Veterans Can Relive Military History

A great many veterans are eager to return to the areas where they served in wartime. Responding to this desire, several specialized military tour operators have emerged.

These companies are active despite the advanced years of their World War II customers. Veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars are filling the gap, and the major veterans’ tour operators are doing well. Reunion trips are especially popular.

Nine Dragons Travel & Tours, (800) 909-9050, www.nine-dragons.com, specializes in tours to spots that were significant in the Vietnam War. Nine Dragons is owned and operated by Jerry Landman, an Army veteran and now a history professor. It offers 22 itineraries of interest to Vietnam veterans and people interested in military history. Tours range from 10 days to three weeks and cost about $150 per day for guides, accommodations and meals. Air fare is additional.

Valor Tours Ltd., (800) 842-4504, www.valortours.com, was formed in 1976 by Bob Reynolds, a veteran of Britain’s Royal Air Force. It operates tours to famous battle sites and historical destinations in Europe, Britain and the Pacific. Most tours cost about $300 a day, but that figure includes round-trip international air fare, such as transportation to England’s World War II airfields for a 12-day “Twelve O’Clock High” trip, starting at $3,350 from Los Angeles.

Olympus Travel, (213) 380-0886 or (888) 467-6000, www.olympustravelusa.com, was founded in 1980 by Don Youk. It is best known for its Korea Revisit Program for Veterans, a joint venture with the Korean National Tourism Organization and the Korean Navy League. Along with visits to historical sites and war memorials, veterans have two formal dinners and first-class accommodations. These services don’t come cheap, but they’re reasonable considering that round-trip air is included. The six-day package starts at $1,395 with air from Los Angeles. There are usually about a half-dozen departures a year, most in the spring and fall. Extensions are possible to places such as China and Vietnam.

Finally, the English company Holts Tours, 011-44-1304-612-248, www.battletours.co.uk, offers military history tours for veterans and history buffs. Holts provides expeditions to battle sites of World Wars I and II in France, Germany, England, Italy and Eastern Europe, as well as a few other trips to significant sites in the Hundred Years’ War and the American Civil War.

The most popular trips revolve around the two World Wars, including a tour of D-day beaches and landing zones, an excursion studying the planning and actions of the Battle of the Bulge and a journey of remembrance to the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka and Auschwitz in Poland. Expect to pay $175 to $250 per day for land costs only--tour guides, motor coach transportation, lodging and some meals.