How An American Tank Gunner Successfully Dueled with Panzers in World War Two

Published: Feb. 27, 2020, 7:50 a.m.

b"When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner\\u2019s seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He\\u2019s a natural born shooter.
At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division\\u2014\\u201cSpearhead\\u201d\\u2014thought their tanks were invincible.
Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit.
After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art \\u201csuper tank,\\u201d one of twenty in the European theater.
But with it came a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack.
In this episode I'm speaking with Adam Makos, author of \\u201cSpearhead.\\u201d It's the story of an American tank gunner\\u2019s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel\\u2014and forge an enduring bond with his enemy."