Latest News: WWII American Experience Museum and Knee Deep Into History Offers 28th Infantry Division Small Group Battlefield Tour in 2026
25 July 2025–The World War II American Experience Museum and Knee Deep Into History, LLC (KDIH) are proud offer a 28th Infantry Division (WW2) Small Group Battlefield Tour. This 9-day / 8-night tour will follow in the footsteps of the 28th Infantry Division in Europe during WW2, starting with the Normandy break-out in July 1944, chasing the German Wehrmacht across France, fighting in the Hürtgen Forest and Bastogne, and reducing the Colmar Pocket in early February 1945. The division’s role in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WW2 will be brought to life using personal accounts, then and now photos, maps, division records and battlefield walks over the actual terrain.
The tour is being structured as a fundraiser for the World War II American Experience Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A portion of each payment will be given to the museum. In this manner, participants can support the museum while experiencing the role that Pennsylvania’s National Guard Division played in the ETO firsthand. Randy Gaulke, founder of Knee Deep Into History, LLC, states that: “We are excited to partner with the museum because of its active agenda and creative programs, including reenactment weekends, vintage dances, talks with veterans and the opportunity to ride in trucks and tanks.” Museum board member Adam Buck adds that “a Knee Deep Into History battlefield tour is yet another imaginative way to educate the public about the sacrifices made during the world’s largest conflict of the 20th century, helping the museum fulfill its mission of education.”
Knee Deep Into History, LLC is a battlefield tour operator based in Winchester, Virginia. It offers small-group WW1 and WW2 battlefield tours for passionate history buffs designed to get clients into the field, promote a balanced view of both sides and help American clients bridge cultures when traveling in Europe. This tour will be led by KDIH founder, Randy Gaulke and his long-time business partner, Markus Klauer, a retired German Bundeswehr officer living in Waterloo, Belgium. They have known each other since 1994 and began offering battlefield tours in 2018, during the centennial of WW1.
Tour dates are 27 May to 4 June 2026, and the tour will start and end at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. This gives participants the freedom to arrive earlier or stay later on their own, including attending the annual D-Day commemoration ceremonies in Normandy.
Jump to the tour’s webpage here for more details. Potential participants are also encouraged to contact KDIH founder, Randy Gaulke at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com or 908.451.0252 with any questions. It is anticipated that the museum and KDIH will discuss the tour during an on-line and in-person presentation at the Museum on Saturday, 20 September. If you wish to be included in that event, please contact Randy Gaulke.
Knee Deep Into History’s 2025 Tour Schedule
Knee Deep Into History LLC is pleased to announce its 2025 battlefield tour schedule. You can download a .pdf version of each tour brochure by clicking on the title of the tour. You can also download a copy of our 2025 Terms and Conditions by clicking on this link.
Please reach out to Randy Gaulke at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com if you are interested in a specific tour or if you have any questions regarding a tour.
Please note that effective February 2025 we are using WeTravel as our booking agent. If you experience any problems, please let us know. Setting up a new system almost always includes a glitch or two. Thank you for your assistance.
A quick glance at our WW2 2025 battlefield Schedule
Regarding WW2 tours, we will be offering our Third Reich Underground: Rockets, Aircraft and More Tour for a second year. This tour focuses on Germany’s efforts to protect its critical armaments industry by moving production facilities to underground locations in Thuringia, Germany. We are adding The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich for the first time. This tour will cover the rise and fall of the Third Reich through Hitler’s early visions to the demise of the Nazi regime. The geographic areas covered will include Bavaria and Austria. These tours will be led by Randy and Graham Gaulke.
Our 1944 Airborne Tour will focus on the role of the airborne divisions in Normandy, Market-Garden and the Ardennes. Also, we are offering a Market-Garden and Huertgen Forest Tour for the first time in 2025. Both of these will be led by Randy Gaulke and Markus Klauer
In addition, we will be offering a Normandy Landings Tour and Ardennes “Battle of the Bulge” Tour.
A Quick Glance at our WW1 2025 Battlefield Tour Schedule
This is the second year that we will be offering our Doughboy Overview Tour, which includes the Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St. Quentin Canal and Champagne battlefields as well as the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel Salient. This will be led by Randy Gaulke and Markus Klauer.
We’ll also offer our standard Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel Tour and our Verdun Tour.
The 2025 Battlefield Tour Schedule
June
11 – 18, Doughboy Overview Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
21 – 23, Verdun Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
25 – 30, Available for private tours
July
11 – 14, ***NEW*** Market Garden and Huertgen Forest Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
September
4 – 9, Normandy Landings Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
11 – 14, Available for private tours
16 – 21, ***NEW*** 1944 Airborne Operations Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
24 – 29, Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
October
2 – 7, ***NEW*** The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Tour (RG and Graham Gaulke)
10 – 15, The Third Reich Underground: Rockets Aircraft and More Tour (RG and Graham Gaulke)
December
9 – 15, Ardennes “Battle of the Bulge” Tour (RG and Markus Klauer)
Here’s another link to our 2025 Terms and Conditions.
Private Tours for Your Family or Group—College, Veterans Association, etc.
Do you have a relative who fought in WW1 or WW2 and in whose footsteps you would like to walk? Are you part of an association interested in military history? Setting up a tour is a major logistical exercise. Subject to our schedules and availability, we are happy to work with you to set up a meaningful private tour for your family or group. We can arrange tours for most budget, interest and physical ability levels. We can also build the tour as a fundraiser, where a certain portion of each participant’s payment is donated to your organization! We raised $3,100 for the Connecticut Heritage Foundation’s Digging Into History program as a result of our 2023 102nd Infantry Regiment / Yankee Division tour.
Please contact Randy to start the discussion at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com or 908.451.0252.
Header photo courtesy of the American Battle Monuments Commission.