Veterans, historians, authors and military enthusiasts are set to converge on Tampa this December for a four-day conference dedicated to World War II history, running December 2 through 6, 2026. The Veterans Breakfast Club’s Greatest Generation Live World War II Conference promises sessions on major campaigns and the people who shaped them, plus direct conversations with veterans and the experts who study their era, according to Osprey Observer.
The event opens December 2 with registration, a welcome reception, dinner and an opening program, per the Veterans Breakfast Club, which notes the full conference without a hotel stay or the Saturday excursion runs $500 per person. Attendees who want lodging can add a package covering four hotel nights, December 2 through 5, at the Hyatt House Tampa Downtown. A $250 per-person deposit is required for the full-conference package, and it remains refundable through September 15, 2026, the organization’s event page states.
Thursday Digs Into the Air War and the Pacific
Thursday’s sessions open with a look at the Eighth Air Force’s legendary 100th Bomb Group and the air campaign over Europe, titled “Masters of the Air: The Bloody 100th and the Air War Over Europe,” according to the Osprey Observer report. Speakers include 100th Bomb Group historian Mike P. Faley, author Rebecca Crosby Hutchinson, and Colin Heaton, a Luftwaffe historian who served as a consultant on the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air.
The afternoon shifts to the Pacific theater with a session titled “Turning the Tide: Guadalcanal and Buna, New Guinea,” featuring Jeff Ballard, Dave Holland, James Campbell and Chris Kolakowski, per the same report.
Friday Turns to High Command and the War’s Aftermath
Friday’s programming examines America’s high command, focusing on generals George Patton, Mark Clark and Dwight Eisenhower. Speakers for that session include Helen Patton, granddaughter of General George S. Patton, retired Lt. Col. Roger Cirillo, and author Michel Paradis, the Osprey Observer report notes.
An afternoon session titled “Coming Home: The Hidden Legacies of World War II” will explore the war’s lasting effects on veterans and their families, with authors David Nasaw, Carol Schultz Vento and Richard Sherman participating. The evening program features a veterans dinner with conversations and interviews, along with a film tribute honoring attending World War II veterans.
Keynote Examines the Liberation of Concentration Camps
Michael S. Bell, PhD, executive director of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at The National WWII Museum, will deliver the conference’s keynote address, titled “The American Liberators: The U.S. Army and Germany’s Concentration Camps.” The presentation will examine American soldiers’ role in the liberation of concentration camps, according to the Osprey Observer report.
Saturday Excursion Closes Out the Week
The conference concludes Saturday, December 5, with an excursion to the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History, priced at $125 per person according to the Veterans Breakfast Club. The outing includes Pearl Harbor remembrance activities, guided tours and a closing luncheon, with organizers providing transportation for the trip. December 6 serves as a departure day with no formal programming scheduled.
The Veterans Breakfast Club’s event page cautions that conference details may still change as speakers and the schedule are finalized. Even so, the four days are billed as a chance for attendees to learn directly from the people preserving Greatest Generation history and the stories behind it.
