Meet ABAGAIL - a Sherman Tank

My husband and I picked up a couple of very nice Italian hoagies at Angelo's in Boalsburg, and we stopped at the Boalsburg Military Museum grounds to split one in the car in the shade. We were trying to get in some outdoors time before the afternoon thunderstorms moved in (yes, this sort of weather has been a daily event of late).

When we finished our hoagie, I hopped out and took a few pictures of a tank that they have on display in the woods there. So say hello to ABAGAIL, a M4A1(76)W Sherman tank. It was manufactured in Chicago. 50,000 of them were built, to be manned by a crew of five (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Assistant Driver).

It features a 76 mm gun, and two .30 caliber machine guns and a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top of the turret. The turret itself was produced in Pittsburgh, PA. This particular tank never saw action in World War II. It was placed here to honor the 707th Tank Battalion, which supported the Pennsylvania 28th infantry division in the Hurtgen Forest in 1944.

On a more personal note, when my oldest sister was alive and well, we would try to make it to the Boalsburg People's Choice Arts Festival every summer. It is held at the Boalsburg Military Museum grounds. We'd walk around and look at things, maybe buy a few items, dip our toes in the creek, eat something fun, and socialize.

When we were exhausted at day's end, we'd get our fold-up chairs out of my car and a couple of cold drinks out of my cooler, and sit in the shady woods by ABAGAIL and relax and just enjoy some "sister time." So yeah, those are the memories this tank conjures for ME.

The soundtrack song has to be about one of the world wars, so here is Snoopy vs. the Red Baron, by the Royal Guardsmen. Favorite viewer comment: Nobody can defeat Snoopy in a real dog-fight!