Who is Rod Andrew?
Every so often AYLIT has the pleasure of partnering with Col. Rod Andrew, a Clemson University history professor and retired Marine, in hosting a unique small-group tour of Normandy. Rod’s military history prowess and his story-telling skills make him the perfect guide as we explore significant D-Day sites. The tour also includes Paris (the city of lights), the charming city of Bayeux, and many other incredible sites along the way. Read our Q&A below to learn more about Rod, how our partnership began, and why you will want to experience this trip-of-a-lifetime.
What is your role at Clemson University and how does it relate to your leading trips to Normandy?
I am a history professor specializing in American military history. I have taught several study abroad courses in the summer in which the main part of the course was a trip to the battlefields in Normandy. These were very exciting and fulfilling for my students and for me professionally.
Tell us about your time in the military.
I served for four years on active duty in the Marine Corps and another 25 years in the Marine Corps Reserve. During Operation Desert Storm, I was a lieutenant in an artillery battery in 2d Marine Division. I served in active duty and reserve artillery units during the first half of my career. During the latter part of my career I had several jobs in which I taught Marines or researched and wrote publications on Marine Corps history and supervised other Marines who were doing similar work. This aligned very well with my civilian profession and experience.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy hiking with my wife and daughters in the mountains and state parks here in the South Carolina upcountry. I also have a small sailboat that I sail and race with friends on Lake Keowee.
How did you get involved with As You Like It Tours?
My wife and I already knew Jean Spearman and her family well from church and raising our families here in Clemson. After I had led several groups of students and a larger group of older adults on tours of Normandy, and my wife and I observed Jean building her own tour business featuring tours to the UK, my wife suggested that Jean and I join forces. Jean and I both jumped at the idea. It allowed Jean to expand what her company offers, and gave me a fun way to share the Normandy experience with others.
What makes the AYLIT Normandy & Paris trip different from other tours?
What’s most unique and impressive about AYLIT’s approach is the small size and intimate family feel of the tours. Everyone gets to know each other, and long-lasting friendships are formed. Also, Jean and I have found ways to include other amazing sites into the tour which do not relate directly to World War II, such as the incredible medieval Bayeux Cathedral and Mont St. Michel and the city of Bayeux itself. World War II buffs, I think, come away with everything they hoped for, and more besides. Meanwhile, family members who aren’t quite as drawn to World War II end up enjoying the military sites and also get to see some incredible medieval sites and the quaint medieval town of Bayeux.
Why did you decide to go into education?
I was a history major in college, and even when I was focused on going into the Marine Corps I always had it in the back of my mind that I would love to be a history professor one day, where my whole job would be to share history with others and research and write about it. When it was time for my active duty stint to end after Desert Storm, and I had to think about next steps, I still couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather do, even though it would mean another six years of graduate school. I still feel like this is what I was meant to do.
What is your favorite site or excursion on the Paris & Normandy Trip?
There are so many of them. But I don’t think anything will ever replace the first time I stood on Omaha Beach in the Vierville Draw sector where American troops came ashore and looked up at the bluffs and German gun positions overlooking the beach. Contemplating what those men did there and the terrible price that was paid was a very emotional experience for me, and still is.
Why is traveling important to you?
Travelling abroad broadens our perspective on the world and our own home in ways that you can never predict before you go. For example, I never realized how much Europeans, including the French, still remember and appreciate everything our soldiers sacrificed for their freedom. In many ways, they are more connected to that history and the memory of what Americans did there than we are. That is something I would have never understood without going there. Also, there are things about a battlefield that one can never truly appreciate or understand until they walk the ground. You can read all the books and study all the maps, but going there and seeing it adds an entirely new level of understanding, as well as empathy for the price that was paid by everyone involved.
Tell us your funniest or most embarrassing travel moment.
Well, there have been a few, some that were embarrassing at the time but hilarious later. But I’d rather share them with someone after I’ve come to know them better on a Normandy-Paris trip!
Do you have any tips on how to prepare for a small group international tour. If so, please share!
If you are going on a tour that is historical in nature, read up just a little before you go—you will get so much more out of it. For example, I make my students, and suggest to others, that they read Stephen Ambrose’s D-Day before they go, and maybe also his book Pegasus Bridge. Then, when you see the actual sites, you have a much better appreciation of what you’re seeing and how it fits into the bigger picture.
Second, my wife and I suggest from a recent trip we made to the UK to be sure to take a carry-on with several days’ worth of supplies and toiletries and any prescription meds. It is rare for airlines to misdirect your luggage, but trust us, it can happen!
Why is this trip important to you?
This is another opportunity to share with others episodes of history that fascinate me, and to try to help people understand them on a deeper level—this is what I do, and it is something that gives me great purpose and satisfaction. And while I’m at it, I can make good friends and enjoy great food and beautiful scenery.
What are your favorite foods to try when you're France?
All the cheeses. All the ham. All the sausage. All the wine.
If you could talk to any famous historic figure, who would you want to meet and why?
I wrote a biography of a Revolutionary War general named Andrew Pickens and another one of a Confederate general named Wade Hampton. I spent years on them both, and tried to get at the heart of who they were and what made them tick. It would be great to sit down with them and see to what extent I “got it right,” in their opinion!
What does a typical day on the Paris & Normandy tour look like?
No day is exactly like another. But there are some things you can count on. Great lodging, excellent food, a relaxed but purposeful pace, and all the extra personal elements that makes this tour what it is. I’ve worked for larger tour companies, and they can’t provide that.