HUDSON – Seated on a Vietnam War-era infantry transport vehicle outside an encampment of World War II reenactors, the American Heritage Museum’s Hunter Chaney was thinking about the future.
Soon narrating a tank parade during the museum’s recent Tank Demonstration Weekend, Chaney reiterated his message to a crowd of onlookers.
“War is hell. War is terrible. We want to avoid war at all costs,” Chaney told the Community Advocate. “But we have to understand the mechanisms that lead us to war so we can make wiser decisions that affect our future.”
The American Heritage Museum welcomed hundreds of guests to its facility in Hudson Aug. 17-18 for two days of programming around its collection of military tanks.
In addition to twice-daily tank parades, the weekend included guest speakers. Re-enactors discussed military history at encampments. Guests could pay to ride or drive a tank.
For Ron DuBois, the opportunity was worth making the trip from Rochester, New Hampshire with his grandson.
“This is very interesting and it’s one of the best places in the country as far as museums,” DuBois said.
DuBois spent 38 years working as a Navy engineer. His grandson recently turned 16 and said he hopes to pursue a career in auto mechanics. He is also interested in the military.
DuBois said he saw an advertisement for the American Heritage Museum’s tank demonstrations and immediately called his grandson.
“I said ‘We got to go to that,’ ” he said.
Having already visited military landmarks in places including Normandy, France, DuBois said this weekend’s events and the exhibits at the American Heritage Museum are up to par.
“This is as good as anything in the world right here,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”
Chaney said each hour of operation requires roughly 10 hours of maintenance on the museum’s World War II tanks. Chaney said crews started working on the tanks in May to have them ready for their recent demonstration.
Like DuBois and his grandson, Chaney said many guests and reenactors traveled from other states to see historic and rare tanks in action.
While tanks including the M3 Stuart, the M24 Chaffee and the M36 Jackson rumbled to life, Chaney said the demonstration posed a unique opportunity.
“You get in these tanks and they’re not comfortable at all and you’re crammed in there and you think ‘Holy mackerel, this is what the guys were experiencing,’” he said.
Chaney noted current events, ranging from the upcoming presidential election, to ongoing wars abroad. Amid division and tensions, he said events like the tank demonstration represent an outlet for people wanting to engage with each other and talk about history.
“It gives us a civil area to discuss these things, to flesh them out and to reflect on history as our guide towards everything,” Chaney said.
“By knowing our history and calling out what we know is wrong through historical context, that just bolsters our arguments towards a more peaceful country,” he later added.
The American Heritage Museum is open weekly from Wednesday through Sunday. Upcoming major events include a Women in Aviation weekend on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 as well as the museum’s Battle for the Airfield World War II reenactment weekend on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13.
