80th Anniversary of D-Day: The Airborne

Day-By-Day Itinerary

DAY 1 Flight to London (May 29)

Guests travel independently to London on an overnight flight from the USA. Flights should land by 10 a.m. on Day 2.

DAY 2 London (May 30)

Arrive in London by 10 a.m. Guests make their way independently to the tour hotel in South Kensington. The group will depart by motorcoach from the hotel for Westminister. We begin the tour with a visit to the renowned Churchill War Rooms. The underground hidden network of chambers served as a nerve center for British operations and daily briefings with King George VI during the entirety of the War. From there, the group will go to the RAF officers club for a group welcome reception with cocktails, followed by a group dinner. After dinner, your lead historian will introduce himself with a brief lecture on the days to follow. This will set the stage for your in-depth study of the D-Day invasion and the following major campaigns of the war through the eyes of the Airborne Operations.   

DAY 3 London (May 31)

The group will begin their day with a visit to the Airborne Assault Museum at Duxford. Here we learn about the British Airborne forces from its inception to the present day. Guests will be able to see the C-47 on display, the plane that served as the leading transport for airborne troops throughout all the major war campaigns in Europe. After the day's visits, the group will return to their hotel for an evening on their own in London.

DAY 4 Poole (June 1)

After departing London, our first visit of the day will be to visit the 101^st Headquarters at Greenham Common and Newbury Airfield. Here we will study how Churchill, De Gaulle, and Eisenhower planned the airborne element of the D-Day landings. If time permits, our day concludes with a group visit to the Bovington Tank Museum, where we uncover the stories of armored warfare and its impact on the war. The group will make their way to their hotel along the southern shore of England for a group dinner and final night before embarking on the ferry to cross the English Channel for Normandy.

DAYS 5–9 Normandy (June 2 - 6)

We will spend days 5–9 in Normandy (five nights), where guests will visit all the key sites of Normandy. In addition, we will include in-depth studies of the Airborne assaults in Normandy and attend the June 6 D-Day Anniversary Ceremonies. For the next few days, site visits in Normandy will include:

• Ste-Mere-Eglise, one of the villages where the American Airborne descended on D-Day. Here we will view and study the iconic church where John Steele and his landing on the steeple are memorialized.
• La Fiere Bridge, where the 82nd Airborne successfully delayed a German Panzer counterattack against the Allied landing forces.
• Brecourt Manor, where we will study and learn about the longest day at Brecourt Manor, where Lt. Dick Winters, with members of the 101st Airborne, successfully silenced German artillery firing on American troops landing at Utah Beach.
• Pegasus Bridge, where we will visit the first airborne landings of D-Day. The British 6th Airborne, led by Major John Howard, successfully captured the bridge and liberated the first house in Normandy.
• Utah Beach, where the 4th Division landed, and the invasion museum depicting their heroics.
• Ste-Marie-du-Mont, where the Germans used the unique Renaissance-style steeple as an observation post.
• Carentan, where we will follow the exact steps American Paratroopers took during the Battle of Normandy.
• Point-du-Hoc, where Rudder’s Rangers scaled the cliffs to neutralize German heavy guns defending the expanse of beaches on D-Day.
• Merville Battery, where on June 6th British paratroopers silenced the guns at Merville and saved lives on the invasion beaches of Normandy.

In addition, the 101^st Airborne sites will include the WXYZ complex and the town of Pouppeville. 82^nd Airborne sites will include a visit to the town of Chef Du Pont, where the town's capture was a major Allied objective. British Airborne sites will include the British Cemetery and the town of Ranville.

80th Anniversary of D-Day Ceremony (June 6)

Guests will rise early on June 6th and go to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. We will begin a day-long commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day with speeches from world leaders, dignitaries, and Veterans of the war in Europe, followed by an air show by the Blue Angels. This commemorative ceremony will memorialize the heroic endeavors of the American, British, Canadian, and French forces that took place on this Hallowed Ground on June 6, 1944.

DAYS 10–13 Operation Market Garden (June 7 – 10)

Following Normandy, we will spend the next few days analyzing the largest airborne operation of the War in Europe—Operation Market Garden. Key sites will include:

• Leopoldsburg Military Museum: This will be our first stop as we make our way northeast for the Netherlands.
• Market Garden Operation at the southernmost drop zone: We will explore this area after the museum and will go to the fields at Son, where the 101^st Airborne landed to liberate the town of Eindhoven.
• Hell's Highway: We will proceed north along Hell’s Highway, stopping at Best and Veghel.
• Drop zone in Groesbeek: Starting with the “All American 82^nd,” we will visit their drop zone in Groesbeek. The day includes a visit to the Groesbeek Museum and the town of Nijmegen, where we study the daring crossing of the Waal River by the 82^nd Airborne.
• Northernmost drop zone at Oosterbeek: The next day we will study the northernmost drop zone at Oosterbeek by the British 6^th, following a visit to the British Airborne Museum and the British cemetery.
• Arnhem: From there, we will study the battle at Arnhem and cross the memorialized John Frost Bridge, the story told through the acclaimed film “A Bridge too Far.”

DAYS 14–16 Battle of the Bulge (June 11 – 13)

On our way south for the Ardennes Forest, we will visit Fort Eben-Emael to study the German paratrooper assault in 1940 and the capture of the Benelux. We will begin at the North shoulder of the Battle of The Bulge. Here, we will learn how the 82^nd Airborne was committed on the northern face near Elsenborn Ridge. Included in the study of the Northern shoulder, we will stop at Webermont to visit the 82^nd Airborne Memorial. We will also stop at Trois Point and Parker Cross Roads.

The following day we will focus our attention on the 101^st and the defense of Bastogne. The day's visit will include the foxholes at the Bois Jaques and the assault on Foy and Noville.

The following day we will conclude our visits of the Battle of the Bulge sites and make our way to Brussels, our gate city back home.

Guests arrive in Brussels on June 13 in the late afternoon for a final group farewell dinner.

DAY 17 Home (June 14)

Early morning airport transfer to Brussels International Airport (BRU).