By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (144.126.225.55) on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 08:23 pm:

Greetings,
My name is Jackie McConlogue. I am a Junior at Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. This spring I will be spending a semester abroad in London. Classes end May 16th and for the next three weeks I would like to see Europe as the men of Easy Company did. Starting in Austria I will back track their route through Europe, going through Germany, Belgium, Holland and ending in Normandy for the 59th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th. I'm 20, I don't know how to balance a checkbook and have never planned a trip in my life. But, I know that this is one of those things in life that you just have to do. But, I need help. So, I am asking for help from fellow supporters and family of Easy Company men. The way I see it the more information the better. What I need most is locations to go to. Please help me make this really happen.
Sincerely,
Jackie McConlogue
My email address is jmcconlogue@loyola.edu

By Paul Sumner (Psumner) (64.83.55.238) on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 10:34 pm:

Jackie,

I did the same trip last year, and it was amazing.

These are just a few of the "don't miss" spots, there are many others:

By all means go to Omaha and Utah Beach, as well as the American Cemetary at Omaha and the Airborne Museum at St. Mere Eglise. Go to Brecourt Manor if you can. Also make sure to go to Carentan.

If you go to Caen, there is an excellent museum there about DDay.

Obviously go to Bastogne, and the woods outside Foy where Easy had their defensive positions. There is a hotel in Bastogne called the American Hotel right near McAuliffe Square that caters to us Yanks and has alot of WWII equipment on the walls. Cool place to see.

There is a good museum and a star shaped memorial just outside Bastogne that honors the United States by the citizens of Belgium - great to visit and great view of Bastogne.

If you go to Luxembourg absolutely go to the cemetary where Patton is buried, you will find the graves of Skip Muck and Alex Penkala there as well.

Eindhoven is a must as well, that goes without saying.

I'll let the others chip in more. Email me if you want more info. Have a great trip and bring lots of film!

Paul
psumner@planet2000.com

By Thomas Patton Crawford (Gr8fulson) (63.201.231.150) on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 01:56 pm:

Jackie,

Let Stephen Ambrose help you set your itinerary ...

http://www.stephenambrosetours.com/tours/band-it.html

Have a blast!

By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:23 am:

Jackie, if you don't mind visiting places that were liberated by other US army divisions than the 101st airborne, i would certainly suggest visiting the village of Groesbeek near Nijmegen and Nijmegen itself (i'm from nijmegen). Groesbeek has an excellent Liberation Museum and although it focusses on the 82nd Airborne, you won't be disappointed. Also, i think a visit to Arnhem should definately be included on your trip; there is a great (british first) Airborne museum near arnhem at oosterbeek.
eindhoven is good too; a 101st museum in son i think. also there is a War Museum in Overloon (also in the south of Holland), which the easy vets have visited themselves back in 1994.

all of these places (eindhoven, nijmegen & groesbeek, arnhem & oosterbeek, and overloon) are in the south of holland no further apart than i think about 150 km. so if you want to you should be able to visit some or all of them in 3 days time or so....all of them except Groesbeek and Overloon have railway stations, and the latter can easily be reached by bus...


obviously you should go to earlier mentioned Bastogne, Coleville (Omaha) and st Mere Eglise. i found the atmosphere in normandy to be very impressive!

i am just suggesting some places in holland. if you want to know more just let me know. maybe i can direct you to some websites that might help you sort things out.

i would suggest taking enough time to plan your trip, especially to see how much time you want to spend in all the different places, and what your means of transportation are going to be....


have a great trip (which i'm sure you will) and let me know if you come to nijmegen maybe we can get a drink somewhere at a cosy café near the Waal Bridge!


irene

By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (144.126.185.76) on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 11:33 am:

WOW! That is pretty much all I can say right now. Thank you for your help so far. I hope to keep in touch with you all for the planning process and beyond. Everyday this trip becomes more and more exciting to think about. I am going to start setting up my ititerary, and will post it as soon as i finish it. Please keep the help coming.
Jackie

By Marc Atkins (Marc) (213.1.152.48) on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 04:31 pm:

Hi Jackie,

If your off to London this summer, then Aldbourne is only 60(ish) to just along the M4 to the west.

You could post your postcards home from the post office that was Maj. Winters billetted house whilst there and you could also enjoy a pint at the pub that was often frequented by the men.

By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.208.70) on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 05:40 am:

hi jackie

an update from the news front just got information about the 2003 BoB tour (yes, there is going to be another one!). from 16 -30 May easy vets Paul Rogers and Earl McLung will participate in the tour...it would be great if you could catch them on one of these days and maybe even talk to them!

i'll let you know when i get more information on when exactly they're gonna be where in holland, ok?

By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (67.86.125.150) on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 12:47 pm:

Hi Paul, i am starting to make my accomodation reservations and i am
afraid that i cannot find the American Hotel in Bastogne, i was just
wondering how you made contact with them or heard about the hotel? Also
i was wondering if you stayed in Haguenau because that is another
location that seems to be providing accomodation obstacles...if not
Haguenau, then maybe in a city near by? Thank you for your help, i am
getting really excited about the trip just looking at all the websites,
even though i have to wait until may before i go.
take care.
Jackie

Thanks for the heads up Irene, i should have a definite itinerary this week for my trip and i will post it here. I really hope that i can hook up with the memebers on their trip but i am doing it backwards so unless it is somewhere in the middle we may miss each other. I wonder if any of them will travel to normandy for the anniversary, it would be beyond special to meet a veteran in Normandy
Take Care All
Jackie

By david jepson (David) (212.125.93.43) on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 04:05 pm:

Hi Jackie,
Just read about your forthcoming trip, WOW.
If you need advice on crossing the channel let me know as I work for P&O Ferries in Dover, we have routes across from Dover to Calais, Portsmouth to Le Harvre and Cherbourg.
Best Wishes
David Jepson

By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (64.252.170.142) on Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 12:28 pm:

Hi David,
Thank you for the kind offer. I will be in the area just after DDay so i wonder if it would make sense to take a ferry from Cherbourg to Portsmouth and then a train back to london. OR would it just make more sense to try and find a cheap flight back to london. Lemmme know what you think.
Thank you again.
I'll be in touch
Jackie

By david jepson (David) (193.113.113.85) on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 11:07 am:

Jackie,
Your best option would be to take a single foot passenger fare from cherbourg to portsmouth.
If you call into a travel agents in the US they can explain the workings of either a Eur-rail or
Inter-rail ticket. Basicly these are rail tickets
you buy prior to your trip and are designed for student use. they give unlimited rail travel on the european continent and are much cheaper than buying rail tickets from station to station. Another added benefit is that you get a 50% discount on cross channel ferry travel. So you would be looking at paying £20.00 only for your ferry ticket.
From Portsmouth you could then take the the train up to to London or Aldbourne or wherever.
If I can be of further assistance please dont hesitate to ask.
Kind regards and best wishes
David.

P.S our daughter is currently at Portsmouth University so if we are in the area we could possibly give you a lift to London.

By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (64.252.161.77) on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 04:06 pm:

David, thank you again for the help. I will run it by my sister (she will be accompanying me on the trip)but it sounds like a good idea to me. We would like to spend to depart from Cherbourg around June 8th. I will check on train passes from Portsmouth to London.
Take Care
Jackie

By Doug Jordan (207.172.11.148) on Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 01:16 pm:

Jackie, I was on the Stephen Ambrose BoB tour in September, and in 1994 I accompanied my father on a trip to the places where he fought, from Normandy to Remagen. If I can contribute more info, email me at appell8@msn.com. Doug Jordan

By mark heard (203.166.57.11) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 11:23 pm:

I am Australian & travelling through Normandy for 4 days & then also going across to Portsmouth & hopefully through Aldbourne region in late May. I'm just doing my own thing but it would be great if there was some sort of book available that helped people do these self guided type tours (I guess that's why people pay money to go on organised tours where all this is done for you). Our dollar rate to the Euro & Pound is pretty low so this was a better option. Anyway, if anyone can also offer any advice on doing this type of trip, that would be greatly appreciated. I'm based in Bayeux for 4 nights & doing a couple of organised day tours of US & Brit/Canadian sites, then a open day to get to areas not covered. I'm also trying to locate where Culoville is. I belive it's where Easy Company spent there first night in Normandy (correct me if I'm wrong)& must be around Utah Beach way. I'm then planning to ferry across to Portsmouth, look around there, & make my way to Aldbourne & then back to London. Any help would be GREATFULLY appreciated.

By njnjr23 (12.213.234.144) on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 09:04 am:

Culoville was/is a little south/southwest of St Marie du Mont.

By jen david (Jennie) (193.128.157.33) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 07:55 am:

Does anyone knoe were where Donald Hoobler was burried?
Jenn

By Denniger (Denniger) (217.226.20.109) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 05:51 am:

Hi everyone..
Im from California and currently reside in Düsseldorf, Germany. I plan to go to Bastogne, Foy and Noville this month. The hard way, winter camping. Has anyone got any tips about the battle sites? I have good maps and the book is pretty explicit, but Id like to hear from anyone who has been there. I understand the American Hotel in Bastogne is worth a visit. I will try to comb the woods and get a feel of what it was like. I hope there is a lot of snow...
Im a huge WW2 history fan and when BoB came out I immedeatly purchased the DVD box..priceless!
This is my first post here, so hello everyone, excellent website and the utmost respect to Easy Co!

By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.186.51) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 09:23 am:

hello and welcome Denniger.
I hope somebody will be able to help you with that...enjoy!

gold

By Denniger (Denniger) (217.82.4.147) on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 09:30 am:

So I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Foy. I'm going alone, and plan to hike thru the hills and fields going in the direction of Noville and Rachamps. I'll be taking photos of anything I find, and will try to post them here. Weather conditions are not very cold, so I expect little if any snow.
Will review the last DVD one more time for tips from Guarnere and Heffron. There is a scene done in the 90's where the are standing at the edge of the forest, reminiscing, looking across the field down to Foy..
I'll report back later.

By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.169.209) on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 05:11 am:

wow! do post your pics Denniger if you can, looking forward to seeing those pics.

gold

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