A FAMILY STORY
« Normandy44 Tours » and « Normandy44 with Oliver » are privately owned, family-run business by Olivier Coulon.
Olivier is guiding for over 20 years.
“Olivier was born in the South of France and son of a highly decorated WW2 pilot Veteran. He visited the United States many times before he decided to live and work there. This started in 1985 and 1990 , when he worked at Epcot Center, Resorts and Magic Kingdom.
He worked as well for 5 years at TWA in Paris.
He moved back to France in 1991 to be part of the Disneyland Paris opening crew and worked there till 2001 (in charge of the opening of the attraction Pirates of the Caribbean, then moved to international staffing). With Disney he developed the love of working with people from other parts of the world and gained an appreciation of the « multicultural spirit ».
Taking a year leave of absence from Disney in 2000, he also started a business in Sarasota FL, importing and selling French Antiques, this was very successful as Americans have a great appreciation of history and artifacts from the past.
In 2001 he moved to Normandy. Olivier has been passionate about WWII since his childhood and has a large collection of military artifacts.
Olivier’s father, Pierre, bravery and service in the French Air Force honored France during WWII, having served proudly in 1939/40 for his country in the campaign against the German invasion.
Pierre earned his wings in 1936 and piloted a Potez 63/11, in the 1/33 group, which performed reconnaissance missions in enemy territory during the German invasion of Belgium and France. In 1950, Pierre was decorated for his military exploits with the highest French Distinction the « Légion d’Honneur ».
Olivier’s mother, Madeleine, participated actively in a French Resistance special network, helping shut down allied airmen to escape to Portugal (neutral) where they could board a ship back to England.
Like is father, Olivier also served his country in the service of the « Gendarmerie de l’Air ». Olivier has always told me many stories and anecdotes about the Allies. This interest was instilled in him by the many recounted stories and visions of his parents, their perspective and gratitude towards our liberators.
He has very much enjoyed learning about the fascinating aspects of WWII, and when he finally moved to Normandy, at last, he was in the heart of history and guiding since 2003! »
