M551 Sheridan Airborne Tank: This M551 is fitted with a 152mm main gun and has a lightweight aluminum hull that allowed it to be transported by air and dropped by parachute. This example was assigned to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, where it simulated Soviet T72s and BMPs in training exercises.
M5 A1 Stuart Light Tank: This Stuart Light Tank was seen in the movie Windtalkers and R. Lee Ermey’s History Channel program, Mail Call. In World War II, it would have been armed with an M3 37mm gun and .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns.
Kawasaki KL250-D7 Motorcycle: This KL250-D7 was manufactured in 1991 and was used by the United States Marine Corp for reconnaissance, messenger service and police operations.
M706/V100 Cadillac/Gage, Light Armored Car: This amphibious armored car was used as a personnel carrier and protected its occupants by using angled surfaces and armor up to a quarter-inch thick. Used by American forces during the Vietnam War, the one on display was used by the Los Angeles Police Department from 1983 to 2004 as a rescue vehicle.
M4A3E8 Sherman Tank: Heading up this column of Sherman tanks is a M4A3E8 Sherman. If this model looks familiar, it’s because it’s a similar model to Wardaddy’s (Brad Pitt) tank from the World War II movie Fury. The M4A3E8 had a high-velocity 76-millimeter main gun and front armor plate hull thickness of 2.5 inches.
Landing Craft & DJ-3A, Navy Jeep: This 36-foot fiberglass landing craft was used during Vietnam to land and retrieve personnel or equipment during amphibious operations. It is capable of carrying 39 troops and a crew of three, or, in this case, an 84A DJ-3A, Navy Jeep. Named the “Dispatcher,” this two-wheel-drive jeep was made by Willys Motors Inc. in 1961.
The American Military Museum headquarters houses small historical items as well as a gift shop.
The museum is packed full of military equipment from many eras of American military history.
Tucked away in an unassuming corner of the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in the city of South El Monte, Calif., sits the American Military Museum.
The museum has one of the largest inter-service collections of military equipment in the Western United States. They have been collecting, preserving and restoring a large variety of military vehicles and equipment since 1962.
The museum’s collection includes 178 vehicles on display from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm.
The American Military Museum is a center for learning about the lineage of American military vehicle history, from horse-drawn artillery all the way to self-propelled cannons and battle tanks.
Among some of the museum’s more popular tanks are an M551 Sheridan Airborne Tank, an M5 A1 Stuart Light Tank and an M4A3E8 Sherman Tank.
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But there are a lot more than just tanks at the museum. Scroll the gallery above to see what else the American Military Museum has to offer.
For more information about the American Military Museum, visit tankland.com.
