Testimonials from battle-tour participants
I am an Air National Guardsman assigned to Temporary Duty on the western German border.
I was touring with some other guardsmen in the Bastogne area and took a wonderful wrong turn.
I stopped to look over my maps and get my bearings on a small farm road and looked up
and saw three WWII airborne infantrymen walking up the road.
I rolled down my window and asked if they spoke English and Jos Bex, replied; No I speak American. I got a business card from Jos and contacted him for the next weekend in Netherlands for a tour of the Operation Market Garden operational area. Jos really brings the battle area to life and brings everything into perspective.
Take the time and set something up with him.
I tried the first weekend to go around the Bastogne area with a good tour book on my own and I did
it again with Jos and the difference was night and day. I feel very lucky to have encountered Jos Bex that winter morning and being able to take his tours.
Stacy Scott, MSgtOhio Air National Guard
Dear Jos,
I’m sure that your ETO-Tours will be a great success. Your knowledge of WWII and the actions of the 82nd Airborne in Operation Market Garden inHolland and the Huertgen Forest and Kall River Valley Nijmegen for the celebration of the Waal River
With my best wishes, Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy
Dear Jos,
I want to thank you for your hospitality and the wonderful meal you shared with us with your family,
it was nice to meet them.The tour took us to places that brought back many memories of 65 years ago.
The kindness everyone showed us made us feel so humble. I appreciate all the work you did to make our tour and visit so great. Thanks also to your companion Olaf for a most enjoyable ride in his 1942US Command Car.Next time on tour you visit the children from the school in Bastogne again, tell them how nice it was to see their interest in the 17th Airborne troops and their caring for the graves of the Allies.Good luck with your ETO-Tour business, it was a pleasure to travel with you.And I received all the pictures you send to my daughter Roxanne.
Yours truly Jim and Mavee Hoover, Marion Iowa 194th GIR , 17th AB Div.
Hi Jos,
Thanks for sending the pictures, I had a great time on the Tour.Really enjoyed meeting all the different people. I did receive your envelope.I will keep in touch
Steve Lamica, his uncle participated in Op. Varsity March 1945
Thank you, Jos the Boss.
You did very well to corral all us forceful individuals. I will remember this trip as one of the high points of my life.
Andrea White, daughter of US WW2 veteran
The Quegan family as a whole, send you our sincere thanks for an adventure in understanding the history of our lives as it occurred in your back yard. It was a moving experience for all. We are grateful. For your future in the ETO business we send to you our hopes for an outstanding success. Based on our experience it will be. If I can be of help don't hesitate to call.
Bob Quegan, 17th Airborne WW2
First of all thanks for the photos they are great, and yes please send me more.Yes, it is good to be back in the great state of Texas!! I did have a great time on the trip and learned quite a lot about the 17th ABN jump into Germany, thanks for that.Will keep in touch!
Richard Madden, son of US WW2 veteran
Jos, just dropping you a line to tell you I had a wonderful time on the tour.
You were so knowledgeable about the WW2 17th Airborne Div. battles and the whole tour.
It was great to see all those places my father had been fighting in.
I wish you all the best in the future tours and hope they are all as good as this one.
Kristen Lavoie, daughter of US WW2 veteran
LUCK LUCK LUCK
Joe Quade 17th Airborne, WW2
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dr. Phillip R. Rosenkrantz USA
This is not a solicited testimonial, this is piece spoken from a sincere appreciation for memories that just will never die. In March 2010, I was privileged to spend a week in Belgium, The Netherlands, I still want to call it Holland, and Germany with some of the finest people I have ever met. They made me feel like family and I now regard them as my extended family. Jos Bex, your to be host, was co-host for my visit. I now refer to him as my true friend. It was he who located my exact landing spot in Germany when I jumped March 24, 1945.
His tour will not be “get on the bus, get off the bus, get on the bus, get off the bus”. You will see genuine points of WW2 interest with a clear, concise explanation of what occurred, maybe not exactly where your foxhole was but, but maybe where your buddies was. I am confident you will savor the memories of this visit forever.
Curt Gadd, 17th Airborne, WW2
It was most pleasant to be with you and your family. Your guiding was excellent and I hope to get back to Oosterbeek once again. Success with your ETO tour business !! All the best! John.
John Entwistle, 1st Battalion the Border Regiment, Arnhem Sept. 1944
The tour of Nijmegen and the surrounding sites of interest was a revelation. I learnt more in an hour than I had from a dozen books. Our friendly guide explained not only the bigger picture but also the smaller details that really brought history to life, getting up close and personal to those remarkable days in Holland. The vast local knowledge he shared brought the past to life in a way no book could achieve. Our guide had genuine passion for the subject and gave a professional tour, yet remained extremely personable, engaging and entertaining throughout. I can thoroughly recommend the tour to one and all, you won't be disappointed !
Tim Robinson, UK
This is Esin Akan, a Turkish researcher and writer on WWII. In September 2005, I was about to start studying the strategically bridges in Europe in WWII. When I started researching about the Arnhem bridge, by pure luck I got the opportunity to come across with the ‘Dutch’ and finally met our dear friend Jos Bex to guide myself to the battle fields of Arnhem.He was such a good guide that I was able to go and see all the places of “The Battle of Arnhem” all at once . He is such a good guide, that he totally gets you into the event in detail.Don’t know why or how, but he is indeed a man of WWII, an excellent person to guide WWII battle fields with his profound knowledge. Good luck with the great work Jos...
Esin Akan, Istanbul Turkey
Jos, Thank you for a wonderful time on ETO Tours 17th Airborne tour. I got to see places that I had only read or heard stories about. Thanks to you and your trusty assistant Olaf. I was able to enjoy my time with ETO Tours. Accommodations and the food were excellent. A very educational experience. Memories for a life time. I hope to participate in more ETO adventures in the future.
Sincerely,
Paul Madden (Son of a 17th A/B veteran)
a battletour's future is only as promising as its next generation of children
I was touring with some other guardsmen in the Bastogne area and took a wonderful wrong turn.
I stopped to look over my maps and get my bearings on a small farm road and looked up
and saw three WWII airborne infantrymen walking up the road.
I rolled down my window and asked if they spoke English and Jos Bex, replied; No I speak American. I got a business card from Jos and contacted him for the next weekend in Netherlands for a tour of the Operation Market Garden operational area. Jos really brings the battle area to life and brings everything into perspective.
Take the time and set something up with him.
I tried the first weekend to go around the Bastogne area with a good tour book on my own and I did
it again with Jos and the difference was night and day. I feel very lucky to have encountered Jos Bex that winter morning and being able to take his tours.
Stacy Scott, MSgtOhio Air National Guard
Dear Jos,
I’m sure that your ETO-Tours will be a great success. Your knowledge of WWII and the actions of the 82nd Airborne in Operation Market Garden in
With my best wishes, Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy
Dear Jos,
I want to thank you for your hospitality and the wonderful meal you shared with us with your family,
it was nice to meet them.The tour took us to places that brought back many memories of 65 years ago.
The kindness everyone showed us made us feel so humble. I appreciate all the work you did to make our tour and visit so great. Thanks also to your companion Olaf for a most enjoyable ride in his 1942US Command Car.Next time on tour you visit the children from the school in Bastogne again, tell them how nice it was to see their interest in the 17th Airborne troops and their caring for the graves of the Allies.Good luck with your ETO-Tour business, it was a pleasure to travel with you.And I received all the pictures you send to my daughter Roxanne.
Yours truly Jim and Mavee Hoover, Marion Iowa 194th GIR , 17th AB Div.
Hi Jos,
Thanks for sending the pictures, I had a great time on the Tour.Really enjoyed meeting all the different people. I did receive your envelope.I will keep in touch
Steve Lamica, his uncle participated in Op. Varsity March 1945
Thank you, Jos the Boss.
You did very well to corral all us forceful individuals. I will remember this trip as one of the high points of my life.
Andrea White, daughter of US WW2 veteran
The Quegan family as a whole, send you our sincere thanks for an adventure in understanding the history of our lives as it occurred in your back yard. It was a moving experience for all. We are grateful. For your future in the ETO business we send to you our hopes for an outstanding success. Based on our experience it will be. If I can be of help don't hesitate to call.
Bob Quegan, 17th Airborne WW2
First of all thanks for the photos they are great, and yes please send me more.Yes, it is good to be back in the great state of Texas!! I did have a great time on the trip and learned quite a lot about the 17th ABN jump into Germany, thanks for that.Will keep in touch!
Richard Madden, son of US WW2 veteran
Jos, just dropping you a line to tell you I had a wonderful time on the tour.
You were so knowledgeable about the WW2 17th Airborne Div. battles and the whole tour.
It was great to see all those places my father had been fighting in.
I wish you all the best in the future tours and hope they are all as good as this one.
Kristen Lavoie, daughter of US WW2 veteran
LUCK LUCK LUCK
Joe Quade 17th Airborne, WW2
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dr. Phillip R. Rosenkrantz USA
This is not a solicited testimonial, this is piece spoken from a sincere appreciation for memories that just will never die. In March 2010, I was privileged to spend a week in Belgium, The Netherlands, I still want to call it Holland, and Germany with some of the finest people I have ever met. They made me feel like family and I now regard them as my extended family. Jos Bex, your to be host, was co-host for my visit. I now refer to him as my true friend. It was he who located my exact landing spot in Germany when I jumped March 24, 1945.
His tour will not be “get on the bus, get off the bus, get on the bus, get off the bus”. You will see genuine points of WW2 interest with a clear, concise explanation of what occurred, maybe not exactly where your foxhole was but, but maybe where your buddies was. I am confident you will savor the memories of this visit forever.
Curt Gadd, 17th Airborne, WW2
Jos, thank you for hosting me during the Arnhem and Oosterbeek commemorations.
It was most pleasant to be with you and your family. Your guiding was excellent and I hope to get back to Oosterbeek once again. Success with your ETO tour business !! All the best! John.
John Entwistle, 1st Battalion the Border Regiment, Arnhem Sept. 1944
The tour of Nijmegen and the surrounding sites of interest was a revelation. I learnt more in an hour than I had from a dozen books. Our friendly guide explained not only the bigger picture but also the smaller details that really brought history to life, getting up close and personal to those remarkable days in Holland. The vast local knowledge he shared brought the past to life in a way no book could achieve. Our guide had genuine passion for the subject and gave a professional tour, yet remained extremely personable, engaging and entertaining throughout. I can thoroughly recommend the tour to one and all, you won't be disappointed !
Tim Robinson, UK
This is Esin Akan, a Turkish researcher and writer on WWII. In September 2005, I was about to start studying the strategically bridges in Europe in WWII. When I started researching about the Arnhem bridge, by pure luck I got the opportunity to come across with the ‘Dutch’ and finally met our dear friend Jos Bex to guide myself to the battle fields of Arnhem.He was such a good guide that I was able to go and see all the places of “The Battle of Arnhem” all at once . He is such a good guide, that he totally gets you into the event in detail.Don’t know why or how, but he is indeed a man of WWII, an excellent person to guide WWII battle fields with his profound knowledge. Good luck with the great work Jos...
Esin Akan, Istanbul Turkey
Jos, Thank you for a wonderful time on ETO Tours 17th Airborne tour. I got to see places that I had only read or heard stories about. Thanks to you and your trusty assistant Olaf. I was able to enjoy my time with ETO Tours. Accommodations and the food were excellent. A very educational experience. Memories for a life time. I hope to participate in more ETO adventures in the future.
Sincerely,
Paul Madden (Son of a 17th A/B veteran)
a battletour's future is only as promising as its next generation of children
