How Americans in Wartime Came to Be

Alan acquires enough military vehicles to fill Warrenton’s warehouse and another in Crystal City. But he didn’t stop collecting and in 1989 he purchased Addenfield in Knoxville. His collection is now housed in Addenfield and later became known as the Virginia Military Vehicle Museum known as His Farm on Tanks. Shortly thereafter, he hired staff to restore and maintain various parts. More buildings were added as the needs of the collection grew. According to Alan, “It was a lot of fun!”

Alan is often asked how many pieces of military equipment he owns, such as armor, trucks, and jeeps. He always gives the same answer of “I don’t know”. With such a huge collection, it’s hard to keep track of everything. The emphasis was primarily on U.S. equipment, but other parts came from Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Canada, Israel, and Russia.

How do I find and buy tanks? According to Alan, there are many ways. I got my first tank from a gentleman in Tennessee, found it in a scrapyard, repaired it, and sold it. It was sold for scrap by the Army. According to Allan, the richest source of vehicles is Europe, with French, British, and Italians particularly avid collectors of US military equipment. One of his very interesting finds is Alain’s M10 tank destroyer. Found under 100 feet of junk in a scrapyard in England. Apparently, it was dumped there after World War II, and fortunately it was turned upside down, so the inside of the car remained fairly dry.

Dealers and other collectors are the eyes and ears of military museums. When they see or hear something that someone like Alan might be interested in, they pick up the phone and call. In the early 1990s, at an open house event, the German ambassador told Alan that it was costing the government $5,000 to dismantle tanks left behind by the Russians. I asked if… the answer was yes! Alan said with a laugh. It was from this point that an influx of Russian and East German vehicles occurred.

Many of the vehicles Alan got had to be restored to some degree, and since he couldn’t go to a store to get parts for vehicles like the American Sherman tank or the Russian T-34, he had to find other ways to get parts. need to find out. Many years ago Alan and his best friend traveled to Canada and other places around the world to buy containers full of parts they knew they would need someday. If you can put them in, they will buy them and store them. Through this process, over the course of five years, Alan brought in his twenty-five of his 40-foot containers full of his parts. According to Allan, these parts are “a great source to keep them running.”

In addition to the parts I bought years ago, Mark Sailing, who runs the farm daily, is very good at finding parts with friends in the restoration business and on the Internet. If not found, create one. Allan says it’s amazing what Marc and his team, who are mostly volunteers, have accomplished. As for the restoration process, it “requires patience, experience and effort.” And according to Alan it can get dirty and nasty, depending on the level of restoration needed, roughly he takes 1-2 people to restore a tank like the M10 It takes years.

Many of the vehicles have been shown at the annual open house and some have been seen in movies and television.If you’ve seen the critically acclaimed show House of Cards on the Sand, have seen some vehicles.His car has appeared in movies like Super 8, father’s flagWhen mars attack, To name a few. And when a request to use a vehicle comes in, it’s a blessing. The proceeds will pay for a portion of the cost of restoring and maintaining the vehicles in Alan’s collection.

The oldest vehicle in the collection is the M1917 light tank, the first tank produced in the United States. This is a copy of the French Renault FT 17. This tank was purchased in a deal with another collector who did not want to spend time and effort on repairs. During the demilitarization process, the government smashed the head of the engine. Twelve years later, the tank was fully restored and put back into service. Now he is one of the prized possessions of Alain’s collection.

According to Allan, the first open houses were held in the early 1990s. Alan had a friend who knew the collection and he wanted to see his tank. In his first year he brought about 15 people to the farm, brought out a few chariots and ran them through the fields. After that, many people came every year. Soon, a more formal program began to take shape, adding special events and speakers. The event is growing every year, and in 2021, the two-day event drew more than 16,000 visitors to the open house.

Alan talking to Thomas Gill at the open house

Open houses are no longer just tanks. From humble beginnings, the event has now evolved to include K-9 and flamethrower demonstrations, mock attacks by the Marine Corps Historical Society, living history units, vendor exhibits, hood his truck and more . Every year the event grows and attracts more and more people.

In 2008, Alan was asked to provide several vehicles and tanks for display in Manassas to promote his service to veterans and our country. That, coupled with the events and speakers held at his tank farm, made him realize that his interest wasn’t in the vehicles, but in the people who served in both wartime and peacetime. Whether on the front lines or in the rear of the United States, everyone in uniform served the country in some way. And it is their service and sacrifice that Americans with wartime experience strive to shine the spotlight on, educating current and future generations, honoring their service and helping others Invite people to serve.

Education, Honor and Inspiration have been our mottos since the museum’s first days. The museum is not a ‘tank museum’, it primarily focuses on people…. telling accounts of them during wartime, whether they worked abroad or here on the domestic front. Unlike most museums, Americans at War features warscapes from World War I to the present day and vehicles in service as well as static exhibits. Located on the Hilton family grounds on Dale Boulevard and Interstate 95 in Prince William County. In addition to land, Hilton also donates land development.

Other supporters

Alan at the groundbreaking ceremony with John & Ernestine Jenkins, Donnie Hilton and Craig Stewart

There are many people who have contributed to the creation of the museum. Perhaps one of his most influential figures is the late John D. Jenkins. John joined his two tours in Vietnam before retiring from the Army. He was a member of Prince William’s county oversight board and was “the one who really put this together,” Alan says. Supervisor Jenkins knew what Alan wanted and wanted to make it happen, so he led the Hilton family into a relationship. It was John and the Hilton family who made it all happen.

voice of freedom

In addition to military vehicles used to tell the story of Americans during the war, the museum features veteran history projects. The mission of Voices of Freedom (VOF) is to document and preserve the stories and experiences of Americans who served and sacrificed during wartime. Alan says nothing compares to hearing about our servicemen than hearing about it from them. It is not the same as hearing directly from someone who has

VOF is funded by Allan’s best friends Laurie Landeau and Robert Maze. “They have been very generous in their support of this project,” he says. They provide the necessary resources to continue recording and preserving the more than 650 interviews conducted to date by VOF staff. Without their support, hundreds of veterans wouldn’t have had the chance to record their stories and their families would have known what their loved ones had done to protect our freedom. You may not have known

The Americans in Wartime Experience was founded to tell the stories of the service and sacrifice of millions of Americans who responded to the call of duty during the war. Allan Cors is the driving force behind that effort. He is the heart and soul of the Museum, and has made thousands more aware and educated about veterans, their service, and the equipment they used to defend their freedom and defeat tyranny. He is the reason tank farms exist, the annual open houses exist, and soon there will be museums where even more people can be educated and inspired.