Day 1 – Flight to Paris

Day 2 – Normandy
Flights from the U.S. should arrive in the Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) early in the morning. We will designate an area for the group to meet and once we are all gathered, we will travel to Normandy, arriving in the afternoon. In the evening we will have a Welcome Reception and dinner, and your tour historian will give an overview of the tour ahead.

Day 3 – Normandy
“Wherever You Land, Make Your Way to
Ste.-Mère-Église”
Our day will begin with a visit to the drop zone of the 508th PIR, followed by the site where a small band of paratroopers ambushed and killed German General Falley. After viewing the scene of the savage fighting on Hill 30, we will continue on to Chef-du-Pont. The group will proceed to the areas where most of the 507th PIR troopers landed, then to Amfresville, followed by the location of the great stand at Timmes’ Orchard, and also a stop at Cauquigny at the western end of the La Fière Causeway. We will continue on to eastern end of the causeway, where the 505th PIR gallantly stopped German armor moving to attack Utah Beach. Next we go to the 505th PIR drop zone, before driving to Ste.-Mère-Église and we will learn how the 505th PIR captured and then defended it. Before touring the glider landing zones, we will visit the Airborne Museum, and learn about the fighting to capture the west end of the La Fière Causeway.

Day 4 – Normandy
“My God, Matt, Can’t Anything Stop These Men?”
The morning starts on the route of the June 13, 1944 attack to capture St.-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. We will visit the sites of the assault crossings of the Douve River by the 508th PIR and 325th GIR, and the towns south of the Douve that saw hard fighting such as Cretteville, Coigny, and Baupte, La Quenauderie, Vindefontaine, and Pretot. Tour Graignes, where a small group of paratroopers fought valiantly for six days against overwhelming odds, and where the division fought for Hill 131, Hill 95, and the La Poterie Ridge.

Day 5 – Gosnay
From Normandy we will stop to visit the famed Pointe du Hoc, where the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled sheer cliffs on June 6, 1944 to knock out German artillery. Then see the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach, made famous by the movie Saving Private Ryan. Our final stop will be at the American Cemetery overlooking the eastern end of Omaha Beach. We will take this time to pay our respects to the deceased at the hundreds of crosses and stars of David.

Day 6 – Nijmegen
“Put Us Down in Holland or Put Us Down in Hell”
We depart Gosnay and begin our drive to Nijmegen, driving along “Hell’s Highway”. This route starts in Eindhoven and ends in Arnhem and was the only highway that connected the cities at the time. There were several bridges along this highway that had to be captured and seized by the 101st and 82nd Divisions in order for the highway to be safely traveled. As we travel along this highway, we will listen to some of the difficulties the men had to overcome, and stop at a few key spots along the way. In the afternoon we will visit the National Liberation Museum for an overview of the campaign while viewing a diorama of the battlefields.

Day 7 –Nijmegen
“The Nijmegen Bridge Must Be Taken Today;
At the Latest, Tomorrow”
We will start our day at the Grave bridge to learn the story of its heroic capture, followed by the 504th PIR’s drop zone, and the capture of the critical bridge across the Maas-Waal Canal. Next we will see the 505th PIR’s drop zone, the area between Mook and Plasmolen, which was the critical objective of Groesbeek and the site of Sergeant Clarence Prage’s heroic action on September 17. See the site of the 508th PIR’s drop zone, the high ground at Beek and Berg en Dal, and the route taken by the 1st Battalion, 508th PIR to attempt to capture the Nijmegen highway bridge on September 17. We will tour the scene of courageous counterattacks to secure the landing zones for the gliders, even as they landed on the afternoon of September 18, visiting the locations of Sergeant Leonard Funk’s heroic action and where Lieutenant Anthony Stefanich was killed.

Day 8 – Ardennes
“I’ve Never Seen a More Gallant Action”
In the morning, our group will follow the routes and learn how the 2nd Battalion, 505th PIR attacked the highway and railroad bridge in Nijmegen, and visit the site where Lieutenant Waverly Wray was killed. Next, we will visit the site where the epic crossing of the Waal River was launched by the 504th PIR in plywood and canvas boats, immortalized in the movie A Bridge Too Far. Then we’re off to Hunner Park and the Valkhof for the story of the attack by the 2nd Battalion, 505th PIR to capture the southern end of the highway bridge.

In the afternoon, we will cross the Waal River and visit the site where the 504th PIR landed and attacked the dike road. We will hear of the capture of Fort Hof Van Holland, followed by the stories of the seizure of the northern ends of the railroad and highway bridges. Our day ends by touring the locations of the fighting at the railroad trestle, and the story of the action by Private John Towle, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Day 9 – Ardennes
“I’m The 82nd Airborne and This Is as Far as the Bastards Are Going”
After breakfast, we will visit Cheneux where, during the Battle of the Bulge, elements of the 504th PIR handed the 1st SS Panzer Division’s infamous Kampfgruppe Peiper its first defeat. Next we will spend some time learning about the Battle of the Bulge by touring the December 44 Museum in La Gleize, and viewing its massive German Mark VI Tiger II tank on display. We’ll tour the perimeter held by the division against elements of the three German SS panzer divisions and a Volksturm division. Last on the agenda for the day is a visit to the site of the gallant stand east of Trois Ponts, where we will see the foxholes of Company E, 505th PIR.

Day 10 – Ardennes    
“Well Colonel, The Old Guys Got It Today”
Our tour today has us traveling on to Rochelinval, Grand Halleux, Vielsalm, Rencheux, and Baraque-de-Fraiture, to learn of the gallant stands by troopers of the 82nd. We will visit the line held from December 25 to January 2, including the scene of German attacks at Tri-le-Chesling and Erria. We’ll visit the sites of the bloody attacks by the division from January 3 – 7,1945 at Mont-de-Fosse, St. Jacques, Fosse, Reharmont, Noirfontaine, Heirlot, Ordrimont, Arbrefontaine, and Goronne. Participants will view the site of the heroic assault on the Their-du-Mont ridgeline by the 508th PIR and also Rochelinval, to learn of the suicidal attack by the attached 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion.

Day 11 –Cologne
“Surrender, Hell!”
As we depart the Ardennes, we will drive east along the route of the attack by the division to pierce the Siegfried Line. We will make a stop at Herresbach, where two platoons of troopers with Company H, 504th PIR destroyed an entire 400-man German battalion. We will visit Neuhof and Udenbreth before stopping at the Siegfried Line to view the dragons teeth and pillboxes, and to hear the story of the heroic attack by the 325th GIR that broke through these formidable defenses. Then we travel north to the Hürtgen Forest to visit the Kall River Valley, and the foxholes and pillboxes on the infamous Hill 400 seized by the 508th PIR. Next we will visit the town of Hitdorf, where Company A, 504th PIR was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for its attack across the Rhine River. Our final evening will be spent in historic Cologne, Germany’s oldest city. During our Farewell Dinner, we will review our journey these past two weeks, and bid adieu to the new friends we’ve made.

Day 12 – Going Home
We depart our hotel and fly home. An early morning transfer will be provided to the Cologne International Airport (CGN).