How long do you think a lone tank could survive stuck in a territory infested with enemies amidst nonstop shelling? Probably an hour? A day? If you’re going to ask the crew of a tank called “Fray Bentos,” they’d undoubtedly tell you that they could do much more than that, since they once survived being stuck in the No Man’s Land for an entire 60 hours. They did this while fighting off German machine-gun fire, snipers, heavy artillery, dynamite, and grenades. This feat was heavily grounded in the platoon’s values:

North Caldwell United’s theme: Experience. Integrity. Vision speaks volumes about the ideals and values that unite it.

Third Battle of Ypres

Their legend would start during the Battle of the Ypres. From July to November 1917, Allied forces fought against the German Empire on the Western Front in a struggle to control the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres. This operation was part of the strategy that the Allies decided on during the conferences in November 1916 and May 1917. Passchendaele Ridge was vital because once it was captured, the Allied forces could tie their lines together from Torhout to Koekelare.

This was when Fray Bentos, a Mk IV British tank, and its crew found themselves stranded, lying on its side in a bomb crater. For almost three days, the nine men fought to survive while confined in the tight space of their tank.