Wednesday, December 16, 2015

T'anks for the Memories

For those of you who don't know it, I was in the hospital off and on for the first 6 months of 2014. But I did get to come home occasionally, relying on a friend to pick me up and bring me back. On one of those trips I spotted something out of the corner of my eye that became the object of a search (Or was it an Obsession) for the next two years.

That day way back in early 2014 I swore I had seen an Army Tank sitting by the side of the road. Not some military vehicle broken down with a squad of soldiers guarding it but an actual Tank, sitting in amongst the tree's. I told all my buddies about it but they knew nothing. I can't say how many photo excursions Lil' Nick and I took trying to find it again, all in vain.

But this last Monday my search was Over. Coming back from Peoria on route 26, we had just turned off route 18 and THERE IT WAS! Sitting back in the trees just as I remembered it. Looks like it had just been repainted which is probably why it stood out this time. I made sure to snap lots of photo's this time, so I have proof it wasn't a figment of my imagination.

I searched thru pictures and images online but I couldn't find an exact match so I have no idea what kind of tank this is. Or perhaps it's not a tank at all, but a parade vehicle or a home built project. Either way it was fascinating to see it sitting by the side of the road.









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5 comments:

  1. JimDecember 17, 2015 at 9:36 AM

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  2. JimDecember 17, 2015 at 9:39 AM

    Cool! I'll have to check it out next time I make it up to Illinois. Looks like an old Stuart light tank - an M3 or M5. Its incredible that its survived. Could be a replica of some sort; this one has skirts on the side but here is another one that is close:

    http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ouistreham-le-grand-bunker-museum-m3a3-stuart-tank.html

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    1. Avra Valley JohnDecember 17, 2015 at 3:33 PM

      Thanks for the information Jim! The pictures look very familiar.

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  3. UnknownDecember 17, 2015 at 10:55 PM

    This isn't a real tank. Zoom in and you can see the welded seams of fairly light plate steel or it could be aluminum (unlikely because of expense). Someone put a lot time and money into building a model tank.

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    Replies
    1. Avra Valley JohnDecember 21, 2015 at 12:46 PM

      Well Larry, I did say it could be a parade vehicle or a project.

      Delete

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