Welcome, feel free to join in on any discussion! War is hell.About Us A forum for combat footage and photos from historical to ongoing wars. It was a bit of a struggle to get in and out of the tank at his age, Smoyer said - "It used to go a lot better when I was younger" - but it took his breath away to see it.Īs for the book, he said, he hopes readers "understand what the fellas went through during the war. "He did great things for this country and took great risks," Makos said. Makos organized the surprise tank ride to show his appreciation for Smoyer. "Spearhead" is the story of how their lives collided. They kept in touch through Christmas cards, letters and Skype until Schaefer died at age 90 in 2017. The two veterans shook hands in front of the cathedral and put roses on the grave of a German woman who was killed in their crossfire. In 2013, they traveled to Cologne so Smoyer could meet Schaefer, the German tank gunner. Makos met Smoyer through a friend in 2012. World War II tank gunner Clarence Smoyer poses for a portrait near the Charlestown Naval Shipyard in Boston on Wednesday. He worked at an industrial plant.įew knew that he took out five German tanks during the war. Smoyer returned to Pennsylvania in August 1945, married and had three children. Smoyer and his crew were photographed victoriously climbing out of their tank. American forces advanced to the Rhine River. Smoyer set the tank on fire so the German crew couldn't fire back. I fired another one, back more toward the engine compartment. We were looking right into the barrel," Smoyer said. "We pull out into the intersection and the driver saw the tank. The Panther had just knocked out two American Sherman tanks, killing three men. Smoyer advanced and encountered the German Panther by the cathedral. Eighteen-year-old German tank gunner Gustav Schaefer and his tank commander abandoned their tank and surrendered. Smoyer said he traded fire with a German tank, then shot at a building and toppled it onto the Germans. On March 5, 1945, Smoyer heard the company commander say over the radio, “Gentlemen, I give you Cologne. Constitution at the Charlestown Naval Shipyard in Boston on Wednesday. World War II tank gunner Clarence Smoyer sits atop a tank as he passes the historic frigate U.S.S.
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