NITRO, W.Va. (WCHS) — For nearly two decades a Nitro historian has been waging a one-man battle to find the city's long-lost World War I tank. We explore that effort to unravel the mystery of a missing relic of a bygone era.

Nitro bills itself as a living memorial to World War I. Although not incorporated until 1932, the area that would become the city was host to Explosives Plant C.

Construction on that facility began in 1917 and within months it would produce gunpowder for the war effort.

Over the last century Nitro has honored its history, culminating today in a museum and artifacts which recognize its birth during the "war to end all wars."

That includes acquiring an M1917 World War I tank. Previously hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter in Arlington, Virginia, a donation to that group opened the door for it to be displayed in Nitro, where it arrived in 1986.

Nathan Willis is the Nitro Historical Commission Vice President.

"We worked with the VFW of Alexandria, Virginia," he said. "They were going to remodel at the train station where it was on display, so it had to go. That was one thing. And we were advertising that we were looking for something to symbolize our involvement in World War I."

A donation of $5,000 from the Nitro Benefits Association was made to the Virginia VFW. Jack Moody was then the president of Nitro's Historical Commission. He led the way on the deal.

Wills says the U.S. Government still technically owns the tank but that only Nitro has permission to display it.

The tank was on display in Nitro for 19 years however in 2005 Jack Moody died and that led to the tank's disappearance.

"His (Moody's) son and son-in-law as I understand it, came and they went to pick the tank up to take it," Wills said. "They said they were taking it to paint it and it would be back in 30 days. And so the rest of us really didn't want that to happen. But the police chief was there, the city recorder was there, countless councilmen were there and all of us were saying no. But our mayor said, look they're good old Nitro boys. They'll do, you know, what they're supposed to do. They'll bring the tank back, so I'm goin to let them. So they loaded the tank up and they left with it."

Although the money used to acquire the right to display the tank was donated by Nitro businesses through the Civic Benefits Fund, then-Mayor Rusty Casto didn't require any paperwork authorizing the tank's removal and it was taken away allegedly for restoration and repainting.

Nineteen years later, it's still gone.

Casto spoke with Eyewitness News about the tank's removal but declined to appear on camera.

Eyewitness News attempted several times to contact Jack Moody's son John to ask about the tank's removal, but we were not successful. Jack Moody's son-in-law Stuart Calwell did not return our calls asking to speak with him about the situation.

From Nitro, Wills says the tank wound up at the Ropkey Armor Museum in Indiana, which closed its doors in 2017.

It then found its way to the House of Tank Museum in Wichita, Kansas, where it stayed until late 2023 when it was purchased by Dan Starks, the founder of the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming.

"Only 20 in the world," Starks said in a YouTube video on the museum's channel. "This has to be one of the best examples of those 20. You add that kind of scarcity, you add that kind of quality that really drives up the value of any military vehicle, particularly this one. So, this particular M1917 cost a little more than $1.2 million dollars. It's the most expensive vehicle here in the museum. The most expensive vehicle in my entire collection. And so it's just special, really rare, special."

"I've sent a letter to Mr. Dan Starks, who is the owner of the museum in Wyoming and tried to open up some dialogue to where maybe we could talk and put something together that will help both our museums," Wills said.

Eyewitness News sent several emails and made a number of calls to the National Museum of Military Vehicles Director of Communications and its museum curator. Neither person responded.

We also reached out to museum founder Dan Sparks. He didn't get back with us, either.

Wills knows he's alone in his quest. Nitro Mayor David Casebolt declined to talk with us on camera but did say the city has no desire to get the tank back because there's no place to store nor exhibit the vehicle.

The mayor says the Nitro Historical Commission agrees with that decision.

However, Wills says he'll continue his fight.

Eyewitness News asked, "What would you tell Dan Starks if you had an opportunity to talk to him?"

Wills answered, "Work with us. Let's try to put something together that would make both of our, complement both of our operations."

We'd like to know what you think. Should Nathan Wills continue his efforts to re-acquire Nitro's WWI tank or should he follow the examples of the city's mayor and historical commission and allow it to reside in a Wyoming museum? Vote in our poll below.

If you're interested in hearing National Museum of Military Vehicles founder Dan Starks talking at length about the M1917 tank, you can watch his presentation on YouTube.