RESEARCH
RESEARCH
On Tuesday afternoon, December 14, 2021, an M60 Patton tank rolled into Darrtown.
Granted, it was not operating on its own power; but, nonetheless, as evidenced by the images and videos below, it rolled into town.
Robert Ratterman of Oxford, Ohio, provided a more complete story of this venture, in an article that appeared on the front page of the Hamilton Journal News, on Friday, December 17, 2021.
Ron Wiley, a native of Darrtown and member of the Darrtown Bicentennial Steering Committee, captured some key moments of the tank arrival and placement in the following video. See Ron's four-minute video at this YouTube location.
Return to Militia page
Richard Hansel, another native of the Darrtown community, created a 16-minute video of the "tank event." See it at this YouTube location.
Paul Gillespie, local farmer, Milford Twp. Trustee, member of the Darrtown Bicentennial Steering Committee, and Viet Nam veteran, was instrumental in the procurement of the tank. Paul is seen, at the right, with the tank at rest, in the Milford Twp. Memorial Park.
BELOW: Before the tank rolled into Darrtown, it rolled through Hamilton, Ohio. Check out these two photos from High Street looking west toward the Monument building and the Main Street bridge.
Transported by Sterwerf Trucking and maneuvered into position by Reffitt's Garage and Towing Service, the 50-ton battle machine was coaxed into the Veterans' section of the Milford Township Memorial Park in the center of Darrtown. Dozens of spectators took in the spectacle of having State Route 177 shut down through the middle of town, as workers hustled to get the tank placed on the concrete pad next to the pavilion of pavers that carry the names of Milford Township military veterans.
Return to Militia page
How big is an M60 tank? When was the M60 tank introduced? Is the M60 tank still in use? See: More info about the M60.
Along with a lot of other people, Fred Lindley took photos at the event. 46 of Fred's images appear in the slideshow at the right.
The photos advance automatically. You may use the arrows at the left and right of the screen to advance or reverse the show.
If you hover your cursor over an image, it will pause the slide show.
Place your cursor on an image and click it to enlarge the view.
The three-day (October 6, 7, and 8, 2022) restoration project was a cooperative effort supported by:
HERE'S HOW THE RESTORATION PROJECT EVOLVED...
If you like the enhanced appearance of the Darrtown village square, please express a "thank you" to the individuals and groups mentioned in the background piece above.
If you have the opportunity, please support the Hamilton, Ohio Amvet Post 1983, which is located at 914 Ross Avenue, Hamilton, Ohio. This organization has a Facebook page that is hosted by Butler County Connect.
If you want to thank the Iron Horse Tankers BOT (Brotherhood of Tankers) for the restoration work, you may post a comment on the Iron Horse BOT Facebook page.
To learn more about the Brotherhood of Tankers, visit the BOT website.
Tim Hacker told the Darrtown webmaster that once the Iron Horse Tankers adopt a tank, it is adopted for life. The maintenance will continue - courtesy of this patriotic group.
(Click the gray ovals, which are links to additional information.)
Darrtown's M60 tank cleaned and re-painted in early October 2022
Pressure washed
Spray painted
According to Tim Hacker, the Iron Horse Tankers BOT organization has 13 chapters; 12 in the U.S. and one in Europe. The local chapter, which includes Ohio and West Virginia, has 20 Iron Horse Tankers units, in operation.
As of October 2022, John Newman is the First Vice-Commander of Post 1983. John is also the Treasurer of the Darrtown Reunion Committee.
> The Hamilton (Ohio) Amvet Post 1983;
> Four volunteer workers, including: Tim Hacker of Hamilton, Ohio; John Winters of Van Wert, Ohio; Laymon Wilder of Blanchester, Ohio, and Chris Alcorn of New Miami, Ohio. Hacker and Winters are members of Amvet Post 1983. Hacker, Winters, and Wilder are members of the Iron Horse Tankers - an international, non-profit organization that restores military tanks. John Winters is the Commander of the Iron Horse Tankers, BOT, 1st Buckeye Battalion.
> Two Milford Township military veterans: John Newman and Paul Gillespie;
> Three Milford Township Trustees: Amy Butterfield, Paul Gillespie, and Mike Green;
> and Pat Cain of the Hitching Post tavern.
From: John Winters
Date: Wed, Nov 2, 2022 at 6:39 PM
Subject: Request of history of USABOT & Iron Horse Tankers
To: Paul Gillespie
As your request for the history of the Iron Horse Tankers, it starts with the beginning of the U.S. Army Brotherhood of Tankers (USABOT).
We started as a small group of retired and veteran tankers on a Facebook page in 2010; just talking tanks and showings pics and where all we served. The page grew and grew, as we added our old army buddies and other tankers found us on Facebook. Before long, we were a few thousand members.
We decided we needed to start this as a veteran's group with officers and a board of directors. In 2012, we became a 501C nonprofit, by the IRS, and in 2013, we decided that we needed local chapters. We were calling them battalions - keeping with the military theme.
Our battalion was the first to be charted, as the 1st Buckeye Battalion, Iron Horse Tankers. Charted on 13, June 2013, in about three years, we have 13 battalions covering all fifty states and a battalion in Europe for our brothers who retired mainly in Germany and choose to live there, when retiring out of the army. Our highest number of members has been about 7,200 at one time. We also have a number of honorary WWII and Korean War tankers and quite a few high-profile Army personnel who are, or were, tankers.
The activities of the Iron Horse Tankers have been many. We have rehabbed many display tanks around Ohio, along with a display of Anti-Tank Artillery guns. We’ve been in parades and won first place awards; helped get a Iraqi Vet, who was KIA, an expensive headstone, which was vandalized and taken care of, and we were on the TV news in Columbus, Ohio. We also send Care Packages to our active-duty tanker troop deployed every Christmas. We go to Ft. Benning, GA every year to the Sullivan Cup Best Tank Crew competition and the Gainey Cup Best Scout Squad to help the troops out on the ranges to supply them with refreshments. We are associated with the Lima (Ohio) army tank plant and their tank "half pint" - a half-size Abrams tank that runs to Fort Benning for the Sullivan Cup.
The USABOT National also has two scholarships that we award every year to the children or grandchildren of our members.
We just had our 10th annual Tankers homecoming reunion this past October at Gettysburg, PA. - with past reunions at Fort Knox, KY; Fort Benning, GA; Fort Riley, KS; Fort Carson, CO; Fort Hood,TX; and Fort Bliss, TX.
The following history of the Iron Horse Tankers was contributed by John Winters - who emailed this item to Paul Gillespie, who, in turn, shared it with the webmaster.
HAMILTON JOURNAL NEWS REPORTS ON MILITARY TANK DEDICATION IN DARRTOWN
On Veterans Day, Friday, November 11, 2022, the Journal News of Hamilton, Ohio published a front page story about the dedication program planned for the refurbished military tank that sits in the Darrtown village square. The program, scheduled for Saturday, November 12, featured speakers and a color guard from the Hamilton, Ohio AmVets Post 1983. Click the links below to see larger views of these two articles.
PUBLIC INVITED TO ATTEND THE DEDICATION OF THE M60 TANK
Two invitations to the November 12, 2022 dedication of the M60 tank were published via an email to all persons listed in the Darrtown database of addresses and on Facebook. Links to a larger view of the invitations appear beside each invitation.
Here's a "tip of the hat" to Avery Kreemer for writing the tank dedication article that appeared in the Hamilton Journal News.
THANKS, AVERY!
DEDICATION OF THE M60 TANK - Saturday, November 12, 2022
The weather was challenging; however, patriotism prevailed!
As evidenced by the images shown below, the service of United States military veterans was acknowledged by all who braved the elements and attended the tank dedication program on a cold and snowy day in Darrtown.
The following slideshow plays automatically. If you hover your cursor over an image, the auto-slide will stop. Also, hovering over an image reveals a left and right arrow that you may use to advance or reverse the show. If you click on an image, the view will be enlarged.
