Now, anyone can watch it with the click of a mouse button.īut even putting the reader into the middle of that duel, two tanks quick-drawing on each other, 75 yards apart, wasn’t enough to fill a book. It’s considered one of the most famous actions of World War II, because it was caught on film. What was it about his story that compelled you to meticulously research and document it in “Spearhead”?īefore I met him, I knew about Clarence’s remarkable, Wild West-style tank duel in the street of Cologne. Smoyer’s defining moment of the war was a dramatic showdown in Cologne, Germany, between the newfangled American M-26 Pershing “Super Tank” he commanded and the fiercely infamous German Panther tank – a 1945 duel that was, almost unbelievably, captured on film. He welcomed me inside, pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and we talked for a bit before he stunned me with a revelation when he asked, “Would you like to see a letter from the German I fought against?” He was in touch with his former enemy. So one day in 2012 I went up to Clarence’s brick row house and knocked on the door. A college buddy told me about Clarence, a quiet hero from his hometown. I truly feel I’m “led” to some of these stories, in the spookiest ways. Army corporal and tank gunner from Pennsylvania coal country who served in World War II? How did you find out about Clarence Smoyer, a U.S. To think that some young man risked his life for us, all those years ago, or maybe he made the ultimate sacrifice and bled out on some European battlefield, as one of the heroes of “Spearhead” actually did, I don’t think it’s right for us to ever forget their names. I love searching for untold stories because it gives my readers a chance to see a new side of World War II, or to meet a new hero, like watching a movie for the first time.
Why has this pursuit been a such a passion for you personally? Your books have highlighted tales of historical military heroes whose stories would have otherwise gone unheard by the American public. Having earned a spot in what has been called “the top ranks of military writers,” Makos’ previous works include New York Times bestseller “A Higher Call” and the widely acclaimed “Devotion.”
0 kommentar(er)
