From: Jasper Welsch (cucvman@jam.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 07 2003 - 16:09:14 PST
Sometimes tanks are found in the United States. In 1979 a tank was found
outside of Flora, MS. The story I heard was that some kids had written a
model magazine asking what kind of tank had two turrets. This generated
some interest, and some members of the Nat'l Guard investigated. Sure
enough, an M2A4 two-headed tank in the weeds on the property of Mr. Charles
Floyd.
It seems that the U.S. Gov't siezed a bunch of land in what is now Kearney
Park to build some ammunition plants and training areas. Some of the land
belonged to Mr. Floyd's family. He was allowed to buy it back in about
1950. Mr. Floyd was not thrilled at having to pay money for his own land,
as he saw it. I looked up the deed while I was at the Courthouse a couple
of years ago. The documents clearly stated that the government transferred
ALL surplus property, except for roads, utilities, and any uranium or other
nuclear materials that might be discovered or mined at any point in the
future.
Mr. Floyd agreed to donate the tank to the State of Mississippi with the
stipulation that it never, ever become property of the United States
Government. The tank was taken to Camp Shelby where it was restored by the
Armed Forces Museum. It is now a prized part of their (rather large)
collection and it is the only tank that is owned by the State of
Mississippi.
As an aside, I am told that there was a minor controversy (on the scale of
the War of Spanish Succession) between the Camp Shelby Museum and the Patton
Museum at Fort Knox. The Patton folks wanted to come and get "their" tank.
They usually get away with that. It didn't work in this case.
The moral of the story is that not all tanks that you may find in the U.S.
are still Gov't Property. If they are now on private land, they may belong
to the land owner. A simple check of the County land records should tell.
If you are wondering why that particular tank ended up in the weeds after
the war, you'll have to go to the museum. A link is below. There is a
(poor) picture of the tank on the "Exhibits" page.
http://www.ngms.state.ms.us/campshelby/Museum/index.htm
Jasper Welsch at Home
1984 M1009 CUCV
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