Gregory Lupton, deputy to the commander, Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center, Patrick Allie, director of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, Julia Morin, president of the Rock Island Arsenal Historical Society, watch as Maj. Gen. David Wilson, commanding general, U.S. Army Sustainment Command, cuts a ribbon during a ceremony April 30 here. The ceremony served as the official grand opening of the Mark VIII tank as a permeant display item on post. The Mark VIII Tank was built at RIA between 1919-1920 and was used for training the Army’s new tank corps throughout the 1920s. This tank, one of three still in existence, was returned to RIA in 2021. It is currently on permanent display at the corner of Rodman and Gillespie Avenue.

Maj. Gen. David Wilson, commanding general, U.S. Army Sustainment Command, gives remarks about the importance of preserving history during a ribbon cutting ceremony here April 30. The Mark VIII Tank was built at RIA between 1919-1920 and was used for training the Army’s new tank corps throughout the 1920s. This tank, one of three still in existence, was returned to RIA in 2021. It is currently on permanent display at the corner of Rodman and Gillespie Avenue.

Gregory Lupton, deputy to the commander, Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center, gives remarks about his command’s efforts to refurbish the Mark VIII Tank, during a ribbon cutting ceremony here April 30. The Mark VIII Tank was built at RIA between 1919-1920 and was used for training the Army’s new tank corps throughout the 1920s. This tank, one of three still in existence, was returned to RIA in 2021. It is currently on permanent display at the corner of Rodman and Gillespie Avenue.

A large crowd took advantage of nice weather to witness the ribbon cutting on the latest display presented by the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The Mark VIII Liberty Tank is located at the corner of Rodman and Gillespie Avenues on Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.

Officials from Rock Island Arsenal cut the ribbon on the Mark VIII Liberty Tank display on the installation today.

“It is entirely an industrial marvel that was done with this vehicle,” said Maj. Gen. David Wilson, senior mission commander of Rock Island Arsenal and Commanding General of Army Sustainment Command. “It is appropriate that the JMTC, the organization that originally built these things more than 100 years ago, led the restoration.”

“When we received this Liberty Mark VIII, it was in bad shape,” said Greg Lupton, Deputy to the Commander of the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center. “The floor was rusted through, several components needed to be removed, and it was filled with lead paint … just to name a few of the problems we encountered.”

The tank returned to Rock Island in 2021 to begin restoration efforts in preparation for today. This included stabilization, repair, and painting.

The Mark VIII Liberty was produced at Rock Island Arsenal between 1919 and 1920. Originally planned during WWI as a joint British/French/American-produced tank for the anticipated Spring 1919 offensive, the end of the war on November 11, 1918 ended production plans for the tank.

“What’s special about this project to our team down the street, is this is likely one of the few, if not the only time in history, a tank has returned to its origin after more than a century,” said Lupton.

Seeing the value and use of tanks on the battlefield during WWI, Rock Island Arsenal was tasked by the U.S. Army with utilizing the parts and pieces that had been made in the assembly of 100 Mark VIII Heavy Tanks. These tanks would be sent to armor training camps at Camp Meade, Maryland and Camp Colt, Pennsylvania.

Today only three of these tanks still exist. One is at The Tank Museum in Bovington, England and the other two are in the U.S. Army’s historical collection; one at Ft. Moore, Georgia as part of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Training Support Facility’s collection and the final one is now located on the arsenal.

“The dedication and care [JMTC has] taken with this project is indicative of all the work they’ve done throughout the years in support of our national defense,” said Wilson. “They are the true reason this island is part of the Arsenal of Democracy.”

Officially, the Liberty Tank is a part of the displays offered to the community by the Rock Island Arsenal Museum.