Veterans of Foreign Wars & American Legions

As a kid I was always curious about the military hardware typically found outside American Legion and VFW Posts, which is a fairly common sight across the USA. You’ll find everything from towed artillery to tracked vehicles, helicopters, or even jet-powered aircraft left sitting out in the elements as memorials to past wars and the soldiers who fought them.

How’d the equipment get there and what’s its story? It turns out the U.S. Army’s static display program is behind the donations. The organization doles out conditionally-issued, condemned or obsolete Army equipment for static display purposes to certain organizations who qualify for the program. Weapons are demilitarized, vehicle hatches and openings are welded shut, and the equipment is then loaned to the veterans’ organization, municipality, or museum that requested it. Organizations need to prove they’re taking care of the equipment during an annual recertification, otherwise the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command may repossess it.

The idea for this miniature series popped into my head while driving by American Legion Post 1134 that stands along NY Route 13 in Dryden, NY. I pass by there frequently while driving through Dryden on my way to I-80 and NYC or Cortland. One afternoon, I was driving back through Dryden and I just happened to have my Mamiya C220 loaded with a roll of T-Max 100 in the passenger seat of my car. The lighting was perfect - I pulled over, snapped a picture of the M60 Patton tank shown above, and set out on a mission to capture the most interesting military hardware I could find outside VFW and American Legion Posts on B&W film. The captions below each photo contain the Post and location where each photo was taken.