MORGAN CITY — To help celebrate his 90th birthday, a family gave U.S. veteran and Pierre Part native Harry Breaux the experience of a lifetime: driving a tank again.
Breaux, who turns 90-years-old on Jan. 4, is facing mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer, and back in September, doctors said he had about six months to live. That’s when his family wanted to work at finding a way to give him a special memory.
“And so we were thinking, what could we bring him to do to kind of uplift his spirits, make him feel fulfilled in life,” Breaux’s granddaughter Brooke Becho told UWK. “Me and my aunt were talking, and it was like, he always talks about driving a tank; it would be wonderful.”
Breaux served in the U.S. Army stateside from 1958-1962. During his military service, Breaux’s main responsibility was driving a tank, Becho shared.
After the military, Breaux continued to serve and “dedicated his life to helping other people,” working as a police officer and volunteer firefighter at different points, and even serving as the fire chief of the local volunteer department for around eight years. In addition, he worked in carpentry and as an electrician, often at the same time as his volunteer service.
Becho said according to their math, it had been 63 years since Breaux had driven a tank.
“He’s always talked about driving a tank, and that was like the highlight of his life,” Becho said.
Becho said her aunt was able to do some research and find a location in Uvalde, Texas, that offered a tank-driving experience that would allow Breaux to relive his favorite memories in the military.
This past weekend, Becho and others in the family took Breaux on a 10-hour road trip for a lifetime experience to fulfill one of his final wishes.
“From the minute we got there, his eyes lit up. He had a spark in his eyes. He had the pep in his step. He was almost running to the tank to get on it,” Becho recounted.
The family was able to pick a 1950s era tank very similar to the one Breaux had driven during his service as the tank he would drive.
“It was literally almost identical. He said, the only thing that was different about it was the levers to steer it. When he served it was a steering wheel. Everything else was identical,” she said.
“As soon as he got in there, he said it was like a bicycle for him. It all came back, and he immediately knew how to pick it up and and he drove that thing like he was young,” Becho said. “He put the pedal to the metal, and he just, he kicked it off. We were going really fast.”
Afterward, Breaux told his family that he’d be dreaming about the experience.
At the tank-driving experience, Becho said employees couldn’t believe Breaux’s terminal condition, given his spunk and excitement at the opportunity.
“We don’t know how rapidly the decline will be. We were trying to do this for his birthday, but we didn’t know if he would be strong enough and not so sleepy to be able to do this experience,” she said. “On a normal day, he has no energy and he sleeps majority of the day. But this experience, he was wired up. He was so excited.”
Aside from getting to experience being in the driver’s seat of a tank again, Breaux was able to look at memorabilia at the Uvalde experience and find the kind of gun he had when in the Army.
“He got to see a lot of the things, and he said it brought back some good memories. He’s a really proud veteran, and he loves his country.”
For Becho and the family who went with them, this will be an experience they’ll never forget either.
“I’m so incredibly happy we were able to make this possible for him. It was a bittersweet reminder of the sacrifices he made for our country and the legacy he leaves behind. I’m so proud to be his granddaughter.”
Harry Breaux turns 90 on Jan. 4, 2026. Anyone wishing to mail him a greeting card for his birthday may do so at:
1901 E Tunnel Blvd
Apt #8
Houma, La 70363
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
