| |
Ray is available for Prestige Private Tours of
Normandy, Paris, the Battle of the Bulge, Operation
Market Garden and Germany at any time by private
request. At certain periods he will also be
available for tours of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Ray can take up to 4 persons in his mini-van. For
larger parties, it will be necessary to rent a
vehicle.
Please e-mail him at
ww2tour@aol.com
Ray is the most sought-after American WWII guide in
Europe. His contacts not only in Normandy but in
many places in Europe enable him to offer unique
services to his clients. In addition his skills as a
driver in Europe take the worry out of traveling
privately in Europe for many Americans. Ray was not
only a professional driving instructor in New Jersey
while he was attending graduate school in the 1970's
but he owns his own mini-van in Europe and has been
driving there for over 30 years.
Tours of
the Invasion Beaches
HISTORIC TOURS is proud to offer private, personalized tours of the
D-Day beaches and the Battle of Normandy guided by Ray
Pfeiffer (President, Historic Tours, Inc.)
or one of our experienced guides –
“America’s most experienced WWII tour guides”.
Our guides do not just provide a
driving service as other companies may;
instead
they
make the history “come alive” with
their knowledge of the war and of
beautiful Normandy.
Ray is a Vietnam-era U.S. Navy veteran of
the amphibious forces and he participated in
many NATO amphibious landings in Europe. If
you are considering other companies to guide
you in Normandy, please understand that many
of the
“guides” which these companies offer
will simply bring you to the various sites
such as Pointe du Hoc, stop in the parking
lot and tell you that you have 15 or so
minutes to explore these important sites on
your own.
Our guide, however will actually walk
the beaches, climb in the bunkers and
explain the history to you. He will also
make sure that you are satisfied with the
length of time of your visit to a particular
site, before moving on.
Our guide can meet you and your party
at your hotel, the train station in Bayeux
(about 2 hours and 15 minutes from the Gare
St.-Lazare in Paris) or at another
pre-arranged meeting point.
You’ll then go by van (or if you prefer, you
may follow along in your vehicle) on a
day-long tour of the beaches including the
Normandy American Cemetery where
our guide will walk with you and
explain some of the most important sites
such as the beautiful Wall of the Missing
and
he will relate the history of the
European Theater of Operations and the
Normandy Invasion while utilizing the giant
maps in the Cemetery.
In addition
he’ll assist you in locating the
graves of particular casualties of the
battle, which you may wish to find (such as
family members).
He will also bring you to the graves
of the sons of President Theodore Roosevelt
and of the Nil and brothers (about whom
Saving Private Ryan was based). You’ll
continue with various stops along Omaha
Beach (these sites are not even known by
most tour guides) where
he will explain the actions in
detail. A good example is at the “E3 Draw”
on Omaha Beach.
In 1987, Historic Tours had the honor of
designing and operating a tour for the 741st
Tank Battalion, which lost so many of its
men in the DD amphibious Sherman tanks here.
Our guide can relate the Battalion’s
story here.
He can take you to a German bunker on
Omaha Beach where in 1993; Historic Tours
coordinated a plaque to the 20th Engineer
Combat Battalion.
You’ll walk on the beach at the different
“draws” as
our guide explains the details of the
actions. You’ll continue along to Pointe du
Hoc where gallant American Rangers scaled
the cliffs to battle the enemy in
hand-to-hand combat. At all stops, you’ll
have a chance to explore the various
bunkers, hedgerows and fortifications.
A stop will be made for lunch before
exploring Utah Beach and the Utah Beach
Museum. The next stop will be Ste. Mere
Eglise where
our guide will relate the heroic
efforts of the American airborne troops who
fought here and in the surrounding areas.
A visit will be made to the beautiful “Iron
Mike” monument at la Fiere. A major
engagement was fought there and the French
people built this beautiful monument to
honor their American liberators. If time
allows, a stop will be made at the German
Cemetery at la Cambe, before
our guide drives you back to
your hotel.
We also offer two and three-day
private tours which may include the British
and Canadian invasion beaches, Pegasus
Bridge, General Patton’s HQ in Nehou,
Cherbourg, St. Lo, the Falaise Gap,
Avranches and le Mont St. Michel.
Please contact us via e-mail to arrange your
tour.
Please note that tours with Ray are subject
to Ray’s availability.
A
$200 non-refundable deposit will
confirm your reservation and the balance of
400 euros is to be paid on the day of the
tour. For information on multi-day tours,
please contact us at
ww2tour@aol.com
or by mail, make checks payable to:
HISTORIC TOURS, INC.
21008 SUNPOINT WAY
UNIT 201
LUTZ, FL 33558-5149
Attn: Accounting
Hotel recommendations can be requested after a
deposit has been received.
Historic Tours is proud to now be associated
with the magnificent Omaha Beach Golf Club and
the Hotel Mercure Omaha Beach!! Beginning in
2002, Historic Tours will also be offering
day-trips for guests of the hotel. The Golf Club
and Hotel Mercure are located on a former dairy
farm on the far eastern end of Omaha Beach. In
fact the link-up between the American 1st
Infantry Divsion "The Big Red One" and British
forces coming from Gold Beach occured on the
site.
 In
2001 the 16th Infantry Regiment Association
dedicated a large, beautiful plaque on the golf
course to commemorate the liberation of the
village of Huppain in which the course is
located. There are three golf courses - "The
Sea", "The Bocage" and "The Pond" and the course
commemorates the liberation by having each of
the holes named after an outstanding personality
of the Battle of Normandy such as the General
Eisenhower hole, the General Patton hole, etc.
"The Sea" course overlooks the beautiful and
historic fishing harbor of "Port-en-Bessin"
(site of the storming of the casino by Free
French commandos in the movie The Longest Day.)
In addition German bunkers may still be found on
this magnificent course. The Hotel Mercure Omaha
Beach is located on the golf course and offers
some of the finest rooms in the region, a
swimming pool and gym.
 Ray
Pfeiffer will show you the landing beaches in
Normandy, but he does far more than that. He
uses the large battle maps in the Normandy
American Cemetery to describe the various
campaigns in Europe and the Pacific. You'll
learn about the Battle of the Bulge, Operation
Market-Garden and the conquest of Germany.
Ray and Cristy were the only American tour
operators to take Americans to Australia in 1992
to participate in the huge 50th anniversary of
the Battle of the Coral Sea commemorations. So
Ray will describe not only that battle, but the
Battle of Midway, the conquest of the Solomon
Islands, the U.S. Navy's drive through the
central Pacific and the liberation of the
Philippines. He'll describe the bombing campaign
against Japan, the China-Burma-India Campaign
and the final battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
So when you spend a day or more with Ray, you'll
not only experience the history of the Battle of
Normandy, you'll learn the world-wide history of
WWII from America's most experienced WWII tour
guide.
Contact our
Normandy office to arrange for guided tours of
the Normandy region for individuals, small
groups and for pricing on multiple days. A
vehicle is available for up to 4 persons or we
can visit in your own vehicle. In addition, our
guide is available as as "Step-On Guide" and
will simply board your bus once you reach the
Normandy region and guide you while you are
there.
One and two day itineraries can be designed for
you which are flexible and your tour may begin
in either Bayeux or Caen - pickup from your
hotel or the train station may be arranged. Ray
Pfeiffer is America's #1 expert on the Normandy
region and he will personally guide you and
answer your questions.
Ray is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy's
amphibious forces and understands the
difficulties faced by our troops during the
invasion.
Arrangements may also be made to visit specific
sites in Normandy - for instance to trace a
particular veteran's or unit's route. Don't be
fooled by services offered by some other
companies - they are in fact no more than a
driving service - with
our guides you not only visit the
beaches, but you experience them as well!
If you are considering taking a standard
day-trip tour from Paris by bus, please remember
that it is four hours each way to drive from
Paris to the invasion beaches, so you will be
spending at least 8 hours just driving on the
highway.
Once a deposit is received,
our guide will be happy to research your
loved one's history in Normandy and will design
a personal itinerary and guide your party on the
route of your family member's WWII unit. In such
cases it will be helpful for you to supply him
with as much detailed information on the unit to
be researched such as 90th Infantry Division,
358th Infantry Regiment, Company I.
|
Call Toll Free to
book a group tour...
1.800.222.1170
Contact Us
to
book a private tour.
Ray Pfeiffer is the Tour Guide of choice for the
American Embassy in Paris, whenever Congressional or
White House VIP's visit Normandy:
Veterans with Ray and Cristy Pfeiffer and Rick Whiting
of AAA Signatours being greeted by President Bush and
President Chirac on the 60th Anniversary of D-Day
Commemorations at the Normandy American Cemetery
On September 10, 2003 Ray Pfeiffer was honored to guide
the Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis
Hastert and his party on a private tour of the D-Day
beaches. Ray not only gave details of the invasion but
informed the Speaker and his group about many of the
facts leading up to the liberation of Europe, the Battle
of the Bulge and V-E Day.
Congressman John Murtha (D-PA)
at the airport in Caen, France after Ray guided his
Congressional delegation tour on the Normandy Beaches
Ray and Cristy Pfeiffer with Congressman David Obey
(D-WI) at the Normandy American Cemetery before Ray
guided the Congressional delegation tour.
Joseph Hagin -President Bush's Deputy
Chief of Staff and
Ray at the "Iron Mike" Monument
RADM Byron Fuller USN (Ret.)
and Ray at Pointe-du-Hoc.
Admiral Fuller spent 6 years
in the "Hanoi Hilton" with John McCain and lived to
command the
USS America
"Undogging" the hatch at the US Navy bunker on Utah
Beach
Inside the US Navy bunker on Utah Beach
Ray guiding a tour in WN62 (German Resistance Nest 62)
on Omaha Beach
Ray using the battle maps at the Normandy American
Cemetery to describe General MacArthur's campaign in the
South West Pacific
Ray guiding George and Karen Baur in the Easy Red Sector
of Omaha Beach |
