Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A rare M3 "Stuart" Light tank sits on the northwest corner of the Kosciusko County Courthouse.
Recently repainted and refurbished by American Legion Post 49 of Warsaw, the vehicle will be rededicated Thursday in a 2 p.m. Legion ceremony.
The Veterans' Day event will feature former Gov. Dr. Otis Bowen of Bremen as the guest speaker. Bowen is a World War II veteran of the Pacific Theatre.
The county tank was known as a M3A3 Light Tank. Between January and August 1943, some 3,427 of these tanks were constructed by the American Car and Foundry Co. for use during WWII.
According to Charles R. Lemons, curator of the Patton Museum of Calvary and Armor in 1991, "the vehicle's relative rarity comes from the fact that very few were used by U.S. Forces and these only for training. The vast majority of these tanks were sent, under lend-lease, to English and Commonwealth forces, as well as the Chinese, Free French, Free Polish and Soviet Armies. Under these various forces the tank saw extensive combat in all theaters of the war. The British referred to the M3A3 as the Stuart V (after Civil War Confederate Army Gen. Jeb Stuart) and even went as far as to supply 56 of these vehicles to Tito's guerillas in Yugoslavia in 1945."
The tanks carried a crew of four: commander/gunner, loader, driver and assistant driver. The gun was a 37 mm. Fuel consumption for the small, fast little vehicle was one gallon per mile.
The registration number is given as USA 3047999.
