The World War I tank was delivered to Nitro in 1982.
Once upon a time, there was a World War I tank in the middle of downtown Nitro. Today, that tank is on display in Dubois, Wyoming, as part of the General George S. Patton Jr. Gallery at the National Museum of Military Vehicles (NMMV).
How the M-1917 tank, Serial No. 18168, came to Nitro and how it was removed from Nitro are well documented. What is not well publicized is how that the tank ever became part of any private collection.
Nathan Wills, owner of Town & Country Supply in Nitro, wants the tank back in Nitro. He has traced the history of the tank and determined that the tank was owned by the United States Government when it was on display in Nitro and is still U.S. Government property.
The tank was obtained by Ropkey Armor Museum in Crawfordville, Indiana, in 2005 from the heirs of Jack Moody. In a newspaper article published in 2007, Fred Ropkey was quoted saying, “Their father had a dream, just like me, to save historic things for future generations.” Ropkey, reportedly, paid $60,000 to Moody’s heirs for the tank and spent an additional $100,000 to restore it to running condition. Ropkey purchased the tank believing that it had been the property of Moody who died in January of 2005.
Fred Ropkey died in 2016 and his museum closed in 2017. The tank was purchased by Dan Starks, Founder and Chairman of the National Museum of Military Vehicles in the summer of 2024. In a YouTube video, Starks said, “This particular M1917 is well known in collector circles. It was restored at the Ropkey Armor Museum in Indiana.” Starks added that the purchase price of the tank was $1.2 million.
The heirs of Jack Moody obtained possession of the tank in the summer of 2005 when they told City of Nitro officials that they wanted to have it sandblasted and painted. They said they would have the tank back in 30 days.
Moody played a key role in getting the tank relocated from Alexandria, Virginia, to Nitro in 1982, but he never owned the tank. Moody was the chairman of Nitro’s World War I Museum Foundation when the museum opened in a Memorial Day ceremony in 1989. At that ceremony, Leon Herbert, president of the Nitro Civic Benefit Foundation, presented the tank to the museum. Herbert said, “It is a great privilege and honor to be able to dedicate this tank and donate it to the citizens of Nitro from the Industrial Civic Benefits Association.”
Nathan Wills maintains that the Association, while instrumental in acquiring the tank, never owned it. Wills reported that the N.C.B.A. contacted the VFW Post in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1982 after learning that the post was in possession of a WWI tank that they no longer wished to maintain and display. The post informed the N.C.B.A. that the Marine Corps base at Quantico was also interested in the tank but was not willing to donate financially to the post’s building fund.
Wills was told that when the N.C.B.A. presented a $5,000 check to the post, the post turned it down. They were told the donation must be in cash. The N.C.B.A. was able to cash the check while in Alexandria and made the donation. Following the transaction, the VFW post transfered the tank to the Association.
Present day regulations state that VFW posts are not authorized to loan, sell, transfer, move, abandon or give any asset which has been entrusted to them to any other individual or organization. VFW posts are to submit an annual certificate and a photograph of any displayed item and to contact the ADPO (Army Donation Program) for turn-in procedures if they no longer want to display it. Wills said that he was told that the Alexandria VFW Post followed all prescribed procedures but its records were lost when the post moved into the new facility which the N.C.B.A. helped finance.
US Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, the agency charged with keeping records of turn-in and transfer filings, has no record of any tank transaction involving the Alexandria VFW Post. While there is no paper record of the post taking possession of the M1917 tank, it is known that the post obtained possession in 1932 and the tank had previously been on display at Fort Meade from 1921 to 1932.
Wills feels that Nitro is the most fitting place to display the WWI tank because World War I caused an empty river bottom on the Kanawha River to become a booming city of almost 24,000 in the space of a single year.
In a first step to have M-1917 tank, Serial No. 18168, returned to Nitro, Wills is asking all West Virginians to email TACOM requesting the agency conduct an investigation into proof of ownership of M-1917 Tank, Serial No. 18168. Emails should be submitted to: [email protected]
Once ownership is officially established, Wills is hopeful that TACOM will approve the return of the tank to Nitro, where Nitro VFW Post Powder Keg 9248 will be charged with its care.
M1917 Light Tank Facts
The M1917 Light Tank was the first official tank for the US Army.
It was based on the French FT-17 Renault tank that the First Division used in September of 1918 at St. Mihiel. This American version never saw combat because of its late arrival in Europe. The basic design of the Renault, positioning the engine in the rear with the driver forward and a 360-degree moveable turret with armament, would be used for all future US tanks.
The tank was designed to accompany infantry units as they crossed “No Man’s Land.” The M1917 destroyed machine gun nests and barbed wire obstacles as infantrymen followed, taking advantage of newly opened breaches in enemy lines. It could cross a seven-foot trench and climb a three-foot vertical wall.
The M1917 continued as the standard US Army light tank until it was phased out in 1931.
A few of the M1917 tanks were used as war memorials around the US. A lot were scrapped and cut up. In 1940, the Canadian Army were offered 250 surplus US M1917 light tanks at scrap value (about $240 each). As a neutral country in the early stages of WW2, US law stated that it was illegal to sell arms to any combatant countries. The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps gained valuable experience and training on them before embarking to Europe and using the more modern equipment. The Canadian Army took delivery of 236 surplus M1917s.
