I am a firefighter/paramedic in Alabama. Anytime I transport any retirement aged person, I ask what kind of work they did. In doing this, I have come across many WWII veterans in my coverage area. One of these gentlemen served in North Africa where he was a crewman on an M3 Lee. His tank was damaged, as a result, he was riding in a half track that struck a mine. The blast broke his back and he wound up in traction for 18 months. I have always built German armor, but after talking to him, I was inspired to build a Lee. I built the kit OOB. I then attached it to a simple base with sand as the ground work. I took this finished model over to his house and gave it to him. Tears welled up in his eyes and he thanked me over and over. The moral of the story is contests are neat, but we can actually brighten someone's day with our hobby. Build a kit for somebody else. You won't be sorry.

Patrick

Amen.
What an inspirational story. I think you took gold with that one.

Great Story. Great Point. Great Inspiration.

What better reward is there than that? I can't think of any. Great idea.

Had a similar experience;

http://armorama.com/forums/3205&page=1[/url]

Nice thought. Maybe we should start a collection in the Gallery to commemorate such creations. Why don't you send us a photo of the Lee to start it off?

DJ

I do not have any pictures of the Lee. I built it for him about 5 years ago. I just though you guys would appreciate the story.

Patrick :-)

Nice story, Pat. Gotta be careful with that, though. It would take a huge sense of humor for him to appreciate a diorama with a wrecked half-track.