The Pacific: America in WWII, 1941-45

Map Unavailable

Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/03/2027 - 13/03/2027
All Day

Categories No Categories

MARCH 3-13, 2027

This fully guided and immersive trip will explore the people and places of the Pacific Theater from December 1941 to September 1945. We will walk the beaches, explore the towns, and follow the operations from the “infamy” at Pearl Harbor through the jungles of the Marianas – Saipan, Guam and Tinian — to the final climactic battle of Okinawa.

The events of 1941-45 continue to inspire long after the guns have fallen silent. This Pacific trip will bring guests to the beaches, cliffs and rugged ridges and fields; and villages, towns and cities where the Greatest Generation made their most indelible mark. From Seamen at Pearl and in the battle of the Philippine Sea; to Airmen on Tinian and above the beachheads; to Marines and Soldiers in intense fighting and brutal slugfests on Saipan’s Purple Heart Ridge and Death Valley and on Okinawa’s Sugar Loaf, Hacksaw Ridge and Shuri castle. Meanwhile banzai and kamikaze attacks threatened disaster at any moment. From Japan we make our onward journeys.

The WWII expedition unfolds over eleven days and ten nights with stories of all the Allied participants as well as those of the Japanese defenders and civilians.

ACTIVITIES & HIGHLIGHTS

Day 1, Wednesday, March 3: Hawaii & Introduction to the Pacific in WWII

Arrive no later than 5 pm and check-in to the famed Moana Surfrider, the “grand dame” of Waikiki.
Social Hour on the hotel verandah with views of Diamond Head and a spectacular Pacific sunset.
Opening group dinner with an overview of the expedition and introductions.

Day 2, Tuesday, March 4th: Pearl Harbor & Hawaii in WWII

Breakfast
Drive to Camp Smith, an active USMC base and home to the joint Indo-Pacific Command HQ.
Discuss Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941. The Officer’s Club on the hill of Camp Smith offers a superb overview location of Pearl Harbor down below. Includes a light lunch buffet.
Drive to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and visit the National Park Service WWII Museum and take US Navy boat out to USS Arizona Memorial to visit the hallowed site of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. You can also tour the USS Bowfin, a WWII submarine known as “The Avenger of Pearl Harbor.”
This attack shook the US from its isolationist shell and brought it into the World War that was raging in both Europe and Asia. The might of American industry and military power was unleashed, eventually defeating expansionist Nazi fascism and Japanese militarism.
Drive to USS Missouri, alongside Ford Island and have a private tour of the battleship USS Missouri. On her decks the Japanese surrendered in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, to an international coalition of Allies led by General Douglas MacArthur.
Return drive to lodgings.
Dinner on your own in Waikiki.
Hotel: Moana Surfrider on Waikiki

Day 3, Friday, March 5th: The Punchbowl, Hickam AFB & Flight to Guam

Breakfast, load luggage and depart lodgings.
Drive to National Cemetery and visit the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in the Punch Bowl Crater. Thousands of Americans from WWII through Korea, Vietnam and the present lay in honor here. The maps depict all the major actions of the wars.
Drive to Hickam Air Force Base (AFB) and visit the Defense Personnel Accounting Agency (DPAA) on Hickam AFB. The DPAA is charged by Congress with finding and accounting (identifying and repatriating when possible) for the remains of American servicemen and women from WWII through Vietnam. It is an amazing organization.
Drive to Inouye Honolulu International Airport and check-in for flight to Guam.
Lunch on your own at the airport.
United flight from Honolulu to Guam International Airport.
Dinner aboard flight.

Day 4, Saturday, March 6th: Arrival on Guam in the Marianas Islands

Evening arrival at Guam International Airport after 7 ¾ hour non-stop United flight over the International Dateline.
Meet bus and drive to beachside lodgings and check-in.
Dinner on your own (you will have had a meal aboard the flight, as well).
Hotel: Guam Hilton Resort & Spa.

Day 5, Sunday, March 7th: Relaxation & Guam in Operation FORAGER (the Marianas Campaign)

Breakfast, followed a morning on your own to enjoy the oasis of the Hilton with its pool on the bay, or to explore downtown.
In the afternoon we will visit sites associated with the 1944 campaign to retake the island and turn it into a critical US Army Air Forces base. Today, Andersen AFB keeps that history alive.
Group Social hour and Dinner.
Hotel: Guam Hilton Resort & Spa

Day 6, Monday, March 8th: Saipan in Operation FORAGER

Check-out and depart lodgings with luggage.
Drive to Guam International Airport and check-in.
United flight from Guam to Saipan International Airport.
Load bus for Saipan battle visit.
Visits to the Airfield seizure, Landing Beaches, Death Valley/Purple Heart Ridge, Mount Tapotchai overlook, scene of final massed banzai charge, Suicide Cliff and Japanese final defense, Banzai Cliff, Korean Memorial, and the NPS American Memorial.
Box lunch from Great Harvest Bread Co. at Mount Tapotchai overlook site.
Operation FORAGER was the largest and most complex Pacific operation to date. The concurrent naval-air Battle of the Philippine Sea broke the back of Japanese carrier aviation for the remainder of the war.
Check-in to Saipan lodgings.
Social hour at either Plumeria Steakhouse or Tapped Out.
Dinner on your own in Garapan, Saipan.
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Resort

Day 7, Tuesday, March 9th: Tinian, Strategic Bombing, MANHATTAN & Flight to Incheon

Breakfast
Check-out and depart lodgings with luggage.
Drive to Saipan International Airport for the short charter flight to Tinian Island.
Load two vans at Tinian Airport and visit Japanese cave defenses, Runways ABLE and BAKER, Atomic Bomb Loading area, and the Seabee Memorial. If time allows, visit Landing Beach and amphtrac.
Tinian’s airbases became the world’s busiest airport from November 1944-July 1945. Both the Enola Gay and Bockscar flew from here in August 1945.
Group lunch at JC Café in San Jose, Tinian.
Drive to Tinian airport for return flight from Tinian to Saipan International Airport.
Check-in for flight to Incheon, Korea (Seoul).
Flight from Saipan to Incheon International Airport, with dinner enroute.
On arrival in Korea, we will go through Passport Control and then gather luggage and check-in to airport hotel.
Hotel: Sheraton Grand Incheon

Day 8, Wednesday, March 10th: Operation CHROMITE & Flight to Okinawa

Breakfast
Load bus and depart lodgings with luggage.
Drive to Memorial Hall of the Incheon Landings and discuss the September 1950 invasion (Operation CHROMITE) that changed the war in Korea along with the concurrent breakout from the Pusan Perimeter. Discuss America’s critical role in the Korean War and western Pacific since 1950.
Drive to Incheon International Airport and lunch on your own at airport.
United Flight to Naha, Okinawa.
On arrival on Okinawa, we will go through Passport Control, gather luggage and board bus for the short trip to Naha Harbor.
Board charter boat and sail to Chatan Harbor. As we approach the harbor, we will be coming in on the invasion beaches of April 1, 1945, specifically the 96th Infantry Division on WHITE and BROWN.
After a short walk down the boardwalk, we check-in to our lodgings in the American Village.
Group dinner at Four Seasons Teppanyaki Steakhouse.
Hotel: Hilton Chatan Resort

Day 9, Thursday, March 11th: The Last Battle – Okinawa and Operation ICEBERG

Breakfast
Depart lodgings.
Visits to Kakazu Ridge, Hacksaw Ridge, Wana Ridge & Wana Draw with boxed lunch. Visit Shuri Castle (Sugar Loaf Hill), and Conical Hill in the afternoon.
Okinawa was second only in size to the invasion of Luzon in the Pacific War; it also saw the most casualties of any American campaign in the Pacific. In addition, the Japanese military lost an entire army of over 100,000 men and the Okinawan civilian population lost another 100,000. Any invasion of the Japanese main islands was thus thrown into stark relief.
Social hour (at hotel or nearby site).
Dinner on your own in the American Village.
Hotel: Hilton Chatan Resort

Day 10, Friday, March 12th: End of the Okinawa Battle

Breakfast
Drive to LTG Simon Bolivar Buckner Memorial on Maezato Ridge near Itoman.
Discuss Japanese penultimate defense line and US attack at a spot near where three senior American leaders were killed, including the 10th Army commander.
Drive to the Peace Memorial Park and visit the site of the final Japanese defense, last HQ of the Japanese High Command, and final assaults by the US 7th Infantry Division.
After final discussion on the ridge overlooking the Pacific, time on your own to visit the various memorials and world-class museum.
Lunch on your own at the museum.
Return to lodgings and final afternoon on your own.
Final group dinner at the hotel.
Hotel: Hilton Chatan Resort

Day 11, Saturday, March 13th: End of the Expedition & Departures

Breakfast
Check-out and depart lodgings according to your flight time from Naha International Airport.
End of the expedition and onward journeys or a longer stay in Japan.

TRIP INCLUSIONS/EXCLUSIONS

Eleven days and nine nights of in-depth guided tours (plus one night on flight).
Full-time professional historian.
All lodging in 4 or 5-star hotels in each location: 2 nights in Honolulu, 2 nights on Guam, 1 night on Saipan, 1 night in Incheon and 3 nights on Okinawa.
Breakfast at all hotels. Lunches and dinners per itinerary.
All museum and other entrance fees per itinerary.
Daily transportation on luxury bus or van with driver.
Personalized tour support.
Commercial flights, economy -class, from Honolulu to Guam, Guam to Saipan, Saipan to Tinian and return, Saipan to Incheon, and Incheon to Okinawa. Upgrade available at cost.
All airport transfers to/from airports/hotels.
Pricing: per person, double occupancy: $11,000; single occupancy supplement: $1,000. Pricing subject to change based on flights when closer to the trip.
EHE requires a deposit of $1,000 per person to confirm the trip. Final payment is due 90 days in advance of the trip.

NOT INCLUDED

Flights to Honolulu and from Tokyo
Alcohol

INTRIGUED BUT STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ABUT TOURING THE PACIFIC?

Let’s schedule a conference call! We’d love to chat with you and answer any questions you may have.
Complete the contact form below and let’s set up a call.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR UPCOMING TRIP TO THE PACIFIC

Contact Information: Brian DeToy phone 253.468.7374 and email brian@historyexp.com or Sheryl Shafer phone 303.517.9676 and email sheryl@historyexp.com.

03/03/2027 - 13/03/2027 All Day The Pacific: America in WWII, 1941-45 Pearl Harbor