PRESS RELEASE – The National WWII Museum will embark on the tour of a lifetime, setting foot in a land still “haunted by history.” Bestselling author and WWII historian Donald L. Miller guides travelers through England’s East Anglia countryside, presenting an intimate and unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the past. This exclusive weeklong tour will visit the villages and airfields from which American flyboys launched a massive bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. The bases, control towers and museums that tell the story of the U.S. Eighth Air Force will be part of the tour, but so too will the opportunity to view restored aircraft like the ones the Bomber Boys flew, to relax in the pubs and country inns they frequented, and to meet, in London and elsewhere, survivors of the German Blitzkrieg and the women, at recently restored Bletchley Park, who broke the German’s famous Enigma code.
We will also meet and “share a pint” and some fish and chips with the East Anglian villagers who, as young boys and girls, welcomed the American bomber crews into their world and have lovingly restored the airfields from which they flew. These airfields will be feature locations in the HBO mini-series Masters of the Air, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and based on Miller’s best-selling book of the same title. As Miller says: “You will be drawn back in time to hamlets, airfields, and ancient pubs in a part of England most travelers have never seen, a place that has not changed greatly since it was transformed into the launching ground of the world’s first and only bomber war, a savagely fought campaign that claimed the lives of 26,000 American airman and helped bring down the greatest threat to freedom in our time.”In all, the tour spans seven days and seven nights in England, including stops in London, Cambridge and Norwich. It is the first tour of its kind offered by The National WWII Museum. “For me this is an emotional voyage of rediscovery back to the places I wrote about in Masters of the Air, places we will be revisiting in our HBO series,” said Miller. “It was a time and a place of tremendous consequence, when American bomber boys were taking the war directly to Hitler’s doorstep.”
The “Masters of the Air” tour runs from May 5-12, 2015 and includes accommodations in 4 and 5-star hotels, seven days and seven nights in England, a deluxe air-conditioned motor coach throughout the tour and a multitude of additional perks. In May 2015, England will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of V-E Day. The culminating event of the tour will be a festive barbeque with East Anglian villagers, WW II re-enactors, and British bomber crewmen who flew against Nazi Germany. Guests will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the American Bomber Boys’ courage and sacrifice alongside men and women who, as children and young airmen, lived through one of the most momentous times in history. Space is limited and can be reserved by visiting www.ww2museumtours.org. “Masters of the Air” is the first of four travel tours that the Museum has in line for 2015. It is followed by a 12-day “Band of Brothers” tour that spans seven countries in June as well as two Travel Study Programs, one in New Orleans, the Student Leadership Academy, and the other, the Normandy Academy, embarking on a trip to Normandy, France.“The National WWII Museum is known for creating exhibits, programs and attractions that tell the story of WWII in a way that is personal, moving and inspiring,” said Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller, the Museum’s president and CEO. “But nothing is more personal or inspiring than experiencing WWII history right where it happened. Our tours offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences combined with renowned authors and historians and the WWII veterans who saw the war through their own eyes.”
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world – why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America’s National WWII Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who served on the battlefront and the Home Front. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit www.nationalww2museum.org. Follow us on Twitter at WWIImuseum or on Facebook.
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
“America’s Bomber Boys in WW II” — Will that tour be repeated in 2017 or 2018? We would much be interested. Stationed in East Anglia from 64 to 67, I was thrilled to be able to take a bus from base to Norwich of an evening and visit the “Muscle Palace”, as our airmen called the Samson and Hercules Club – and to know that American Army Air Corps boys were there in WW II gave one the chills.