Two local men were honored by the Slatington American Legion Post 16 on Sunday for heroic military exploits that occurred more than 75 years ago.

Clarence Smoyer, 97, a Lehighton area native, and Donald Roberts, 96, a lifelong resident of Slatington, were recognized at an informal luncheon gathering attended by more than a dozen fellow Legionnaires. Both are World War II veterans.

Roberts is the oldest member of the post, having joined 76 years ago.

A gift was presented to them by Post Commander George Burke, who said it was “an honor” to have them in attendance

A framed photo of Smoyer, whose actions during the war received widespread publicity, was autographed and will hang in the Post home. Smoyer also presented autographed photos to those who attended.

Smoyer, a native of the Forest Inn section of rural Lehighton, is a veteran of the U.S. Army and is regarded as one of World War II’s most legendary tank gunners.

He said he attended Lehighton High School, leaving in the 10th grade “to earn money because times were hard. I needed to earn some money.”

World War II broke out and he was one of a group of 19 local men drafted. He intended to join the Navy but was told by military officials, “Your eyes are not so great.”

As a result, he was prompted to enter the Army.

He enlisted in the Army in February 1943 and following training, he was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division, one of America’s two heavy armored divisions, “The Spearhead Division.”

On Sept. 2, 1944, he knocked out a Panzer IV tank that had infiltrated American lines at Mons, Belgium, the first of five tanks that he would be responsible for disabling or destroying. Having been assigned to one of 20 top-secret Pershing tanks rushed to the European Theater, Smoyer earned a notable place in history during the battle for Cologne, Germany, where he fought a dramatic duel with a German Panther tank at the city’s cathedral.

An Army cameraman filmed this engagement and the resulting footage appeared in newsreels worldwide. Smoyer would go on to fight with the Spearhead Division until the end of the war in Europe.

On Sept. 18, 2019, Smoyer received the Bronze Star during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

A book titled “Spearhead” was written about the Spearhead division of World War II and Smoyer’s photo is on the cover of that book.

Smoyer had with him a laminated map that depicted his travels during the war through France, Belgium and Germany.

Smoyer, who turns 98 on June 25, lives with a daughter in Allentown.

Roberts was born and raised in Slatington. He graduated from Slatington High School in 1942 and joined the Navy in March 1943.

He said he was aboard a ship all the time, first in the Atlantic Ocean, then in the Pacific.

“I went to radar school, then was on board a ship for almost three years,” he said.

“We started in the Atlantic,” he said. We were sending subs and U-boats all over creation.”

He said he made 20 trips across the Atlantic on ship, 10 each way.

“Then they put landing craft on the ships and we went to the Pacific,” he said, noting that at one point his ship went through a kamikaze raid at Okinawa. Fortunately, “the whole harbor was smoke-screened,” he said. “We couldn’t see them and they couldn’t see us. But you could hear them.”

Roberts said that after he left high school, he worked for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. After the war, he went back to the railroad where he worked in the signal department. Later, he got a job with the state as a field representative for the state’s employment office.

He lives in Country Meadows Retirement Home in Allentown. He turns 97 on July 9.