photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
John S. Nasche | all galleries >> The Wonderful - Horrible PAD >> It's a Guy Thing - PAD > Back Woods Tank - Sept 19
previous | next
19-SEP-2005 J.S.Nasche

Back Woods Tank - Sept 19

So there I am, … driving along back roads in the back woods of Virginia on my way home from Washington DC. Sitting there on a grassy knoll, (no, not THE grassy knoll in Texas), is a tank. A tank. I don’t know why it’s there, … I don’t know if it’s a modern tank, … I don’t even know if there’s someone in it. But there it is.
Surly a tank is a guy thing right?
I know I want one!

Personal note; - A family emergency required me to go to the Washington DC area for the last several weeks, but I did bring my camera and I did have the opportunity to visit with my two brothers and sister for the first time since 1998. It’s good to be home again with my wife and kids, for though it be ever so humble, there really IS no place like home! I have over two gigabytes of images to use to “catch up” on my daily postings. Though some of the old timer purists may “poo-poo” and turn up their noses at someone that actually dares to post an image that was not taken on that day, I have a very mature and dignified response to them. Here it is; “Plllllttt!” It’s my PAD, so deal with it or visit some other PAD.

Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel
1/200s f/5.6 at 200.0mm iso125 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
comment | share
Richar S. Eshleman 30-Jan-2014 14:33
Fort A.P. Hill, VA. I stopped by and photographed it and the M41A3 light tank across from it. Check with the guard shack first!
Richard S. Eshleman 19-Jun-2013 23:28
T49 light tank. It's an M41 Walker Bulldog 76mm tank with built up turret to house a 90mm gun. There were only two tanks modified as such in the 1950s. I photographed one in 1986 at Aberdeen PG, MD, this may be same tank although moved to a military base in VA. Rick PS: Very nice photo!
jeff 13-Jan-2009 03:25
it aint a sherman, its a chaffee,built rite at the end of the war and only bout 20 saw service.
James Lundy25-Sep-2005 14:46
Ok John. I am guessing you were on Rt. 11 or Hwy 460 between Lynchburg and Roanoke, VA. Right? If so then this is a WWII late model Sherman Tank. (just guessing about that part, the road wasn't a guess)

Between the two small towns of Roanoke and Lynchburg there is a bip on the map called Bedford. They thru some small government donations and 75% community fund rasing throughout the nation (veterans of foreign wars got active) built the nations first large scale WWII memorial, called the D-Day memorial a full two years before the one in Washington D.C.

Now I am guessing again at some of those times and money quotes so don't hold me to it, just from memory. But a true fact is this small town in rural Virginia lost more sons and daughters to WWII PER CAPITA than any other town in the US or in the world for that matter. It is a town in total of 3200 men and women of all ages. Only 19 men were gunned down on D-day from this town. But when you think that the town only had one school of 60 children Kindergarten thru 12 that is devastating. And you know what, they only had one draft in this town, after the first taken were killed they had so many youths and men and women sign up to go next they didn't need to draft anyone. And after that group was killed even more signed up to replace their fallen townspeople and fight honorably for their country knowing that everyone from their town that left for war didn't come back. Most of the ones that survived were the later sign ups, and they were the ones that knew they would probably not be coming back.

Sorry to ramble but the story of this town, near where I grew up in Roanoke, really gets me going. Especially now that the "National WWII Monument" makes no mention of Bedford or the fact that they built, the D-Day Memorial thru a community effort that was fueled by frustrations at the lack of a WWII memorial site, first and are not considered the "national" one.

Here are some links. http://www.savethemall.org/media/skirmish.html
and the main link to the bedford site. http://www.dday.org/
Dawn23-Sep-2005 23:35
You with a tank... hoy boy...
Guest 23-Sep-2005 13:27
Great shot - it is near perfect technically.
Guest 23-Sep-2005 05:09
Looks similar to a vietnam era M-26, but dont quote me on that.
Dennis Steinauer23-Sep-2005 04:11
They didn't let you drive that thing, did they? We'd never hear the end of it!
Herb 23-Sep-2005 03:11
It's ok keep doing your thing. Nice shot