Team

Ron Drez

Ronald Drez is an award-winning and best-selling author and historian. With Stephen Ambrose, he designed the original D-Day to the Rhine tour. Dr. Ambrose hand-picked his Eisenhower Center deputy to lead those tours, and to develop other tours like the Band of Brothers® Tour and The Italian Campaign Tour. Drez, a decorated Marine combat veteran from the Vietnam War, was the first to encounter the now legendary Band of Brothers in 1988, and has interviewed over 4,000 WWII veterans, showcasing their stories in his many writings: see www.ronalddrez.com. His passion and enthusiasm leave our guests with the memories of a lifetime. To quote one of our travelers, “Ron Drez was the history professor you wanted in college, but couldn’t get because his classes were always full. His stories are fascinating.”

Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is a historian who is well versed in many aspects of American history with special expertise in the Normandy Invasion, Band of Brothers, and 101st Airborne as well as the American Revolution. As the former editor of WWII Magazine he edited and wrote about all areas of the U.S. involvement in that war. Chris was also one of the original creators of the Stephen Ambrose Band of Brothers® Tour and was a personal confidant of Major Dick Winters, commander of Easy Company, as well as many other veterans of WWII. Chris is the co-host of the History Happy Hour livestream. He lives in London, where he chronicles his visits to the places where history happened and the fascinating people he meets along the way in his blog, History Hikes. 

James Arnold

James R. Arnold is the author of over thirty military history books, ten of which are Civil War studies.  His work devoted to the Civil War ranges from Jeff  Davis’s Own: Cavalry, Comanches, and the Battle for the Texas Frontier, a study of how pre-war experience shaped the future conduct of prominent Civil War generals, to  a six-volume library reference set for young adults. He has also written two historical novels about the war, The Cost of Freedom and Freedom’s Children.  For the past 25 years, Arnold and his wife have lived on a working farm near Lexington, Virginia.

Rick Beyer

Rick Beyer is an award winning documentary filmmaker, New York Times best-selling author, and long-time history enthusiast. His most recent book, Rivals Unto Death, explores the intricate thirty-year rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

Rick has been researching the Ghost Army for more than a dozen years, and has led our Ghost Army Tour since 2014. He produced and directed the award-winning PBS documentary The Ghost Army, and co-wrote (with Liz Sayles) of The Ghost Army of World War II. The book is now being developed as a Hollywood movie by the producers of American Sniper.

Over the last 20 years Rick  has made numerous history documentaries for The History Channel, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, and others. He is the author of thef The Greatest Stories Never Told series. He has shared his unique take on history with audiences around the country and appeared on CBS News, Fox News, NPR, CNN and elswhewere. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he lives in Chicago. 

Mark Bielski, Ph.D., Director

Mark Bielski, Ph.D. brings a wealth of professional experience in academics, journalism and executive management to Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours, where he is involved in business development, guiding, lecturing and tour itinerary design. His ability to relate history in an engaging way coupled with his warmth and sense of humor, make him a favorite among our guests who have traveled with him. Mark has personally designed the WWII: Poland and Germany, D-Day to Berlin and the Civil War tours. 

He also hosts the History with Mark Bielski Podcast, where he and his guests, experts in their field, delve into the characters, backstories and intrigues that drove events throughout history. He has published two books on the Civil War, Sons of the White Eagle in the American Civil War: Divided Poles in a Divided Nation, and A Mortal Blow to the Confederacy: The Fall of New Orleans, 1862. He is currently working on an analysis of key victories as well as an historical novel about the Civil War.

Mark is an Adjunct Professor of History at Tulane University, where he teaches a class on American insurrections. He received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Birmingham, England and has a B.A. from Tulane University and an M.A. from Georgetown. 

Steve Bourque, Ph.D.

Stephen A. Bourque is Professor Emeritus of military history at the School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He left the U.S. Army in 1992 after twenty years enlisted and commissioned service, with duty stations in the United States, Germany, and the Middle East. Dr. Bourque has taught at several colleges and universities including California State University-Northridge, the University of Kansas, and the Command and General Staff College. He has led more than twenty civilian tours and military staff rides in Europe and the United States.  His publications including Jayhawk! The VII Corps in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, The Road to Safwan,  Soldiers’ Lives: The Post-Cold War Era, Beyond the Beach, the Allied War Against France (2018), and most recently D-Day 1944: The deadly failure of Allied heavy bombing on June 6 (2022).  His “Tubby,” Raymond O. Barton and the US Army, 1889-1963 (University of North Texas Press), is scheduled for release in 2024. 

Matt Broggie

Matt Broggie has been working with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours since the 70^th Anniversary of D-Day in 2014. He has extensive knowledge of WWII battlefields and has been published in WWII History Magazine.

Matt earned his B.A. in History from California Lutheran University and his M.A. in Military History from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. At Austin Peay he focused his study on WWII and wrote his thesis on the D-Day invasion of Utah Beach and the ensuing campaign to capture the port at Cherbourg. Matt graduated with honors and earned the distinguished graduate award in his class.

He is a U.S. and World History professor at Austin Peay where he also teaches soldiers of the 101^st Airborne Division through the university’s campus at Fort Campbell.

Charles Brower, Ph.D.

A graduate of West Point, General Charles (Casey) Brower, USA, Ret. received a Master of Arts degree in American History and a Doctorate in diplomatic and strategic history from the University of Pennsylvania. Among assignments over his Army career he served in Germany, Vietnam, and as Army Aide to President Ronald Reagan. He has taught history and strategy at West Point, the Naval War College, and the Virginia Military Institute and has led groups to Normandy and other European battlefields for over two decades. Casey has published books and articles on American history and World War II. He is the former Deputy Superintendent for Academics and Dean of the Faculty and Professor Emeritus of International Studies and Political Science at VMI.

Edna W. Cummings, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

Col. Cummings is an Army brat and native of Fayetteville, NC. She received her commission in the U.S. Army from Appalachian State University’s Army ROTC program in Boone, NC. Afterward, she embarked on a distinguished 25-year military career culminating with senior-level positions at Georgetown University, the Pentagon, and NORAD/USNORTHCOM.

Since 2018, Col. Cummings has worked to bring recognition to the WWII Women’s Army Corps unit designated as African American, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, also known as the Six Triple Eight. During WWII, the 6888th was the only African American WAC unit to serve overseas. She also championed the effort with Congress to enact the passage of the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal Act. In March 2022, President Biden signed the legislation into law awarding the 6888th the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Col. Cummings is a former member of ASU’s Foundation Board of Directors. She is a current member of the Military Advisory Board of the History Makers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive, and an Army Reserve Ambassador for the state of Maryland, a volunteer special government employee equivalent to a Major General (two-star) in the Armed Forces.

Col. Cummings holds a Master of Strategic Studies from Army War College and a Master of Science Degree in Foundations of Education from Troy State University. As an Army officer, she received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medals (three awards), Army Commendation Awards (four awards), Joint Service Commendation Award, Army Superior Unit, Reserve Forces Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

In March 2020, Col. Cummings was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame and the Military Officers Association of America selected her as one of its national Changemakers. In July 2022, she received the NAACP’s Jesse Brown Leadership Award. She is also a consultant for the upcoming 6888th Broadway bound musical.

Don Farrell

Don Farrell’s writing career began on Guam with the 1981 publication of The Americanization of Guam: 1898-1918, which was followed by The Sacrifice of Guam: 1919-1943 and Liberation—1944. He moved to Tinian in 1987, publishing the first History of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1991. In 2011, Don published History of the Mariana Islands to Partition. He is now completing a Modern History of the Northern Mariana Islands. His book Tinian and The Bomb chronicles the important and often overlooked role Tinian in the Mariana Islands played in the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of World War II. He has also written numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the history of the Mariana Islands.

Don credits his understanding of Marianas history to years of teaching and 35 years of government service on Guam and Tinian. He is also a member of the board of director of the CNMI Humanities Council and the CNMI Historic Preservation Review Board. Don is now in the process of publishing his own history of the Manhattan Project on Tinian.

Erik Flint

Erik Flint is our historian for the Operation Overlord Tour. He is the Director of the Lewis Army Museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. A veteran of 30 years in uniform, Erik deployed twice to Iraq as a Combat Historian for the U.S. Special Operations Command History & Research Office and is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve where he is a lead Command and General Staff Officer Course instructor. Erik holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Washington, a Master’s degree in International Land Warfare Studies from American Military University, and is currently working on a Doctorate in Modern History at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Erik resides in Tacoma, Washington with his wife Caroline, and his daughter Willow.

Leonard J. Fullenkamp

Colonel, U.S. Army (retired) Len Fullenkamp is professor of military history and strategy at the Army War College. He also taught history at West Point. Len served two combat tours in Vietnam. He has taken numerous army officers on study trips to European battlefields, including the Normandy landings, the Battle of the Bulge and Hurtgen Forest. He has also led groups to Waterloo, the Somme, Verdun, and other Napoleonic and World War I battles.

Parker Hills

Parker Hills served almost 32 years in the U.S. Army uniform in active and reserve components, and retired as a brigadier general, Mississippi Army National Guard in 2001. He owns Battle Focus, a leadership training company, and trains soldiers, Marines, airmen, tourists, and corporate leaders. He is the author of A Study in Warfighting: Nathan Bedford Forrest and the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads; co-author of the Vicksburg Campaign Driving Tour Guide; co-author with Edwin C. Bearss of Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg; a contributor to Vicksburg Campaign: March 29-May 18,1863; and author of Vicksburg: Art of Commemoration. 

Kevin Hymel

Kevin Hymel is a Historian for the U.S. Army and lives in Arlington, Virginia. He is the author of Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, Volume I, November 1942 -July 1944 and Patton’s Photographs: War as He Saw It. Kevin has served as a historian at the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He was also the Research Director for WWII History and Military Heritage magazines and has written numerous articles for each. His article “WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion,” is being made into a movie by Tyler Perry.

Kevin has been a popular historian with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours for more than 15 years, and has appeared in numerous documentaries on the History Channel and American Heroes Channel. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from LaSalle University and Master’s Degree from Villanova University, both in History.

John Langellier, Ph.D.

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, John Langellier, Ph.D. developed a passion for the story of the U.S. Army and the American Indians in the West. He spent twelve years with the U.S. Army, and another four with the U.S. Navy in various assignments including at the Presidio of San Francisco and U.S. Army, Europe. He has written scores of articles and dozens of books, including his most recent titles, Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldiers in the Frontier Army, The “Trapdoor” Springfield: From the Little Bighorn to San Juan Hill, and Scouting with the Buffalo Soldiers: Lieutenant Powhatan Clarke, Frederic Remington and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry in the Southwest.  

Presently, John is the Principal Investigator for a major study treating Buffalo Soldiers and the National Parks. He previously served as a founding team member for the Autry Museum of the American West, director of the Wyoming State Museum, and deputy director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He has also taught at various institutions of higher learning, is a frequent public speaker, and has occasionally served as a consultant to television and motion pictures, beginning with Apocalypse Now. 

John holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of San Diego in History and Historical Archaeology and earned his Ph.D. from Kansas State University with an emphasis on U.S. military history.  

Edward G. Lengel, Ph.D.

Edward G. Lengel, Ph.D., is Chief Historian at the National Medal of Honor Museum. He previously worked at the National World War II Museum and the White House Historical Association, and (as a professor) at the University of Virginia. A professional author, speaker and battlefield tour guide, Lengel also is an adventure travel addict who enjoys getting far off the beaten track to make new discoveries. He has written more than 15 books on American and Irish history that focus on uncovering the human experience of warfare, drawing inspiration from John Keegan’s classic work, The Face of Battle. Lengel is a co-recipient of the National Humanities Medal and has won two writing awards from the Army Historical Foundation. He has made frequent television and radio appearances on networks such as The History Channel, SiriusXM, and National Public Radio.

David Murphy, Ph.D.

Dr. David Murphy is a graduate of University College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin. He teaches military history and strategic studies at Maynooth University in Ireland. He has lectured abroad at various institutions including the Dutch Military Academy, Breda, West Point Military Academy and the U.S. Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. Widely published, his publications include Breaking Point of the French Army: The Nivelle Offensive of 1917 (2015) and Lawrence of Arabia (2011). He is a member of the Royal United Services Institute, an external examiner for King’s College, London and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 2018-19, Professor Murphy was a visiting fellow with the Changing Character of War Programme at Oxford University. He has led tours and staff rides through many WWI and WII battlefields including the Somme, Ypres, Gallipoli, all of Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne and Sicily.

Gerald J. Prokopowicz, Ph.D.

Gerald J. Prokopowicz is the author of Did Lincoln Own Slaves? Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about Abraham Lincoln and All for the Regiment: The Army of the Ohio, 1861-1862 as well as the online host of Civil War Talk Radio. He served for nine years as the resident Lincoln Scholar at the Lincoln Museum, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he helped create the award-winning exhibit, “Abraham Lincoln and the American Experiment,” and edited Lincoln Lore. Dr. Prokopowicz is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Lincoln Studies Center and the Lincoln Forum, and holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. He is currently a professor and chair of the history department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Johnny Rickett

Johnny Rickett was born in Wales and entered Military Service in 1959. He became a regular in the Welsh Guards and left the Army as a Brigadier after 35 years. He has served all over the world principally in the Middle East, Far East, East Africa, Europe and the USA. He speaks Arabic, German and French fluently. Johnny saw active service in Aden, Northern Ireland and commanded his battalion in the Falklands War in 1982. His final job in the Army was Military Attaché in Paris where he began intense study of WWI and WWII.

After leaving the Army in 1994 he ran the Union Jack Club in London for 15 years. Since retirement he has been active in charity work as Honorary Life President of Veterans Aid and the President of Colonie Franco-Britannique near Paris. He is President of the RAF Air Cadets Squadron at Chipping Norton near his home and is a Freeman of the City of London.

While his passion is military history, his hobbies are shooting, fishing, falconry and gardening. He is married and has two children and three grand children.

Don Snow

Don Snow came to Whitman College in 2001 as the Arnold Professor of Environmental Studies. Since that time, he has helped to develop Whitman’s innovative program in the Environmental Humanities.  He teaches courses in the British-American nature writing tradition, the literature of place, and creative writing along with the field-based introductory course in Environmental Studies.  Prior to Whitman, Don taught at the University of Montana in both the Environmental Studies Program and the Forestry School.  For eighteen years, he directed the Northern Lights Research & Education Institute in Missoula and co-edited Northern Lights Magazine, a regional journal of place.  He has published six books – most of them collections of essays and articles on environmental history and conflict in the American West.   

Hal Stearns, Ph.D.

Hal Stearns is a teacher, historian, outdoorsman and storyteller who has been a lifelong scholar of the American West. One of his loves is to retrace the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Hal has led Lewis and Clark tours across the expanse of the entire trail. He has presented a performance of William Clark to groups at the U.S. Capitol, Department of the Interior, and the Smithsonian, and was a speaker at 13 of the national signature events during the Commemoration of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He has spoken in 43 states, Japan, Korea, England, Germany, Argentina and Brazil. In 2012, Hal was recognized as one of Montana’s “Humanities Heroes” for his unique and expressive interpretation of the exploration and settlement of the American West. Among the boards on which he has served are the Nebraska and Montana Lewis and Clark commissions and the National Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Board, and the Montana Coal Board.  Achieving the rank of General, Dr. Stearns spent 35 years in the Montana National Guard and retired as a brigadier general. He is a graduate of Officer Candidate School and attended the Command and General Staff College, National Defense University and the Army War College.

Yakir Katz, President

Yakir’s passion for history began as a student at the University of New Orleans in the 1980s where he met Professor Stephen E. Ambrose. He viewed Dr. Ambrose as a mentor and friend. Together they designed and planned the itineraries for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours over the course of two decades. Under Yakir’s leadership, the company has continued to carry on Dr. Ambrose’s legacy. His youth on a kibbutz in Israel, experience as an IDF paratrooper, and extensive travel in the U.S. and Europe have given Yakir a keen understanding of international cultures, travel, and the military. He has applied this experience and knowledge to help earn Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours the reputation for offering the highest quality historical and military tours in the United States and Europe. He lives in New Orleans with his wife, Edie Ambrose, and two daughters, one of whom he hopes will carry on his love for historical travel that he shared with Dr. Ambrose.

Edie Ambrose, Ph.D., Historian

Edie Ambrose, Stephen Ambrose’s niece, served as his teaching assistant at the University of New Orleans. She received her Ph.D. in history at Tulane University and helped her uncle with the formation and development of Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours. Edie is a regular consultant to our team of historians and is instrumental in designing new tours to offer to our guests as well as in creating deeper historical perspectives for our existing tours. She currently teaches American History and Western Civilization at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Terri A. Sercovich, MBA, Vice President

Terri has been with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours since 2014, during which she has developed tours, managed operations, and spearheaded the implementation of customer service policy.  In 2018, Terri produced the Leadership in American History Symposium and Historic New Orleans Tour. Terri brings both a love of travel and a deep appreciation for the military to her work. She has lived in Nice, France and along the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. A native of Louisiana, she comes from a family who have proudly served in the armed forces. Her grandfathers, uncles, father and brother have represented almost every branch of the military from WWII to Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. Prior to joining SAHT, Terri spent 10 years as an award-winning reporter, photographer, and managing editor, covering modern historical events, including Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill. 

Mark Bielski, Ph.D., Director, Historian

Mark brings a wealth of professional experience in academics, journalism and executive management to Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours, where he is involved in business development, guiding, lecturing and tour itinerary design. He received his Ph.D. in war studies at the University of Birmingham, England. His ability to relate history in an engaging way coupled with his warmth and sense of humor, make him a favorite among our guests who have traveled with him. Mark has personally designed the WWII: Poland and Germany, D-Day to Berlin and The Civil War Eastern Theatre tours. The privileges and pleasures of Mark’s work are having the opportunity to interview and travel with numerous veterans and their families from WWII, the Korean conflict and Viet Nam.

Claire Aubrey, Operations Director

Claire brings an impressive expertise in travel logistics, as well as a love of culture, to her position as Operations Director for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours. As the daughter of a Ballerina of the Paris Opera, Claire learned to speak French before English while growing up in Louisville, KY. She has traveled and lived in France, spending months in Nice before moving to New Orleans as a teenager. Her fluency in French and understanding of the culture has been an asset in booking hotels, chateaux and transportation on our WWII tours. Her extensive experience in the hospitality and travel industry includes working at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Hollywood and Embassy Suites in Atlanta, as well as 20 years as the Director of Operations for Spectacular Sports Specials, where she organized tours to major events throughout the world—Super Bowl, Masters, Final Four, Kentucky Derby, All-Star game, World Cup Soccer and the Olympics.

Olga Degtjarewsky, Operations

Having studied abroad in Florence, lived in Thailand, and gallivanted through Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and Greece, travel is second nature to Olga. She worked in Sales & Catering at the Westin Hotel in Long Beach, CA, prior to moving to Louisiana. There she worked closely with meeting planners to make sure their events went off successfully. She helped handle organizations as large as FIFA and Boeing, to smaller events such as weddings. So it was only natural that when she decided to settle down in New Orleans to be part of its rebirth post-Katrina, that Olga would accept a position with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours. While her degree may be in Art History, it is history that she has fallen in love with since joining the company. Olga handles all of the logistics for the tours, making each one a seamless experience for our guests. 

Carmen Ruiz, Payment Processing and Customer Service

Carmen loves to travel! She has visited England, Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand and numerous states in the United States. She also loves to cook and to eat, one of many reasons New Orleans is the place for her. Carmen says, “I love working for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours. Getting to help people travel and visit exciting historical sites is great.”

Jenni DeLong, Tour Operator and Customer Service Representative

Jenni began her career at Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours during the busy 75th Anniversary of D-Day period, working both a customer service representative and tour operator. She has a background in Art History, French Culture and Elementary Education, as well as in the film industry, experiences that have helped her hone her skills in both travel logistics and guest relations. She is the jack of all trades on staff and can easily assimilate into any role. After the busy 75th Anniversary Tours, she found her stride in Guest Relations. Her knowledge of culture and travel is an asset for many guests. 

Talia Ambrose, Customer Service

Talia is the third generation of Ambroses to work in our family owned company. She has fond memories of family vacations with her Uncle Chup (Stephen Ambrose), and has traveled throughout Europe, the Middle East and even some parts of the Pacific. Talia followed in her father’s footsteps and served three years in the Israeli Army as a sharpshooter before coming home to New Orleans to start working at SAHT. She has traveled on the Iwo Jima tour and the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion tours. She is learning operations and customer service, while helping at the office.