We have located one of the few remaining LVTs and have come to an agreement to acquire this important vehicle. Dunedin VFW Post 2550 has graciously offered to provide a permanent home for the LVT. Now all we need is to complete the purchase, have it refurbish and transport it into it's new home as a public tribute to it's inventor, the men who made such good use of it and the city of Dunedin. The
Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVTs) were first produced in Dunedin and the US Marine Corps formed its First Battalion of LVTs in Dunedin, Florida in 1941. Additional Battalions were soon added. The LVTs and the "Dunedin" Marines subsequently served in the Pacific Theater throughout World War II including the first US offensive operation on Guadalcanal beginning on August 7, 1942, exactly 8 moths after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The LVT and Marines from Dunedin played a huge role in the US's first Pacific offensive in Guadalcanal and later battles. By the end of WWII more than 18,000 LVTs had been produced. LVTs helped Marines win the war in the Pacific while the Army used them in Europe or river crossings, notably the Rhine and the Battle of the Bulge. Vehicle derived from the original LVT are still used by the military today.
