VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida – A historic tugboat built in DeLand in 1944 has made its final voyage back to Volusia County after spending 79 years in Europe.
Dan Friend, president of the non-profit DeLand Historic Trust Inc., has made it his mission to bring back to Deland the 140-plus ton boat that saw service in World War II, likely in Normandy.
“We found Tiger with the original WWII engine and body still in place,” Friend said.
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Tiger finally returned to the United States in 2022 thanks to a generous, anonymous donation that funded transportation to Jacksonville, but suffered a minor setback after getting stuck in the mud in Astor earlier that year.
“We knew it was coming, and it was, and we’re bringing it home to put it somewhere safe before we have another hurricane like Ian,” Friend said.
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Hours before the tugboat returned to DeLand, people were camping out along the St. Johns River in anticipation of seeing him.
“We got here around 7:15 am,” said Susie Peace. “I’ve always loved it and the story is just fantastic.”
Craig Walker is a US Navy veteran. He and his Rotary Club members were at Ed Stone Park on the St. Johns River early Sunday, preparing snacks for the crowd who came to see the tugboat for themselves.
“I’m excited to see how it goes down here, my father-in-law helped build it,” Walker said. “It’s kind of cool to bring it back to its original location.”
This boat really has a lot of history and that’s why the people here in DeLand are trying to preserve it. I was told that there is even the possibility of making the boat a monument.
“We will have a memorial dedicated to all the builders and crews of all of the US Army’s ST aircraft in World War II,” Friend said.
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