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
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Ray is accepting private tours in 2012. In addition he and Cristy are guiding group tours for private organizations including The College of the Ozarks from Point Lookout, MO and Focus on the Family of Colorado. For booking information for private tours or if you are interested in having Ray design and guide a group tour for your organization please call Tour Center at: 1.800.222.1170 or contact Ray at - click button just below:
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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.
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
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.
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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.
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.