COLUMBUS, Ohio — While tens of thousands of people looked to the skies at the Columbus Air Show to watch some of the most skilled pilots from around the world fly modern and vintage aircraft, a different vehicle at the event kept a team of military buffs grounded.

What You Need To Know

  • A group of volunteers is showing off a fully operational 1944 tank during a World War II reenactment at the Columbus Air Show

  • A private owner purchased the tank decades after it helped U.S. troops secure a victory in the Western Front of the war

  • Retired members of the U.S. armed forces and history enthusiasts help fill the five crew positions on the tank to help give event spectators a greater appreciation and understanding of what soldiers faced during the war

Al Kose served in the Army for 31 years. He’s now part of a team of volunteers who operate a fully restored 1944 tank at events and World War II reenactments.

“When I retired in 2009, I thought I might never be on a tank again,” Kose said. “Lo-and-behold, I’m on tanks more than I was in the Army.”

Kose said the Sherman tank he helps showcase was used to help U.S. troops secure a victory in the Western Front of World War II, before being deployed to later conflicts. After it was decommissioned by the Army, the tank was purchased by a private owner.

The group’s participation in the Columbus Air Show gave Patricia Long the chance to see, for the first time in person, the type of tank that saved her dad’s life.

“When he got to that cliff, he didn’t know if he was alive or he was dead, but he was always thankful for that tank,” Long said.

She said her dad used an armored vehicle as a shield while landing in France with the second wave of troops on D-Day.

“What it must’ve been like with bullets flying past you and having this huge monster right beside you to protect you,” she said.

Kose said that’s the goal of these demonstrations, to give people a greater appreciation of our veterans.

“As magnificent an historical artifact as this is, the real story is those 17- to 21-year-old young men from all over the country that took these things into action,” he said.