Kind words from New York's finest tour guide Alison and I had the pleasure of meeting Sheldon and Debby Lapidus from Best New York Tours in March 2018. At the time we didn't know that Sheldon was a professional tour guide as he only told us just before they left. We were all the more pleased [...]
New Ernie Pyle Documentary by Professor Stephen Krankhe On 18th July this year, I was privileged to spend an enthralling day with Professor Stephen Krankhe of Indiana State University. Prof. Krankhe is planning to make a documentary film about the American War Correspondent Ernie Pyle and I was honored to be chosen by him to guide [...]
General George S Patton. Lucky Forward, Nehou, Normandy General George Patton arrived in Normandy on 6th July 1944, a month after the D-Day landings of 6th June. Until then he had played a crucial role in the allied deception plan Operation Fortitude, convincing the Germans that he would lead a landing in the Pas de [...]
An unusual photograph of JUNO Beach is of a P-47 Thunderbolt (42-76279) from 365th Fighter Bomber Group 386th Fighter Squadron U.S. Army Air Force beached close to the sea wall on JUNO Beach. How did it get there? The aircraft was flown by 2nd Lieutentant John Alfred Weese who crash landed into the sea off [...]
Ardenne Abbey Massacre. June 1944 On 7th, 8th and 17th June 1944, in the immediate aftermath of D-Day, twenty Canadian soldiers were executed by the Germans at the Abbaye d'Ardenne, a massive collection of medieval buildings including an early gothic church, a chateau and farm buildings at Villons les Buissons which today is a suburb [...]
Click the words "Last Post" in blue below to view the video. Last PostColour Sergeant Bugler Russell Piner from the Royal Marines School of Music and Staff Sergeant Bryan McKinney from West Point Military Academy have collaborated to create a Last Post video that encapsulates a shared ethos: understated excellence, mutual respect and profound appreciation for [...]
Musée Pegasus Memorial, Centaur Infantry Support Tank. Centaur Infantry Support tank, fitted with a 95mm Howitzer and not an anti-tank gun, Centaurs were used by the Royal Marines in the close support role. This particular tank stood for many years opposite the Cafe Gondrée at Benouville, the first French house to be liberated in Operation Deadstick, [...]
During our tours we often refer to this very effective German weapon which played havoc with the Allied landings, particularly at OMAHA Beach and Hillman. This firing demonstration took place at Dellwood Park in Lockport, Illinois on 8 September 2013, by 5th Company GrossDeutschland. The MG-42 (a shortened form Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is [...]
Glenn, Bing and Ranee, the parachuting dogs of D-Day The dogs wore their own parachutes and were trained to jump after bones/treats. It would appear that they were not distressed by the experience and after a few practice jumps they would often exit the aircraft without coaxing. During D-day and the battle for Normandy, [...]
