D-Day just passed on June 6 with little fanfare as a day to remember on some calendars — such an understatement. D-Day, the day the Allies invaded Nazi-held Europe, was the largest gamble of the free world in history. Germany, Italy and Japan held most of the world in totalitarian control. The US, Canada, Britain and Australia were the lone major countries that stood in the way of total world domination by an axis of evil. Even with the U.S., Britain was soon to fall due to the advance of warfare technology of ballistic missiles. Japan had attacked our naval fleet and was taking China and South East Asia at will. Then came D-Day.
It was successful due to intrigue, logistics and bravery of the free world's fighting force. What if the invasion had failed? The results would have been years of delay in the end of the war — the Germans would have had the 'bomb' and a delivery system even we did not have. There would have been a truce agreement similar to North and South Korea who are in reality still at war. Most agree North America would have been an isolated stand-alone, as the free world.
We had an agricultural system that fed ourselves, our troops and a lot of the world. What if we no longer exported food to a world who was our enemy? Would we have needed the large corn, wheat and soybean farms of today? What if we no longer had any food imports? Would the mix of food production have changed in nature as we replaced the lost imports? Would the landscape of farm machinery be different?
Probably vastly different, as the influence of European machinery would have vanished and the tractors from Japan, Asia and Korea would be absent. Rural lifestyle dealers might have been the dealers who carried the load of smaller more diversified agriculture enterprises. We certainly would not have to worry about tariff and balance of trade issues. We could 'what if' ourselves to ad nauseum thinking about the possibilities. Thank goodness we don't have those scenarios due to the brave men and women who had the right stuff, put their brains and brawn to work and were successful in victory over those who do not like our freedoms and way of life.
D-Day should be remembered by more than just a 30-second sound bite on the national news broadcasts. Thanks to D-Day our farmers still feed ourselves and a lot of a hungry world that would otherwise fall victim to one of those 'what ifs.'
Let us not forget what we owe to the Greatest Generation.
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Told from the perspective of an in-the-trenches owner/operator — Tim Brannon of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn. — Equipment Dealer Tips, Tales & Takeaways shares knowledge, experiences and tips/lessons with fellow rural equipment dealerships throughout North America. Covering all aspects required of an equipment dealership general manager, Brannon will inform, entertain and provide a teachable moment for current — and future — leaders within equipment dealerships. |
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