Hi, came across this thread and wanted to add my 2 cents. I'm in the same profession as you and have about 4 years working on historical armor as a museum volunteer at Ft. Knox (back when the museum there still had its tanks).
The good news is you have a good BC who wants to preserve history and you also have an example of an early M32 (early M4A1 Sherman hull).
Bad news is the amount of work to even bring this vehicle to completed exterior for display is probably not feasible given budget and lack of parts. You'd need tracks, road wheels, rubber for existing road wheels, etc. Granted, if you have a good welding shop, some things like the recovery boom and engine access panels can be mocked-up.
Personally, if it were my BC, I'd make one of the three following recommendations:
1. Haul it in, give it a good coating of correct OD paint and stars. Display it in front of the motor pool as-is. Let the unit paint their insignia on it, personalize it. Maybe "Recovery or Death" on the side....
2. Do the same as above, but retain the hulk as a training aid for M-88 training. At least then the old girl is serving a purpose.
3. Contact the post museum curator. It could be some other army museum is needing parts for an early Sherman and has an "extra" M32 they'd be willing to trade. Trading of vehicles between museums happens, especially if a unit is willing to help with hauling / recovery. There are fairly complete M32's floating around out there as gate guards that might be obtained if your BC is ****-bent on having one on his yard. They don't attract much attention as they don't have a main gun, but are cool none the less. I've always wanted to see a fully operational one actually doing a recovery. The M32's seem to survive at a higher rate because they out-lived other Sherman type vehicles in service.
Hope this helps! If you need anything, private message me.