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When the Freedom Festival's Grand Parade rolls through town Friday morning, its attractions will be toting a bit more firepower than usual.
That's because, for the first time, an 18-ton tank will join the antique military vehicle lineup. The M18 "Hellcat," a tank built in 1944 to destroy enemy tanks, is the baby of Highland resident Josh Coates. Coates has been working to restore the vehicle -- including an overhaul of its fuel system -- and says its presence in the parade will give attendees a chance to experience what most people have seen only in black-and-white photographs.
"I think what it does is give a sense of appreciation for what our grandfathers had to do to keep peace," he said. "It's a different world because of what they did back then."
The Hellcat's journey took it far from the United States before it found its way to Provo. It landed at Utah Beach sometime after D-Day and played a role in helping secure Western Europe for the Allies in World War II. The tank's specific job was a "tank destroyer" -- meaning it was designed to target other tanks that were bigger and slower. With a lighter weight and a maximum speed of 55 mph, Hellcats were very successful during the war, destroying four other tanks for every one of them that was destroyed.
"It was the fastest tank in the war," Coates said. "The idea is, they'd just drive in circles around the enemy."
It's tough to determine exactly which conflicts the tank was in, Coates said, because the military kept "awful records" during the war.
"Whenever you restore an old military vehicle, it's like a mystery," he said. "There are clues."
One such clue is a record that the tank was restored in 1952 by Brown and Root in northern Italy. Since the war's 2,500 Hellcats were only deployed in France and Italy, it's a safe bet the tank served somewhere near there, Coates said.
The tank was then transferred at some point to Yugoslavia under the terms of the U.S. Lend-Lease Act. It was active during the Kosovo War of the 1990s, where it sustained a bullet hole that remains today. During the conflict, the United Nations captured a group of Hellcats.
What happened from there is subject to much speculation. Tradition has it that a British collector bought some of the tanks in a secret deal, and about 10 of them were smuggled into the United States.
"The legend is, he showed up with a briefcase full of cash and a .45-caliber handgun for protection," Coates said.
Coates declined to talk about how he came to possess the tank or what his personal interest in it is, except to say that he collects military relics. Another piece in his collection is a 1942 Jeep, which has been featured in the Grand Parade in past years.
"The whole idea behind this is to honor vets," he said.
To that end, Coates has invited military vets to ride with him in the parade in the past. This year, a Vietnam War vet and a man who fought in World War II's Battle of the Bulge will ride on the tank.
George Stokes, the parade's military entry advisor, said he's thrilled to have the Hellcat in the display this year. He said he hopes it will bring a recognition of how important tanks were to the direction of the war.
"It's a beautiful piece of equipment, and very rarely do you see one of them anywhere," he said. "History is living there. It's an opportunity to relive the past."
The July 4 Grand Parade begins at 9 a.m. Friday in Provo.
• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or
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