In the company of a military historian, gain a deeper understanding of the monumental feat of strategy and valor known as Operation Overlord. In England, learn about the “behind the scenes” preparations for D-Day, then cross the channel to France and visit the beaches and villages of Normandy where brave soldiers changed the course of World War II.
D-Day: A Journey from England to France Commemorating the 80th Anniversary
9 days from $7,795
In the company of a military historian, gain a deeper understanding of the monumental feat of strategy and valor known as Operation Overlord. In England, learn about the “behind the scenes” preparations for D-Day, then cross the channel to France and visit the beaches and villages of Normandy where brave soldiers changed the course of World War II.
Tour Details
TOUR BROCHURE
brochureWHAT OUR TRAVELERS SAY
- Kevin M.This was a wonderful tour. Our guides brought D-Day alive for us, giving us a taste of what those men faced in 1944. My only regret is that the tour was not longer.
- Paul S.This was a fantastic journey, excellent guides, well planned. As an extra bonus, we got to meet WWII veterans on the boat from England to France and that was thrilling.
JOURNEYS DISPATCHES
Experts
Chris Ketcherside
Chris Ketcherside is a professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he has had the opportunity to turn his lifelong passion for military history into his profession. Among his publications, he has co-authored a book on the U.S. Rangers in WWII. He attained his PhD at Saint Louis University, focusing on U.S. military history and civil relations.
He previously served in the Marine Corps, where he became a practiced expert in amphibious operations and conducted several battlefield staff rides.
Steve Mrozek
The former National Historian of the 82nd Airborne Division Association for over twenty years, Steve Mrozek had the rare opportunity to interview many of 82nd’s WWII veterans. Steve is the author and contributor of several books related to airborne warfare and has had an extensive historical museum career. As a paratrooper himself with over 100 parachute jumps to his credit, he retired from a 26-year career in the Army, which included a tour with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. Steve brings a special insight into the soldier's experience and began leading battlefield tours to tell the stories of those who fought there.
Flint Whitlock
Flint Whitlock is an award-winning author of dozens of magazine articles and nine books related to World War II, including two detailing the D-Day operation. He is Editor of WWII Quarterly magazine and a frequent keynote speaker and history presenter. Flint is a former U.S. Army officer and son of a WWII veteran.
Mitch Yockelson
MITCH YOCKELSON is an Archives Specialist with the National Archives and Records Administration. Additionally, Mitch is a professor of military history at Norwich University and the author of many books, articles and reviews. His latest book, The Paratrooper Generals: Matthew Ridgway, Maxwell Taylor, and the American Airborne from D-Day through the Normandy Campaign was published by Stackpole in 2020.
Mitch regularly leads battlefield tours and frequently lectures on military history, including Smithsonian Resident Associates. He has been featured on 60 Minutes, PBS and C-SPAN, as well as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post.
Mitch lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Paul Sanders
Dr. Paul Sanders is an Anglo-German historian and leadership scholar with special expertise in World War II. Paul obtained his PhD from Cambridge University and he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (London). His major published works are "The Ultimate Sacrifice", a book on British Channel Islanders in Hitler's prisons and concentration camps (3rd edition, 2018, first published in 1998), "History of the Black Market 1940-1946" (2001, in French), "The British Channel Islands under German Occupation 1940-1945" (2005), and "Protest, Defiance and Resistance - Channel Islands 1940-1945" (co-published, 2014). He lectures on a broad range of subjects and is currently engaged in research projects on RAF Bomber Command and the Holocaust in Hungary. Previously, Paul served as deputy director of the Central Registry of Information on Looted Cultural Property 1933-1945 and as official historian of the island of Jersey. In 2010 he advised the UK Department of Communities and Local Government in conjunction with the British Heroes of the Holocaust award. One of the accounts he researched for "The Ultimate Sacrifice" was turned into a major film, "Another Mother's Son" (released in March 2017).
Keith Huxen
Dr. Keith Huxen is a historian and Project Officer working in support of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, where he is part of a team tasked with finding, identifying, and repatriating the remains of fallen service members from America’s wars from World War II to the present.
While serving as the Senior Director of Research and History at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, he worked to create and develop the historical exhibits in the museum’s US Freedom Pavilion: the Boeing Center pavilion, the Road to Berlin, the Road to Tokyo, and the Arsenal of Democracy permanent exhibit galleries, served as curator for the special exhibit Manufacturing Victory, and managed the collection of thousands of oral histories with World War II veterans by staff historians.
Dr. Huxen created an original lecture course designed for lifelong learners, “World War II: Up Close and Personal,” released in 2021 by The Great Courses (formally Wondrium). He holds a PhD degree in American history from George Washington University, specializing in the diplomatic, military and international history of the twentieth century, and has taught at Arizona State University, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University.
John O'Shea
Colonel John O’Shea, USA (Retired) is a 31-year military veteran who has organized and directed battlefield tours at Normandy and Gettysburg. When on active duty, and while assigned to the U.S. Army War College, he led the Strategic Outreach Program joining business and academic leaders with the senior Army leadership to exchange best practices. Colonel O’Shea is an expert in leader development, organizational learning, and transformation and growth. He is a qualified Infantry officer, military strategist, and parachutist. Colonel O’Shea uses battlefield tours as demonstration of the immutable and timeless principles of leadership.