One of the newest attractions at the Indiana Military Museum will be dedicated this weekend.
A Russian World War II Model T 3485 tank is currently on display at the museum’s annex.
The tank is a donation of the late Robert Costa who was President of the Wisconsin Military History Museum.
Costa acquired the tank in 1991 after writing a letter to then-Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
In that letter, Costa asked Gorbachev for the vehicle and the request was granted as a gesture of peace between Russia and the U-S.
Costa died in January of 2022 and his museum closed.
Indiana Military Museum volunteer JD Strange says it was Costa’s wish to donate the tank to the Vincennes museum.
Strange says this is the only restored and operational model of this tank in the US.
There were over 84,000 of them manufactured and some are still being used today.
Members of Robert Costa’s family are scheduled to be at Saturday’s dedication ceremony at the museum on South 6th Street at 11am.
It’s free and open to the public and there will be refreshments available.
