HERO OF THE 3RD ARMORED DIVISION PASSES ON

Recently, the WW2 Community and humanity as a whole lost one of its greatest. He was a gentle giant, an unassuming man who found himself caught in one of the most horrific wars in human history.

Despite the brutality of this war, Clarence Smoyer did not lose his humanity or compassion. He was a gunner in the famed 3rd Armored Division ‘Spearhead’ and had fought with them from mid-1944 all the way to the wars end.

He was the greatest gunner in the whole division; as such in early 1945 Smoyer was selected to be a gunner on the brand new T26E3 tanks being rushed to the front in anticipation of the Allied push into Germany.

This job was by no means an easy assignment. Clarence now found himself at the spearhead of the “Spearhead” division - the first to come under fire.

Smoyer was made famous and ascended to legendary status among tankers for his role in the famous Köln tank duel which took place just a few hundred feet from the Köln Cathedral.

Smoyer would continue at the front of the division’s drive into Germany in 1945. He was involved in another ferocious tank duel at Padderborn - which would be his last major engagement of the war.

Clarence then returned home and struggled with PTSD but used his struggles as a way to reach out to veterans of the Second World War and following conflicts, giving them invaluable support and insight. He will be forever missed but never forgotten.

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