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Two Luzerne County Walmart stores receive assessment reductions

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Luzerne County Councilman Urban unclear on re-election plans

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It&#8217;s been said of any Veterans Administration Hospital, heroes walk the halls.</p><p>And those heroes live in our neighborhoods &#8212; often in obscurity and seldom recognized for their heroic service to their country.</p><p>Meet Clarence Smoyer, who author Adam Makos calls &#8220;the humble 95-year-old WWII veteran walking the halls of the VA who is about to be thrust into the national spotlight and become America&#8217;s newest World War II hero.&#8221;</p><p>Smoyer, of Allentown, will achieve this well-deserved notoriety when Makos&#8217; latest book &#8212; &#8220;Spearhead&#8221; &#8212; is released Tuesday.</p><p>Smoyer, just 21 at the time, was the gunner on a top secret, experimental American tank during the war &#8212; the T26E3 Pershing &#8212; only one of 20 sent over for testing in battle during February 1945.</p><p>It was in this tank &#8212; &#8220;Eagle 7&#8221; &#8212; that Smoyer earned the reputation as &#8220;the best gunner in the world,&#8221; when he won the most famous tank duel in Army history &#8212; the fight for Cologne, the &#8220;Fortress City&#8221; of Germany.</p><p>Makos, 38 of Colorado, has roots in Plymouth &#8212; his grandparents, his father and uncles all lived there on Cherry Street. His grandfather, Michael Makos, served in the U.S. Air Force in World War II in the Pacific Theater.</p><p>Makos is an international author, whose stock is on the rise. He recently appeared on Netflix&#8217;s &#8220;Medal of Honor&#8221; series, Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, CBS Sunday Morning, and both of his earlier books &#8212; &#8220;Devotion&#8221; and &#8220;A Higher Call&#8221; &#8212; are in development in Hollywood to become feature films. In fact, &#8220;Devotion&#8221; is being developed by the team behind the recent films &#8220;12 Strong,&#8221; &#8220;Sicario&#8221; and &#8220;Only the Brave.&#8221;</p><p>Makos said Smoyer has received treatment for decades at the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Hospital with no one knowing just who he is and what he did in the war. Now that&#8217;s all about to change, Makos said. And the recognition is not just for Clarence &#8212; but also for his tank loader, a Scranton native named John DeRiggi (deceased.)</p><p>Smoyer and DeRiggi took part in the most famous tank duel in Army history, all filmed and put on the newsreels back home.</p><p><strong>Seeking out a hero</strong></p><p>Makos said he worked on Spearhead for six years, having learned about Smoyer years earlier from his Lycoming College roommate, Pete Semanoff. Makos put the story idea on the back burner, but after several encouragements from Semanoff, Makos decided to seek Smoyer out.</p><p>Here&#8217;s how Makos described his first meeting with Smoyer.</p><p>&#8220;It was a Sunday morning in 2012 when I approached a brick row house in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The working class neighborhood was quiet and no one paid me any notice.</p><p>&#8220;I had come chasing a story.</p><p>&#8220;I knocked and Clarence Smoyer answered. He was 88 and surprisingly tall, dressed in a simple blue polo shirt that stretched over a robust stomach. His thick glasses made his eyes seem small. Clarence welcomed me inside with a chuckle and pulled up a chair for me at his kitchen table. There, I&#8217;d make a discovery. It was true. All of it.</p><p>&#8220;This gentle giant held the keys to one of the last great untold stories of World War II, and he was ready to talk.&#8221;</p><p>Makos then detailed the battle on that February day in 1945. He said Smoyer was just 21, but he was an expert gunner on one of just 20 Pershing tanks used in World War II. Smoyer had his finger on a 90mm gun, equal to or better than the German guns.</p><p>As Makos tells the story, he notes that Smoyer was told he would lead every attack &#8212; first over the hill, first around the bend, first to take fire.</p><p>But on this day, Smoyer&#8217;s tank was held up and two Sherman tanks went ahead toward the Rhine River. Both were taken out by the German Panther tank lurking under a bridge.</p><p>As Smoyer&#8217;s tank entered the fray, the Panther tank had the drop on him.</p><p>&#8220;Smoyer&#8217;s driver panicked and went to back up, but actually lunged forward,&#8221; Makos said in describing the battle. &#8220;But Clarence reacted swiftly, turning his gun and firing, hitting the German tank. He fired two more rounds and vanquished the Panther. Clarence and the crew were the heroes of Cologne, leading the way to capture the city.&#8221;</p><p>Makos said Smoyer and the crew were the first to pierce through the German west wall. They were also at the Battle of the Bulge and other key battles.</p><p>&#8220;They rained mayhem on the enemy,&#8221; Makos said.</p><p>Makos said he wondered how such a gentle guy could be such an accurate tank gunner. He said he asked Smoyer why he fired three times.</p><p>&#8220;He told me he knew that if he missed, he might get his crew killed,&#8221; Makos said. &#8220;His crew was his family. He wanted to get his family home.&#8221;</p><p>Makos said Smoyer just had better instincts &#8212; taking out five German tanks during the war. He said 70 percent of the time, the tank that sees the other tank first, wins.</p><p>But not on that February day in 1945.</p><p>Makos said Smoyer served in the 3rd Armored Division &#8212; the &#8220;Spearhead Division.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Most history buffs know of the Screaming Eagles &#8212; The Big Red One &#8212; Patton&#8217;s 3rd Army,&#8221; Makos said. &#8220;But the 3rd Armored Division? The only 3rd Armored soldier I could place, joined them during the Cold War.</p><p>&#8220;His name was Elvis.&#8221;</p><p>Makos said he always visits the battlefields before he writes about them. &#8220;A Higher Call&#8221; took him to a dusty airfield in Sicily. &#8220;Devotion&#8221; led him and his team into the misty mountains of North Korea.</p><p>&#8220;To bring you the deepest level of historical detail for (Spearhead), we went to new lengths in our research,&#8221; Makos said. &#8220;This time, we traversed the battlefields of the Third Reich &#8212; with the men who made history.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Back story</strong></p><p>Makos said in 2013, Smoyer and three other veterans traveled to Germany and allowed him to tag along, to interview them on the same grounds where they had once fought. He recorded their stories. He recorded their dialogue &#8212; what they remembered saying and hearing others say.</p><p>What Makos and his team found was staggering &#8212; original orders, rare interviews between the soldiers and war reporters, conducted while the battle was raging; radio logs of tank commander&#8217;s chatter, allowing Makos to time their actions to the minute; daily weather reports and much more.</p><p>Prepare to mount-up. In a few short pages you&#8217;ll find yourself behind enemy lines with the 3rd Armored Division, a &#8220;workhorse unit,&#8221; one of the &#8220;most aggressive&#8221; American divisions, and arguably the best in the armor business.</p><p>&#8220;Even General Omar Bradley saw something special in Clarence and his comrades,&#8221; Makos said. &#8220;Bradley said the 3rd Armored led the fighting march across Europe &#8216;with a serious and grim intensity.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Serious and grim. That&#8217;s who Makos will have readers riding with in &#8220;Spearhead.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_9734E532-323C-4CED-B5E8-EC7A0EC008CB_ne201921493042670-2.jpeg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-battle-the-hit-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">This is the Panther that Clarence knocked out, burning, with the Cologne cathedral just out of frame on the left side. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-battle-the-hit-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>This is the Panther that Clarence knocked out, burning, with the Cologne cathedral just out of frame on the left side. </caption1><photoCredit1>Photo courtesy of Adam Makos/Spearhead </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-Clarence-in-the-Army-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Clarence Smoyer&#8217;s Army photo. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-Clarence-in-the-Army-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Clarence Smoyer&#8217;s Army photo. </caption2><photoCredit2>Photo courtesy of Adam Makos/Spearhead </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_SPEARHEAD-1-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">This shot shows Clarence&#8217;s T26E3 &#8220;Pershing&#8221; tank with he and the crew, March 6, 1945. Clarence is shown on top, middle, with his curly hair showing. On the top right is John DeRiggi, from Scranton. This image was taken from a newsreel filmed by Army cameramen shortly after they knocked out the Panther at the cathedral. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_SPEARHEAD-1-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>This shot shows Clarence&#8217;s T26E3 &#8220;Pershing&#8221; tank with he and the crew, March 6, 1945. Clarence is shown on top, middle, with his curly hair showing. On the top right is John DeRiggi, from Scranton. This image was taken from a newsreel filmed by Army cameramen shortly after they knocked out the Panther at the cathedral. </caption3><photoCredit3>Photo courtesy of Adam Makos/Spearhead </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-2-Adam-Makos-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Adam Makos, author of Spearhead. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-2-Adam-Makos-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Adam Makos, author of Spearhead. </caption4><photoCredit4>Photo courtesy of Adam Makos/Spearhead </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-3-Clarence-and-Gustav-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gustav Schaefer, left, was an 18-year-old tank radioman/bow gunner who Clarence Smoyer fought in Cologne. This shot shows Clarence and Gustav during their first meeting since the war, March 2013 in Cologne. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Spearhead-3-Clarence-and-Gustav-2.jpg</photo5><caption5>Gustav Schaefer, left, was an 18-year-old tank radioman/bow gunner who Clarence Smoyer fought in Cologne. This shot shows Clarence and Gustav during their first meeting since the war, March 2013 in Cologne. </caption5><photoCredit5>Photo courtesy of Adam Makos/Spearhead </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Best-selling author has Plymouth roots</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>About Adam Makos</strong></p><p>Hailed as &#8220;a masterful storyteller&#8221; by the Associated Press, Adam Makos is the author of the New York Times bestseller &#8220;A Higher Call,&#8221; and the critically-acclaimed &#8220;Devotion.&#8221;</p><p>Inspired by his grandfathers&#8217; service, Adam chronicles the stories of American veterans in his trademark fusion of intense human drama and fast-paced military action, securing his place &#8220;in the top ranks of military writers,&#8221; according to the Los Angeles Times.</p><p>In the course of his research, Adam has flown a WWII bomber, accompanied a Special Forces raid in Iraq, and journeyed into North Korea in search of an MIA American airman.</p><p><strong>About Clarence Smoyer</strong></p><p>One of World War II&#8217;s most legendary tank gunners, Clarence Smoyer, of Lehighton, joined the Army in February 1943.</p><p>After training at Fort Indiantown Gap, he was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division, one of America&#8217;s two heavy armored divisions, later known by the nom de guerre: &#8220;The Spearhead Division.&#8221;</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> K5tYhPz6DeQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5tYhPz6DeQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

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Best-selling author with Plymouth roots tells lost WWII story