The old Sherman WWII tank that sits in front of the American Legion Post on Wolcott Road has an interesting and long history.
Prior to 1972 the tank was located in front of Headquarters Restaurant on Meriden Road. Pat and Kelly Crean established that restaurant after Pat returned home from the Army where he was a cook. Originally a Legion Post chartered in 1957 had been located there and members were able to get the tank from an Army salvage depot in Letterkenny, PA for free in September of that year. It took eight days on a rented flatbed truck, eighteen traffic tickets and $1500 to get the tank to Meriden Road. Years later in 1971, the Legion charter was canceled and when they left the building they passed the tank ownership onto the restaurant owners. The tank remained there until October of 1972 when construction of a new bank forced it to be moved; thus the American Legion Billy Peterson Post prepared for the tank's six-mile trek across town. The 712th Heavy Equipment Maintenance Division of the Army National Guard team was called in from Windsor Locks to move it to its present location; it has remained there for forty-seven years.
The tank served during WWII. It was built in the winter of 1944 by Chrysler and was on the battlefields of Italy by the summer of 1945 and possibly later in Korea. The tank was totally refurbished by members of the United States Army Brotherhood of Tankers (USABOT). They stripped the tank of paint and grease and applied an initial primer; it was then painted with authentic lusterless olive crab. The team stenciled on an authentic unit designation C16, C for Connecticut and 16 for the first two post numbers. They also added new headlights and taillights. When the tank was completed the Boy Scouts completed a community service project and beautified the area. A re-dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, August 18, 2019 at noon at the American Legion Post.