Every morning and evening as I travel to and from work, I pass by a tank sitting idle in a park. Even though this tank catches my eye every time I pass by, I had no clue as to why it is there and what it represents. I didn't even know the name of the park, to be honest. I do now.
The park is called Irzyk Park. It is located in Salem Massachusetts at 17 Fort Avenue. "The park is named in honor of Brigadier General Albin F. Irzyk, a Salem native who served in World War II, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Vietnam War. Initially joining the United States Army in 1940, he gave a total of 31 years in its service." (1)
To amplify the parks meaning, an M60 tank is on public display. "The M60 Patton is a main battle tank (MBT) introduced in December 1960. With the United States Army's deactivation of their last heavy tank battalion in 1963, the M60 became the Army's primary tank during the Cold War. (2)
The tank on display is easily accessible. Anyone can walk right up to it.
(1) https://www.salem.com/veterans-services/pages/irzyk-park
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M60_Patton
It's funny that you chose to post about this tank, because ever since I could remember I'd pass by the park with the tank in it without really knowing why the tank was there. After a while to be honest I kind of didn't even really notice it while I passed since it was a sight I was so well acquainted with. I thought it was really cool how you revealed the reason why the tank is placed in the park as well as who General Irzyk was in terms of his service to his country and his history with the local area. Overall I thought this was a great post and I found it to be really informative (By the way before reading your article I had no idea what the name of the park was either).
ReplyDeleteThis tank really had a short life in the big scheme of the military--3 years 1960-1963. Maybe they had so many left over they decided to use them as monuments. I wonder how they secured it. Good post.
ReplyDelete