On the 80th anniversary of the end of the War in the Pacific, Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours is offering two new WWII tours in the Pacific in 2025, according to General Manager Talia Ambrose. In addition to the Pearl Harbor Anniversary, Manhattan Project, and WWII in the Pacific: Northern Marianas tours, the company has expanded its portfolio to include the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa Tour and the WWII in the Pacific: Northern Marianas and Peleliu Tour.
Founded by historian and bestselling author Stephen E Ambrose, he led his first tour, the D-Day to the Rhine Tour, in the late 1970s when he was a professor at the University of New Orleans. The company now has more than 30 tours that explore the sacred battlefields of the Pacific, Europe, and the Civil and Revolutionary Wars, and follow the path of America’s explorers and legendary figures in the Great American West. What sets Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours apart from other tour companies is that it offers an expertise that was perfected by Ambrose and then directly handed down to the next generation of historians who lead these tours.
As Ms Ambrose said, ‘We really care about the history. Like my uncle, we are very careful about how we prepare our itineraries. We do not tell a snippet of the story; we tell the whole story. Expanding our WWII tours in the Pacific now allows us to better tell the whole story of World War II.’
80th Anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa Tour
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa, the largest battle of the War in the Pacific. The tour covers the final battles of World War II, providing travellers with an understanding of how this historic battle affected the soldiers, sailors, and marines who fought it as well as the Okinawan civilians. The itinerary includes the locations in Japan that made the conflict’s closing months infamous: Okinawa, Kagoshima, Hiroshima, and Tokyo. These places did not simply dominate the headlines of the calendar year 1945 – they gave rise to the balance of power that defines the contemporary trans-Pacific.
The journey begins with a comprehensive tour of Okinawa before traveling on to the Japanese ‘Home Islands’ of Kyushu and Honshu, and its biggest city, Tokyo. Among the notable sites on the itinerary is the storied Hacksaw Ridge, where the Army’s 77th Division encountered a treacherous escarpment heavily fortified with Japanese soldiers, and where one conscientious objector earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving the lives of 75 men. There is also a visit to Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, providing guests time to reflect on how the atomic bomb not only changed the city’s history, but the history of the entire world.
The tour runs March 30 to April 9, 2025 and costs $7,390 per person for double occupancy.
WWII in the Pacific: Northern Marianas and Peleliu Tour
The WWII in the Pacific: Northern Marianas and Peleliu Tour itinerary includes visits to the islands where the battles raged on land, air, and sea. Led by historians who are experts on the Pacific Theater, guests will learn about the strategy of island hopping—skipping islands heavily defended by the Japanese to capture less fortified ones—that led to the Allied victory.
The tour begins where the war began, at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and then continues on to Guam, Saipan, and Tinian to explore the remote island beaches, caves, and jungles that were the battlegrounds of the Pacific front. Other highlights include visits to key command centers and memorial sites, including the launching field for the Enola Gay and Bockscar. These B-29 bombers dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, and forcing an end to the War in the Pacific.
Guests spend three days exploring Koror and the nearby island of Peleliu, which the group will travel to by boat. On Koror, they will visit the Belau National Museum, where they’ll learn about the Japanese occupation, the American invasion, and how the war impacted the local population.
One of the highlights is a boat ride through the beautiful Rock Islands of Palau, home to hidden WWII relics, en route to Peleliu Island. Lying in the shallow waters is the wreckage of Japanese Zero and Betty bomber aircraft downed in the war.
Peleliu, a US National Historic Landmark, is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific. Here, guests will walk White Beach and Orange Beach, where the US Marines landed, see the rough terrain of Wildcat Bowl box canyon, and venture into the jungle to view a Sherman tank destroyed by a mine.
In Horseshoe Valley, they will view Japanese fighting positions and battle remnants, including the air compressor used by the 81st Infantry Division to clear caves. At Radar Hill, they will see a Japanese tank and the Japanese headquarters building, and explore caves, gun bunkers, and artillery pieces at Hill Row. They will also step into Thousand Man Cave, part of a vast network of underground tunnels and chambers used by the Japanese.
There is also an option to attend The Iwo Jima Reunion of Honor 80th Anniversary Commemorations.
The tour runs March 15 to 30, 2025 and costs $10,480 per person based on double occupancy.
For more information about a specific tour or to obtain a 2025 brochure, visit the Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours website or reach out to the company at [email protected] or call 888-903-3329 or 504-821-9283.
