Tank Restoration Group Hard At Work In New Bedford

Members of the US Army Brotherhood of Tankers are refurbishing a World War Two Sherman Tank this weekend. The tank is located at Papineau Square in the North End.

Historian Chuck Kennealy tells WBSM News, the group uses donations and sometimes their own money to restore the historic relics. "The headlights are missing, the taillights are missing and we've come up with that with our own money. There's an improper machine gun sticking out of the rear, so we've come up with the parts and we're going to make it look real. The City has donated the paint so we're going to make this look like it just came off the factory floor," said Kennealy.

Kennealy says restoring the tanks are a labor of love for the organization. He says the tank at Papineau Square was likely built in 1942, just months after the attack at Pearl Harbor.

First Sgt. Wil Courey is urging area residents to respect those machines. "We hope that people will not get up on the tank, or put their kids on the tank, its very easy for them to get hurt. Besides, this is a memorial tank so its a little disrespectful to get up on the tank."

The tank at Papineau Square is the third tank the Brotherhood has restored in the Whaling City in recent months.