THE IDEA BEHIND THE TRIP

Our generation of "baby boomers" were not far removed from those who were directly affected and involved in the World War II. As children we heard stories from our fathers, relatives and their friends who were either Holocaust victims or who fought against the Nazis so that we could live in a free world.

In our small town of Pietersburg in South Africa there were many ex servicemen who had returned from the war and had us youngsters enthralled with their yarns of the time. They were heroes to us. And then of course there were a lot of books written by guys who had experienced the sting of battle, be it in the air, on the sea or on the battlefields. One of those that immediately comes to mind is Reach for the Sky, the story about the legendary legless pilot, Douglas Bader, whose awe inspiring exploits and bravery were an example to all.

Then of course there were the movies which very often dramatised the events. Blockbusters such as The Longest Day, Patton, The Battle of Britain and The Battle of the Bulge encouraged our interest. Countless documentaries have been produced for TV on World War II, the most well known being the The World at War narrated by Laurence Olivier.

Saving Private Ryan produced by Steven Spielberg was groundbreaking in that Spielberg brought together cutting edge video and sound technology which recreated the horrors of the D-Day landing beaches and the fighting in Normandy - all that was missing was the smell of battle. After that he and Tom Hanks produced the series Band of Brothers which followed the exploits of Major Dick Winters and Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Screaming Eagles) from their training in the USA, their transfer to England, paratrooping into Normandy and their battles in Normandy, Holland, Belgium, Germany and finally to Berchtesgarten in Austria.

For almost 50 years I have had a burning desire to visit some of these battlefields, to see with my own eyes where these brave men fought for freedom from the yoke of Hitler's evil oppression and sacrificed their lives so that future generations could live in a free and democratic world. It would be an honour to pay homage to such men.

Normandy was therefore a natural choice to start this mission and because of its relatively close proximity to Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge could be included in the tour.

I have planned this trip using books, the internet, documentaries and Google Map. We will be hiring a car and doing our own thing - no organised tours. In following postings I will be telling you more about our planned itinery and how I went about planning them.