenhwoer Made the D-Day Decision
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff
Connect With Garrett Graff
Previous Episode

Why You're So Bad at Giving and Receiving Compliments (And How to Fix That)
Over a decade ago, I remember reading a story that stuck with me. I think it was connected to the famous Harvard Study on Adult Development that studied a group of men across their lifetimes, but I can no longer find the reference. A much-beloved doctor, upon his retirement, was given a notebook filled with letters of praise and appreciation from his patients. After he received it, he put it up in his attic, and never opened it or read the letters.
I've often thought of this story since I first heard it, wondering about what motivated the doctor's behavior, and the larger question of why praise is typically welcomed and makes us feel good, but can also make people feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
In today's episode, I take a stab at answering this question with Christopher Littlefield, a speaker and consultant who specializes in employee appreciation. But first, we talk about the power of recognition, why we can be so stingy in giving compliments, how compliments can go wrong, and how we can offer them more effectively. We then turn to why getting compliments can make you cringe, how people deflect them and how this deflection affects relationships, and how to get better at receiving compliments graciously.
Resources Related to the Podcast
- AoM Article:Why and How to Offer More Compliments
- AoM Article: How to Accept a Compliment With Class
- AoM Article: How to Avoid Giving a Backhanded Compliment
- Sunday Firesides: Compliment Deflection Is Gift Denial
- Sunday Firesides: Give Them the Cream
- HBR Article: Do Compliments Make You Cringe? Here’s Why by Christopher Littlefield
Connect With Christopher Littlefield
Next Episode

The Laws of Connection — The Scientific Secrets of Building Stronger Relationships
Everyone has heard about the incredible benefits that come to mind, body, and spirit from having strong relationships. The quality of our social ties has a huge impact on our physical and mental health and our overall feeling of flourishing.
Yet many people still struggle to create these strong relationships in their lives, and often figure that things like weakening communities and digital technology are to blame.
But my guest says that the barriers to establishing bonds with others may actually be more psychological than physical, and he shares research-backed tips for breaking through them in his new book, The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network. Today on the show, David discusses how we can feel lonely even when we're surrounded by people if we don't have what he calls a "shared reality." We then discuss ways to build that shared reality with others. We talk about why frenemies are so bad for you, how to overcome the "liking gap," why you might want to interrupt someone to connect with them, the need to be aware of the novelty penalty in conversations, why you should stop telling white lies, and much more.
Resources Related to the Podcast
- David's previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #803 — How Your Expectations Can Change Your Life
- AoM Article: Why Ambivalent Relationships Are Terrible for You (And How to Deal With Them)
- AoM Podcast #949: Envy — Unpacking The Emotion No One Likes to Talk About
Connect With David Robson
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