(uplifting trumpet music) (planes revving) (bombs blasting) - [Thomas] The Stuart Light Tank was used by every Allied army during the Second World War.

This tank was built here in Berwick by American Car and Foundry.

They were first produced in 1940, and over half the tanks produced went out to the Allied forces prior to Pearl Harbor.

(tank rumbling) And they ended up in every theater, every battlefield in the war.

To North Africa, Europe, the Pacific.

(tanks rumbling) They loved it because this tank would do 35 miles an hour when the standard tank at the time only did nine.

They were the original shoot-and-scoot vehicle for the military.

(bombs blasting) (gentle music) The Stuart Tank Memorial Museum here in Berwick opened in April of 2022 on the anniversary of the last tank to come out of the factory.

Since then, we've had almost 2000 visitors visit the museum, including individuals from Australia, Sweden, Germany, and England.

We have a Stuart Light Tank on loan to us from National Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, an M3 version.

The Stuart Tank had an airplane engine, same engine that's on the Stearman biplane from World War I, and it enabled the tank to do 35 miles an hour on 60 octane fuel, which could outrun just about any other vehicle at the time.

And we have uniforms and other memorabilia from local veterans whose families have donated these in honor of their relatives.

And we have a number of items from the factory itself because we want to honor not just the military side, but the actual workers who were the arsenal of democracy during World War II.

- [Vincent] I was motivated to paint this mural for the Stuart Tank Museum because I believe every small town has a story to tell.

What the people of Berwick did, pushing the tanks out and helping the allies win the war in World War II is a big part of Berwick's story.

I've painted many murals around the country.

I'm from North Carolina.

I live in Berwick now, so this is my hometown now too.

So I'm looking to bring the storytelling ability of an artist to Berwick.

- [Thomas] The Stuart Light Tank was built here in Berwick by the American Car and Foundry from 1940 to 1944.

They produced 40 tanks a day at the peak.

There were 9,135 workers that came to Berwick to build these tanks.

(celebratory music) In July of 1941 here in Berwick, they held a thousandth-tank parade, marking the thousandth tank to be built by the American Car and Foundry here in Berwick.

It was a grand event where they christened the thousandth tank.

There were dignitaries that came in from New York City.

(tank rumbling) Over half the tanks produced went out to the Allied forces prior to Pearl Harbor.

Six thousand went to the British in North Africa in the wide expanses of the Sahara Desert, fighting against Rommel.

It was real boon to their abilities to be able to drive across the desert at 35 miles an hour and outrun anything the German army had.

The Stuart Tank was used to land at Normandy and the liberation of the French towns in Northern France.

(uplifting music) Because of their high speed, they were able to get around quickly and avoid obstacles.

When they got into the hedgerows of Normandy with their narrow roads and high embankments, that's where they came up with a hedgerow cutter where they took some scrap steel from the beach and put a plow on the front of the Stuart Tank and would drive right through the hedgerows and just rip a wide opening for the troops to follow them.

It was one of the biggest improvements that were made at that time, and it was just made by soldier who had worked in a junkyard prior to the war.

(uplifting music) The Berwick area is proud of its contribution to the arsenal of democracy with production of the 15,224 Stuart Light Tanks.

It was their community pride and their skills and technology that were able to win them so many excellence awards from the US government for the work that they produced and the product they produced during the Second World War.

(bright dramatic music) Everywhere that there was a battle, there was a Stuart Tank involved at one point or another.

(bright dramatic music) (crowds cheering) (celebratory music)