6/8/24 - Weekend Listening from Intercontinental Exchange

Thirty years ago, on June 6, 1994, my interaction three D-Day veterans -- Joe Dawson, Bob Slaughter, and Walt Ehlers -- changed my view of the world they once saved.

Dawson, Slaughter and Ehlers have long since passed away, but around 200 of their band of brothers -- average age: 100 -- returned to Normandy this week to mark the 80th anniversary of their triumph. “The eyes of the world are upon you,” Gen. Dwight Eisenhower wrote in his Order of the Day on June 6, 1944. They did not let the Supreme Allied Commander down.

This year, for those vets spry enough to land in France once again, a Delta Air Lines 767 (NYSE: DL) provided the airlift in lieu of a Douglas C-47. In collaboration with the Best Defense Foundation , Delta CEO Ed Bastian greeted each veteran as they deplaned their charter flight from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Deauville-Normandy Airport.

This week capped a long salute to the Greatest Generation. For us at the NYSE, it began with a Whiskey Wednesday presentation of THE EYES OF THE WORLD in our Board Room. The May 8 event, held on the anniversary of V.E. Day, re-told the harrowing story of the 11 months from the landings on Omaha Beach to the Fall of Berlin. Archival imagery and music of the World War II era, combined with heart-wrenching narration, reminded our guests of the incalculable sacrifice of Americans to liberate Europe and restore freedom and democracy.

The American generation of men and women who saved the world came from every state of the Union and every demographic group. Winding over 3,000 miles from New York City to San Francisco, the Lincoln Highway, conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, makes its way through 13 states of that union from sea to shining sea.

Attempting to rediscover the ties that bind us, Frank Barry and his wife, Laurel, got behind the wheel of a 2017 Winnebago RV (NYSE: WGO) to traverse the Lincoln Highway, guided by Lincoln’s words. “The mystic chords of memory,” the president said in his first inaugural address, “will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

On this week of remembrance and reflection, Frank joined me to talk about his new book, BACK ROADS AND BETTER ANGELS, for this week’s episode of Inside the ICE House.

The view from the Lincoln Highway:

• BACK ROADS AND BETTER ANGELS: Frank Barry’s Journey into the Heart of American Democracy Driven by a desire to explore the ties that bind and the divides that separate 330 million Americans, Frank Barry embarked on a seven-month, 10,000-mile journey across the Lincoln Highway, witnessing firsthand the resilience and fragility of our democracy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Four years later, Frank goes Inside the ICE House to reflect on the experiences of everyday citizens he encountered and the echoes of the Civil War era reverberating in our modern-day political discourse.

If you’re on a smart phone, all of our Inside the ICE House podcast episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts, including the Apple Podcast App, Spotify, and Stitcher, and other audio platforms. Feel free to reach out to me with any feedback about our show, or suggest any guests for future episodes.