2 Tanks Crush Cars for 500-Plus Crowd at Dubois Museum as America Marks 250th Anniversary
Updated
Updated · Cowboy State Daily · Jul 4
2 Tanks Crush Cars for 500-Plus Crowd at Dubois Museum as America Marks 250th Anniversary
2 articles · Updated · Cowboy State Daily · Jul 4
Summary
More than 500 people arrived in the first hour at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, where an 80-year-old M4 Sherman and a 1981 Leopard crushed cars during a daylong 250th-anniversary celebration.
Dan Starks said the spectacle was designed to make the museum’s message about the Founding Fathers more accessible, pairing tank demonstrations, machine-gun fire and family activities with exhibits and lectures.
The 42-ton Sherman was billed as the “Car Crusher” because its steel tracks and lack of fenders make it better suited to rolling over cars, while drivers said the ride felt smoother than expected but demanded constant caution.
Museum staff said similar tank-crushing events are rare outside places such as Bovington in England and Oshawa in Canada; Dubois spectators paid the regular $20 admission instead of the $1,000-to-$1,500 charged at commercial experiences.
Starks used the event to argue that the U.S. constitutional republic’s checks on majority rule—including the filibuster and Electoral College—help explain what he called 250 years of American durability.