France gave Vassar College a tank at the end of World War I.
The gift was a 40-ton Saint-Chamond tank, presented by the French government on Armistice Day, November 11, 1920. It commemorated the work of Vassar graduates who had served in France during and after the war, particularly the Vassar Relief Unit’s humanitarian efforts near Verdun.
The unit helped operate the Goutte de Lait, or “Drop of Milk,” a program that distributed milk and supported child welfare in the heavily damaged region. France placed a marble plaque at the facility honoring the Vassar women, and the tank became an unusually large expression of gratitude.
The Saint-Chamond was a French World War I heavy tank. It carried a 75-millimeter gun and four machine guns, but its long body and relatively short tracks made trench crossing difficult. At Vassar, it stood between Jewett and Josselyn halls as a memorial and campus landmark until it was dismantled and removed in 1934.