On the east side of the road.

The Blockbuster Tank Memorial, inaugurated on September 20, 2026, commemorates Technician Fourth Grade Ewing B. Boggs and Private First Class George Popovitch, members of the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, who were killed in action near Ley on September 20, 1944, during the Battle of Arracourt. The two men served aboard the Sherman tank Blockbuster, assigned to Company B, 1st Platoon, 37th Tank Battalion, under the command of Capt. James Herbert Leach. Sébastien André, president of the 4th Armored Honor Guards Lorraine Association, initiated the memorial in cooperation with the Municipality of Ley and the Sixth Cavalry History Group. A notable feature of the inauguration ceremony was a restored M4A3E8 Sherman presented by the Sixth Cavalry History Group. Bearing the name Blockbuster III, the restored tank served as a tribute to the Sherman destroyed during the fighting near Ley in September 1944.

According to Capt. James Herbert Leachs account of the battle, the Blockbuster came under fire from a German Panther tank near Ley. Leach attempted to maneuver the Sherman into cover behind a fortified structure. He and the crewmen in the turret left the tank, while Ewing B. Boggs, the driver, and George Popovitch, the assistant driver, remained inside. The Panther fired two rounds at the Sherman, but both missed. As Leach stood outside guiding the Blockbuster backward toward cover, the tank became temporarily immobilized and was left exposed. The Panther then fired a third round, which penetrated the Sherman and destroyed it, killing Boggs and Popovitch.

Source of information: James Herbert Leach

Source of photo: 4th.Armored Honor.Guards

« La liberté n'a pas de prix,

mais elle a un coût. »

Freedom has no price

but it has a cost

Tank "Blockbuster" command by

Captain James Herbert Leach

37th Tank Battalion - 4th Armored Division

Destroyed on this site

September 20th 1944

K.I.A.                              K.I.A.

EWING                          GEORGE

B. BOGGS                     POPOVITCH

T4 - Driver                      PFC - Co-Driver

West Virginia                  Vermont

We do not forget their

sacrifice and honor them.