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Rode in a Sherman Tank


garrettbragg12
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garrettbragg12

For Father’s Day I took my old man for a ride in a B-17, so for Christmas I decided to keep it on the ground and we rode in a Sherman tank. It’s an M4A3 owned by The Museum of the American GI out of College Station, Texas.

It really gives you an appreciation for the boys who fought in these cramped quarters.

 

Also got to meet Patton. [emoji6]

 

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garrettbragg12

Thats awesome! How was the ride?

Loud, but actually a lot smoother than I expected! I think our driver was a little green so our ride wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. Did I mention loud? Lol!

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Loud, but actually a lot smoother than I expected! I think our driver was a little green so our ride wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. Did I mention loud? Lol!

Thats an awesome thing to do with your Dad!

Yea Tanks sure arent stealthy!!! lol.

I rode in an m55 Sheridan Tank. I didnt have the best spot standing in the loaders hatch. Loud, fumes.... Dust.

And standing in that hatch with no padded edges.. My hips took a beating.

Everyone should try it if they get the chance. They are beasts. They do run smoother than you would think.

Must be all the weight?

I never rode in an M1 but they look like they roll like Cadillacs.

Thats awesome! Thank for sharing this!!

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Very cool. My Dad was a Medium Tank Instructor at Ft. Knox from 1944-'46, which of course was the Sherman.

 

We lost him back in April of this year, and I always maintained that he could still get in one and drive it like it was yesterday....stuff like that you never forget.

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That’s great! I’ve been looking to get a ride in an M24 Chaffee (my father was a tanker during WWII and drove an M24) or a Sherman some day. My wife will pay for the ride. I live near Philadelphia and have possibly made a few connections that could lead to a ride sometime in the future. I keep looking. Trying to stay within our area. I’m sure you made a video of your ride to remember it by.

 

 

Frank

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Hookemhorns88

For Fathers Day I took my old man for a ride in a B-17, so for Christmas I decided to keep it on the ground and we rode in a Sherman tank. Its an M4A3 owned by The Museum of the American GI out of College Station, Texas.

It really gives you an appreciation for the boys who fought in these cramped quarters.

 

Also got to meet Patton. [emoji6]

 

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What a great experience! I would really like to do this too. Too bad for me though is that it is in College Station and as for me being a UT-Austin grad I have a really hard time setting foot in that town!!

 

If I recall correctly there is an attorney in CS that owns this tank.

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garrettbragg12

Thats an awesome thing to do with your Dad!

Yea Tanks sure arent stealthy!!!  lol.

I rode in an m55 Sheridan Tank. I didnt have the best spot standing in the loaders hatch. Loud, fumes.... Dust.

And standing in that hatch with no padded edges.. My hips took a beating. 

Everyone should try it if they get the chance. They are beasts. They do run smoother than you would think.

Must be all the weight?

I never rode in an M1 but they look like they roll like Cadillacs. 

Thats awesome! Thank for sharing this!!

My old man chose to ride behind the turret manning the .50, and I got a good laugh out of watching him and one of the crew trying to hold on during a few of the fast turns.

 

Now you wanna talk about rough, we rode one of the 6 wheel trucks and dads got a video of me getting some air time as we hit some rough patches. Now THAT was rough. Lol!

 

I’m glad you enjoyed, thank you!

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garrettbragg12

Very cool. My Dad was a Medium Tank Instructor at Ft. Knox from 1944-'46, which of course was the Sherman.

 

We lost him back in April of this year, and I always maintained that he could still get in one and drive it like it was yesterday....stuff like that you never forget.

How cool is that? Do you have any photos of him from that time frame? I’d love to see them if so!

 

Funny you say that, we have vets who come hangout with the B-17 I work with, and they remember every detail of their position requirements like it was yesterday!

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garrettbragg12

That’s great! I’ve been looking to get a ride in an M24 Chaffee (my father was a tanker during WWII and drove an M24) or a Sherman some day. My wife will pay for the ride. I live near Philadelphia and have possibly made a few connections that could lead to a ride sometime in the future. I keep looking. Trying to stay within our area. I’m sure you made a video of your ride to remember it by.

 

 

Frank

Funny enough, had we been next on the ride list, our ride would have been in the museums M24 Chaffee. Their Chaffee was giving the rides for the second half of the day. It’s amazing how much quieter and quicker it is than the Sherman.

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garrettbragg12

What a great experience! I would really like to do this too. Too bad for me though is that it is in College Station and as for me being a UT-Austin grad I have a really hard time setting foot in that town!!

 

If I recall correctly there is an attorney in CS that owns this tank.

Luckily for us both, there wasn’t even a mention of A&M and it’s a pretty good ways outside of CSTAT. I too was worried about having to see too much maroon and hearing too many “Whoops” and “Gig ‘Ems”!

 

They’re having another event in March which I’m hoping to attend!

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Hookemhorns88

Luckily for us both, there wasn’t even a mention of A&M and it’s a pretty good ways outside of CSTAT. I too was worried about having to see too much maroon and hearing too many “Whoops” and “Gig ‘Ems”!

 

They’re having another event in March which I’m hoping to attend!

If I am in the country in March I may have to drive down to check it out.

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How cool is that? Do you have any photos of him from that time frame? I’d love to see them if so!

 

Funny you say that, we have vets who come hangout with the B-17 I work with, and they remember every detail of their position requirements like it was yesterday!

 

I do.....some I've never shared, so when I get back to my files later this evening I'll put some up. :)

 

When Dad got home from the War, most of the clothing that came home with him was used up on the farm by my Grandad and Uncle. I have his GCM, some pictures and his dogtags, plus his DD 214.

 

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Okay...here are a couple pics from my Dads time at the Ft. Knox ARTC....there were many many soldiers that came through Ft. Knox late in the war, some were trainees, and some who had already been in combat in various theaters and were building points to rotate out of the Army. The pics are ones he took while out on the training range with his platoon, or squad.

 

Dad is standing at the back row, far left of the pic showing guys in khakis. He is also the one crouched on the front of the Sherman between the two front hatches.

 

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Some more from Ft. Knox, 1945, taken by my Dad.

 

post-8237-0-13658600-1575944273_thumb.jpeg

 

This pic may be of the Sherman that Dad said got ingested with water and mud and had to have the engine rebuilt.......

 

post-8237-0-46355700-1575944385_thumb.jpeg

 

 

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I'm looking at the site now but don't see anything about how to get a ride. can you help? Have you visited the Museum of the Pacific at Fredericksburg?

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garrettbragg12

If I am in the country in March I may have to drive down to check it out.

If you end up making it out let me know, always great to meet a forum member!

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garrettbragg12

I'm looking at the site now but don't see anything about how to get a ride.  can you help?  Have you visited the Museum of the Pacific at Fredericksburg?

Unfortunately the rides are only offered at their events, and the next event isn’t until March. I think it’s D-Day themed.

 

I have been the museum in Fredricksburg. They do a re-enactment once a month that is SUPERB. Both the re-enactment and museum are top notch.

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garrettbragg12

Some more from Ft. Knox, 1945, taken by my Dad.

 

{style_image_url}/attachicon.gif AE60D780-B4C6-41DB-9D84-21669CF0A961.jpeg

 

This pic may be of the Sherman that Dad said got ingested with water and mud and had to have the engine rebuilt.......

 

{style_image_url}/attachicon.gif 445420B6-70E2-4B98-875E-3CF5F92F69FE.jpeg

 

 

These are way too cool. Thank you for taking time to share them! It’s awesome that you have such great stories and pictures from his service to pass down.

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What an amazing experience, thanks for sharing! I would love to that myself someday and throw in an M3 Halftrack for good measure. : )

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Very cool. My Dad was a Medium Tank Instructor at Ft. Knox from 1944-'46, which of course was the Sherman.

 

We lost him back in April of this year, and I always maintained that he could still get in one and drive it like it was yesterday....stuff like that you never forget.

 

I bet your Dad had some awesome stories to share. : )

 

My Dad did his medium tank training there at Ft. Knox in early 1944 so there's a chance your Dad might have instructed him! At the time he was with the 20th Tank Battalion attached to the 20th AD. After he completed his training he wound up in the armored infantry so that was the end of his tank career. ;D

 

James

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I bet your Dad had some awesome stories to share. : )

 

My Dad did his medium tank training there at Ft. Knox in early 1944 so there's a chance your Dad might have instructed him! At the time he was with the 20th Tank Battalion attached to the 20th AD. After he completed his training he wound up in the armored infantry so that was the end of his tank career. ;D

 

James

 

That's cool to know..! :)

 

Dad's Training Co. was B Co, 9th Armd. Repl. Bn....which completed training on or around 9 April 1945.

 

He had said that they had about a Batallion's worth of soldiers assemble in a huge auditorium on the post, and on the stage was a group of officers and NCOs that started calling out names.....if you went through the door on the left side you were heading for the PTO, if it was the right side door that was the ETO.

 

After what seemed about 5 hours the auditorium was almost empty, and he was still there with about 15 other men.....it was at that time one of the NCOs called out that "those of you who remain are to report to the HQ Company as instructors" and was immediately promoted to SGT....and that's how it went.

 

One more story: At that time of the war, many soldiers that passed thru were not only trainees but combat vets that had seen and done a lot already and were building points to rotate out of the Army and go home.

 

He was out on the range one day with a squad of men when a Jeep came flying up the road with a messenger and asked Dad if he had a certain soldier out here with him....Dad said 'Yes he is just up the road in another tank' and the messenger told him that they wanted him back at the HQ building 'On the Double'.....so he sent a Jeep up the road to get him and take him in as ordered, and that was that.

 

Turns out that the soldier was SSGT Herbert H. Burr, formerly of C Co. 41st Tank Bn., 11th Armored Division...…..they wanted him at the HQ to inform him he was being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on 19 March 1945. The date of the award according to Wikipedia is 30 August 1945, so that should give us a little bit of the timeline here.

 

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That's cool to know..! :)

 

Dad's Training Co. was B Co, 9th Armd. Repl. Bn....which completed training on or around 9 April 1945.

 

He had said that they had about a Batallion's worth of soldiers assemble in a huge auditorium on the post, and on the stage was a group of officers and NCOs that started calling out names.....if you went through the door on the left side you were heading for the PTO, if it was the right side door that was the ETO.

 

After what seemed about 5 hours the auditorium was almost empty, and he was still there with about 15 other men.....it was at that time one of the NCOs called out that "those of you who remain are to report to the HQ Company as instructors" and was immediately promoted to SGT....and that's how it went.

 

One more story: At that time of the war, many soldiers that passed thru were not only trainees but combat vets that had seen and done a lot already and were building points to rotate out of the Army and go home.

 

He was out on the range one day with a squad of men when a Jeep came flying up the road with a messenger and asked Dad if he had a certain soldier out here with him....Dad said 'Yes he is just up the road in another tank' and the messenger told him that they wanted him back at the HQ building 'On the Double'.....so he sent a Jeep up the road to get him and take him in as ordered, and that was that.

 

Turns out that the soldier was SSGT Herbert H. Burr, formerly of C Co. 41st Tank Bn., 11th Armored Division.....they wanted him at the HQ to inform him he was being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on 19 March 1945. The date of the award according to Wikipedia is 30 August 1945, so that should give us a little bit of the timeline here.

 

Great stuff, thanks for sharing!

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