VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A historic tugboat built in DeLand in 1944 has made its final voyage back into Volusia County after being in Europe for 79 years.

Dan Friend, president of the nonprofit DeLand Historic Trust Inc., has made it his mission to bring the more than 140-ton boat — used in World War II, likely at Normandy — back home to Deland.

“We found Tiger with its original World War II engine still in place, the original superstructure in place,” Friend said.

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In 2022, Tiger finally returned to the United States thanks to a generous, anonymous donation that paid for its transport to Jacksonville, but it faced a minor setback after getting stuck in the mud earlier this year in Astor.

“We knew it would come up and it did, and we’re bringing it home to get it in a secure location before we have another hurricane like Ian,” Friend said.

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Even hours before the tugboat made its way back to DeLand, people camped out along the St. Johns River in anticipation of seeing it.

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“We got here about 7:15,” said Susie Peace. “I’ve always been excited about it and the story is just fantastic.”

Craig Walker is a U.S. Navy veteran. He and his rotary club members were at Ed Stone Park along the St. Johns River early Sunday, prepping snacks for the crowd of people who showed up to see the tugboat for themselves.

“I’m excited to see it get down here, my father-in-law helped build the thing,” Walker said. “To have it come back to its original building place is kind of cool.”

This boat really has a lot of history and that’s why people here in DeLand are trying to preserve it. I’m told there’s even a possibility of making the boat into a memorial.

“We’re going to have a monument dedicated to all of the builders and crews of all of the U.S. Army STs of World War II,” Friend said.

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