The community rallied together to help restore a World War II cannon on display in Pottstown’s Memorial Park that had been vandalized by graffiti, writes Marian Dennis for The Pottstown Mercury.

The act of vandalism on the cannon was reported by the Veterans’ Island Project in March.

“Restoring it to its original condition was always part of our plan, but the vandals stepped up our timetable,” said Cathy Paretti, president and co-founder of the Veterans’ Island Project.

The cannon is actually an M-5 three-inch anti-tank gun developed by the U.S. during WWII. It originally needed to have its paint color, emergency brake, tires, and bearings restored.

The organization posted photos of the vandalized gun on its Facebook page, and received a wave of support from the community.

One of the groups that went above and beyond to help was Chester Springs’ J-Tech USA, which performed an entire overhaul of the cannon.

The fully restored M-5 will be unveiled during Pottstown’s annual Memorial Day Parade on May 27.

Read more about the restoration efforts in The Pottstown Mercury here.

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